A recent Royal Pingdom blog post stated, “[T]he WordPress.com blogging service is growing with an average of about 11,500 blogs per day. So, if we use this 11,500-per-day number as a starting point, how much would WordPress.com grow in a year? The answer is: nearly 4.2 million. (365 x 11,500 = 4,197,500)”

The post then continued, “If WordPress.com hosted a bit over 5 million blogs at the start of 2009, and if we take the increasing growth rate into consideration, it looks quite likely that WordPress.com could pass 10 million hosted blogs by the end of 2009.”

Impressive, eh? The fact that WordPress.com’s got such a huge user base should tell you that the software does a pretty good job of facilitating writing. What’s more, since everybody’s used to it, it should make your readers feel at home on your blog.

Of course, whatever works for you is indeed what works for you, so don’t feel any pressure to change. The software behind your blog probably isn’t the first thing that’ll attract people to your writing.

Ryan Caldwell of Performancing has written a piece on freelancer commitment. Ryan talks about how freelancers can flake anytime they want to because they aren’t on supervision like normal employees are. After all, no one will know if we decide not to work. You see, we can work anytime we want to and yes, we can work any time of day. And there are times when we tend to over-commit, thinking we can do anything due to our flexible hours.

1. Probloggers Can Be Lazy Cats One Time and Work-a-holic the Next

I don’t think I can express the difficulty of having to finish projects to those who don’t write professionally. There are times when we’re expected to finish a truckload of work in one day. And believe me, if you think you can finish as much the next, you are sorely mistaken. When your brain is drained, you can’t write anything. And as humans, we reach our limits too. I have to work on the weekends most of the time, thinking I could work for days on end for a whole month. Wrong! In the end, I end up taking a week day or two off anyways.

2. Probloggers Can Work Even During the Wee Hours of the Morning

If we have enough kick in us and if we really want to, we can slack the whole day and work all through the night. It’s a bad habit, and I do endeavor normal working hours for a sense of commitment. Unfortunately, it’s a bad habit that’s hard to shake off when you’re working at home.

3. Probloggers Tend to Bite off More than they can Chew

Sometimes, I think we think like we’re some sort of super humans. When you’re working at home, you tend to think that you can do as much as you want to because your time is yours. Well, wrong again. What do you think of burn out? Even if you control your time, that doesn’t mean you don’t need rest. If you’re in this dilemma right now, prioritize, get rid of all the excess, and then chalk it up to experience. Every newbie gets into this situation at one time and every experience blogger forgets and does it again another time. Take advantage of working at home and be with your family and enjoy yourself more. That’s why you chose to work at home in the first place.

Many frown upon the practice of sponsored themes but frankly, I don’t see why. Sponsored themes benefit advertisers greatly. If the theme proves to be timeless, the growth of backlinks could only exponentially increase. Sponsors might see an increase in backlinks not only for the first few months of the theme’s release, but even for the next years to come as long as the theme works for the future WordPress updates. And who wouldn’t want backlinks, right? I think it’s a great investment to make, something that benefits not only for the time being but for the long run for reasons already discussed.

Sponsored themes also benefit the designer greatly, so it works both ways. Think of it like this: a designer decides to create free WordPress themes as a promotional effort. Creating a free WordPress theme means the designer would get nothing out of it in revenue other than a backlink at the bottom of the theme, which may or may not generate a future sale. However, having a sponsor means the designer is actually paid for the time spent on creating a WordPress theme. Perhaps not as much as a bankable designer would have earned selling themes, but hey, it’s a theme you’re giving away for free yet you still get paid for it, how sweet is that?

The bottom line is, for me, sponsored themes are beneficial to everyone involved. The sponsor gets tons of backlinks, the designer gets paid and most of all, we get our free WordPress themes.

There are numerous free blogging platforms and I won’t go into detail with each one of them. Here are some of the most popular ones.

1. WordPress.com

It looks and works just like every WordPress blog, except unless you pay, you won’t have the privilege of tweaking the themes and monetizing your blog. You also can’t change the domain name to a private one without paying.

2. BlogSpot

Owner by google, this one allows a bit more customizability than WordPress.com. You can add Google Adsense, a few more money-making widgets, a bit of garnishing, and if you’re savvy enough, customize and personalize the theme completely. The downside is that the comments page is separate from the post itself. Also, it still has limited customizability compared to paid blogging platforms.

3. LiveJournal

LiveJournal has the most limited customizable features compared to the other two in this list. You can change the theme, but you have no option of adding monetization features even if you pay. The good thing about LJ is that you can form communities with other people of your own interest. Other than that, if you’re a serious blogger, I don’t think LJ is the place to stay.

And here are some examples of paid blogging platforms:

1. WordPress

Technically, WordPress is free. The reason why I put WP in the paid blogging platforms list is because you have to have your own host and domain name. You just have to download the software from their web site and install it on your host. It’s quite complicated the first time around, but you’ll get used to it. Many hosts, however, offer one-click installation of some popular software including WordPress. If you can’t afford to pay for your own host, you can use some free hosts which allow installation of WordPress such as (http://www.freehostia.com)FreeHostia. The bandwidth and disk space are limited, but they’re enough to help you get started. You can buy your own domain name and use it for FreeHostia too. For cheap domain names with Whois privacy, try (http://www.netfirms.com)Netfirms.

2. TypePad

Like WordPress, TypePad allows you to completely customize your blog according to your needs. You can tweak themes and add advertisements to your liking. The downside is that you have to pay to use the software. The most basic TypePad is priced at $4.95 a month. You can get a 30-day free trial, and if it floats your boat and you can afford it, then go for it.

3. Movable Type

Movable Type is a little different than TypePad with regards to fees. It grants anyone free software if the blog is for “Personal Use.” Anything other than that warrants fees depending on the license purchased.

The bottom line: I would recommend using a paid blogging platform in contrast with using a free one. Though a free platform works, using a paid one grants you complete autonomous rights to your software. Out of the three paid platforms mentioned here, I’d recommend WordPress, of course. At least all you have to worry about are your host and domain since WordPress doesn’t charge for the use of its software. Besides, as I said, many hosts offer one-click WordPress installation which makes your life (and everything else) a whole lot easier and who doesn’t want that?

Yep, you read that right. Web sites and blogs are going pink for October. Why? Well it’s to commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The objective of the month long project is to increase awareness on breast cancer as well as raise funds for further research on the subject. Breast cancer is the fifth in the list of most common types of cancers in the world and the first most common for women. And yes, believe it or not, breast cancer could also affect men, albeit with a lower probability. It’s the illness, which caused 1% of all deaths worldwide back in 2005.

Due to this, many designers have come up with various pink for October WordPress designs. Here are some of the many (in no particular order):

1. 5thirtyone Pink October WordPress theme
2. Scribblescratch.com’s two pink for October WordPress themes
3. Randy Clay Design’s Pinkbird WordPress theme
4. Geek With Style’s Pink October Theme #1
5. Geek With Style’s Pink October Theme #2
6. Pink for October Stripes and Business by Natalie Jost
7. WordPress Diva’s Pretty In Pink
8. Design Adaptations’ Pink Adaptations
9. Yoru from cureless.net’s Pink Beauty 2.0
10. archGFX’s The Thin Line

These are some of the free pink WordPress themes released since the announcement of the event. Those who can afford to change their themes, feel free to use them as long as you comply with the designers’ specific requests and conditions of usage. And when you’re done changing your theme, go to the Pink for October’s web site and sign-up to be officially part of the event. Not only do you profess your support for the project but you also get a backlink. That’s a win-win situation in my book. But if you don’t think you can’t change your theme to pink due to lack of time or because your masculine side is screaming in agony just thinking of it, you can go to Pink for October’s download page, get a logo and put one on your blog.

About Pink for October: The event was started by Matthew Oliphant of Usabilityworks.com last 2006.

How? Well, there are many bloggers who are content in using free blog domains such as blogspot, LiveJournal, and WordPress.com among many others. This article will discuss the pros and cons of using free blog domains.

Pros:

1. You Don’t Need to Build Your Blog from Scratch

How true. For the non-tech-savvy, having to customize a WordPress template for example, or even just to install the CMS into their servers takes some time getting used to. For many, being able to set up a blog in one click is a great way to get started in blogging. There are no user manuals to study, no need to buy a host, no need for installations, everything’s spiffy and great.

2. There is no Need for Maintenance

Aside from changing your theme every once in a while (with one click of the mouse, mind you), there are no bugs to be fixed and no themes to be tweaked. You don’t need worry about the technical state of your blog at all.

3. You Don’t Need to Pay for Your Domain

Just like the old British couple who don’t have to pay their utility bills, you don’t need to worry about paying for a host. It’s free and even if you run out of interest in maintaining your blog after some time, it’ll be up and running for a long time to come.

I’m sure there are a lot more Pros for using a public domain, however, let’s move on to the opposite side of the coin.

Cons:

1. The Splog Attack

In an effort to rid their services of splogs (spam blogs), Blogger might accidentally mark your blog as one and put your blog on hold. I had several niche blogs not so long ago, which were marked as splogs. You could contact Blogger to lift their temporary hold on your blog. As for me, I preferred not to because it would just happen again in the future. There are many, however, who didn’t even get a chance to appeal their cases and their blogs just went kaput.

2. Limitations in Customization

When you don’t invest even a cent in your blog, the customizability is limited — from widgets to monetization.

There are only two cons to using free blog domains in this list, but the final one speaks in volumes. In the end, if you want full control of your blog, it’s always best to have your own domain. But until that time, enjoy using a free service.

Ubiquitous is a clean 2-column widget-ready theme for WordPress 2.0 and higher. Its sharp lines and clean feel make it a perfect theme for business and industry-oriented blogs or anyone seeking a professional look.

There are several unqiue features that makes this theme stand out from the rest. First of all there’s an extended archive window at the foot of the theme, displaying posts from the past. Secondly there is an ajax-enabled search box displaying results in real time. There is also the possibility to set up email subscriptions with a simple email box in the sidebar.

The theme is based on Alex Sancho’s Styled theme and comes complete with a full list of installation and modification instructions.

More free WordPress Themes are available for download here

If you like this theme and decide to use it, please consider showing your gratitude in a more tangible way in recognition of the work gone into making it. Thanks alot!

It is these circumstances that have given rise to a whole new amateur class of web designers. Take blog template design as a key example. There are countless bloggers now offering design and customisation services as part of their blogging lifestyle. The cost effective ‘pimp-my-blog’ model of web design, which usually involves the customisation of pre-existing templates, has lead to a drop in market prices that would have otherwise been occupied by professional designers; and while allowing the lower end of the market to gain access to custom blog designs, which probably will not lead to blogging glory or getting a place in the so-called ‘A List’, more importantly it has lead to a drop in design standards and a medicocritisation of the web experience in general. The case in point being the recent sponsored themes ‘débâcle’ – a blogger’s mini revolt against the surge in the number of sponsored WordPress themes that have appeared recently.

If we’re to indulge Mullenweg’s mantra for a second, and consider blogging as a cultural pursuit created by a code-savvy few, then what else than a dilution of that form was to be expected when opening it up to the masses with the likes of Blogger and WordPress? The same thing applies to photography. As soon as the technology was ready for cameras to be manufactured in mass quantity and sold at cheap prices, everyone suddenly became a photographer and the term ‘snap-shot’ came of its own. This didn’t necessarily lead to an increase in Cartier-Bressons, Doisneaus and Nachtweys, but it did create fertile ground for the consumption and acceptance of a ubiquitous graphic advertising culture, just as mass blogging has become the stuff of trend-spotting and money-making as opposed to the online diary it once was – and yes this blog is guilty on all accounts.

So what is the moral of this story? Well don’t brag unless you can back it up! Of course Digg traffic is fast and short-lived so after a few hours things will die down and I’ll be back to my 500-1000 visits per day rhythm again, but if I’m going to use digg in the future, I’ll have to think about bumping up my hosting service or learn how to create a mirror site of the page I’m submitting. I’ll post more about how that works as and when I figure it out. But just to say thanks to everyone who expressed interest in the WordPress themes and if you didn’t get to see the page, fear not, It’ll be up and running again in the days ahead.

Victoria is a magazine-style WordPress theme with a classic feel, based on the DP Shiny Theme by Frazier Media. Posts are separated into two main columns with blog entries on the left and feature articles in the main top window and right-hand column.

The theme supports flickr thumbnails, includes a rotating header image, and the extensive footer with links and archives makes this an ideal theme for an Ezine or journal type website. This theme is brought to you ad-free.

The theme works with WordPress 2.1 and was tested in Firefox, IE6 & IE7. Installation and configuration instructions are included in the download. Please follow them carefully.

Please also note that the original theme by Frazier Media was released with a disclaimer warning users that the theme was heavily customised and to use it at their own risk. While I have done my best to simplify the theme and make it more user-friendly and lightweight, alot remains to be done like adding widgets or customising the archives, but I simply do not have time to do that. If someone is kind enough to makes additions and clean up the code to make it standard compliant, I’d be really grateful.

Other than that enjoy it and don’t forget to check out my other free WordPress Themes available for download here.

If you like this theme and decide to use it, please consider showing your gratitude in a more tangible way in recognition of the work gone into making it. Thanks alot!