Blogger
Another free blog option is Google’s Blogger.com (aka Blogspot.com) (click to features). This blogging platform gives you flexibility in styling the appearance of your blog, and you can install scripts. Here is one example, and here is another. Blogger offers the option of posting by email-to-secret-email-address as well as free “mapping” to your preferred syadventure.com
domain. Blogger is free.
Weebly
Weebly has built a drag–and–drop browser interface for building your own free website. Click to features. Their websites are hosted on many servers, shared by many sites. They offer about 100 site themes to choose from; complete customization is possible. You can start your free subdomain site (syadventure.weebly.com
) or you can purchase your own domain name and have your Weebly site mapped to that domain (syadventure.com
). You can have photos or videos in your Weebly pages, too. You can also password protect individual pages, or the entire site, if you choose. Posting by email is not possible.
See promotional video
About Weebly
Wix
Almost free (from $4/month-for yearly plan), Wix calls itself a cloud–based web development platform with millions of users around the world. You can choose from hundreds of pre–fabricated site templates, or even a blank template, and, like Weebly, also offer a drag–and–drop interface you access via browser. Click to features. It's not currently possible to post by email. Here are some of the best Wix sites.
Privacy
These blogs give you the option of password-protecting your content. Here’s how to change privacy settings on Blogger, WordPress, SailBlogs, Weebly (Pro
paid plan only), and Wix.
Wrap-Up
If you want to post to your blog while at sea (adding images once ashore), using SailMail for instance, choose between Blogger, SailBlogs, and WordPress. Explore integrating maps with your WordPress site by reading this post about geo–mapping options. If you don’t want to fuss with integrating maps and would prefer a platform with built-in geo-mapping features, choose SailBlogs.
Sharing Photos and Voice
Perhaps you’re interested in free options to manage your photos. Google Picasa is free software you install on your computer to manage and organize your photos. You can also share photos you select by uploading them to your free gallery on Picasa Web. Only the photos you select to upload while in port using a broadband connection will be posted. Another interesting option is to use podcast software to record audio updates. You record audio tracks which you can then link to from your blog. The sound of your voice adds a special dimension to your blog entry.
So go ahead, sign up for your cruising blog, free or not! It’ll take you minutes to launch, and you’ll have a great way to share your cruising adventures with friends and family, as well as a place to revisit your adventures when you’re in your rocking chair!
Want to Know More?
Dive into Blogs Compared.
What Do You Think?
Other options exist. If you want to share a different solution that you have found works well for you, or want to comment on this post, please do so below.