RSS feedWhen you start blogging for fun - the underlying platform, availability of tools, etc. are the variables you seldom care about. I remember the time when I started off with a blog on blogger.com, 3 years ago. I registered for the service with a random name which I do not remember today! I still cherish those memories when a single comment dropped on to the posts made me happy!
But as you advance, your desires grow symmetrically. Talking about bloggers who write frequent which involve a considerable amount of research,there are a lot of indispensable tools which they can’t afford to miss. This list is endless and depends on the kind of niche one concentrates on. However, I would like to throw light on few tools/applications which shall prove to be a boon to your blogging desk, irrespective of the niche you write for.
Here we go:
By far the the best blogging tool one can ever think of! You name a feature and its there. With the addtional support of tailored plugins, this is a must have blogging tool for all you bloggers out there. It is a desktop application which runs on MS Windows platform and makes it easier to compose compelling blog posts using your current blog service. You can configure nearly all blogging platforms on this, giving them a more powerful, intuitive and appealing interface. Some of the key features it incorporates include - WYSIWYG editor, Photo publishing, Map publishing, Writer SDK, etc. Once you start using it, I am sure you’ll never look back! You can download it for free here!
We’ve already seen this beautiful tool and its features in one of our earlier articles. This Firefox/IE addon understands what you are blogging about and suggests you related pictures, articles, links and tags to make your posts more vibrant. If you believe in rich content, you can’t afford to miss this free-to-use tool!
Okay, so you are a non-Windows blogger and hence unable to use MS Windows live writer. One of the best alternatives for WLR is Scribefire. This is a Firefox addon which sits within your favorite web browser and allows you to write without closing or minimizing the browser window. You can work on multiple tabs up top without disrupting your text entry section below. It is compatible with Windows and Linux, both. You may add multiple blogs to the panel - just select the blog you wish to write on and there you go. Do try it out!
There are a lot of instances when you need to copy-paste a link/URL to your editor from a website. At times you need to selectively copy the text, leaving behind the underlying URL. Or may be you need to copy both the text and the linked URL at the same time. With this magical tool, your right-click options get the veto power! This makes grabbing the URL, text, or both parts of a link fast and simple. This allows you to concentrate on the context rather than your mouse clicks!
Automation of repetitive codes with text replacement
There are tools available for the different Operating Systems which lets you define text substitution hotstrings which, when triggered, help replace the hotstring with a larger piece of text. Just by entering your most commonly-typed snippets of text into the panel, you can save a lot of keystrokes while you write posts. It also helps you write without less spelling mistakes and typos. You may get your tool based on the OS you’re using - Texter for Windows, TextExpander for Mac OS X, or Snippits for Linux.
Don’ get shocked! This is an amazing tools for people who blog about a articular niche on a daily basis. I’ve been using it since a long time to get a variety of search result inputs from across the world. When it comes to related news and stuff, this is far more exhaustive than your RSS subscription. You can choose to get the relevant search results delivered directly into your inbox either on a daily basis or weekly/monthly digests.
You’ve got your favorite blogging platform for you and an excellent editor to write on. But when it comes to handling FTP uploads to your host, it sounds to be a painful act for many. With this application, you get a neat interface and a lot of option to get all your FTP nightmares resolved. It is a must have FTP client. All for free!
You just can’t afford to miss this great screen capture tool which comes with an assorted image editor. The best part is, you can capture your complete screen or a part of it. This is however not a free tool. It comes with a price tag of 49.95$ for a full license. It works as a replacement to the native Print Screen function with additional features. It is powerful tool with easy-to-use interface, which contains most features needed by technical writers and pro-bloggers alike.
A lot of professional bloggers like to play with the design of their blogs. For that matter, they have to tinker a bit with the CSS code. The Toolbar lets you alter the CSS - say the colors of the text - and preview your changes while you look at them on the web. Then you save your CSS style sheet and upload it using Filezilla. You can even preview how changes to somebody else’s site would look. You can verify your code to check that it’s kosher and do much more. It’s indispensable.
These were a few tools which have helped me master the art of blogging. Feel free to pour in your comments and more tools which you think changed the way you used to blog without them!
Stay Tuned!
