Module 4: Final Version of Blog （Yujun Zeng）

 1. Why did I choose Blogger as my blogging platform?

I chose Blogger for several reasons:

Blogger provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface. As a beginner, I wanted a platform where I could quickly set up and start Posting without requiring technical expertise or a steep learning curve.

Blogger offers free hosting and a blogspot.com domain name, which is a great option for those who are just starting out without upfront fees. It is also owned by Google, ensuring a reliable and stable platform.

Since Blogger is part of Google, it integrates seamlessly with tools like Google Analytics and Google AdSense, which will help me track the performance of my blog and even turn a profit in the future.

2. What are the characteristics of Blogger? How will I use these features in my blog?

The blog's article editor is simple but powerful. I can create posts by adding text, images, videos and even custom HTML. This feature will allow me to easily post different content, from articles to multimedia posts.

Blogger allows me to customize the layout using drag and drop. I can easily add widgets like recent posts, popular posts, search bars, and social media links. I plan to use these to make the blog more user-friendly and interactive.

Blogger allows the use of tags, which will help me organize my posts by category, making it easier for readers to find relevant content. I will use this feature to keep my blog organized, especially when I cover multiple topics.

I can enable comments on each post, allowing readers to engage with my content. This feature is essential for facilitating community interaction and receiving feedback.

3. What kind of design capabilities does Blogger have? How will I use these design features?

Blogger offers a variety of themes to choose from that I can easily apply to my blog. Themes are responsive, so they look great on both desktop and mobile devices. I intend to choose a clean and minimalist theme to keep the focus on the content.

For more in-depth customization, Blogger allows me to tweak my blog's HTML and CSS. While I'm not going to go deep into coding right away, if I want the blog to have a more unique feel, I'll tweak the design later, such as changing fonts, colors, or layout elements.

Blogger allows me to add various widgets to the sidebar and footer, such as social media buttons, contact forms, and subscription forms. These gadgets will help make blogs more functional and interactive. I plan to add social media links and newsletter sign-up forms to build an email list.

The template is mobile friendly, which means my blog automatically adjusts to different screen sizes. This is important because a large portion of web traffic comes from mobile devices, and I want to make sure my content is accessible to all readers.

Finally I would like to say that Blogger is a great choice for my blogging goals because it is easy to use, has all the necessary content creation and interaction features, and offers ample customization options. I will use Blogger's capabilities to create organized, engaging, and user-friendly content while gradually exploring design options and monetization in the future.