If you’re new to blogging (or even if you’re currently running a blog), you’ll no doubt have some things that you need to address on your blog, as no one’s perfect. That’s right, not even me! 
That said, there are certain measures that you can go to that will no doubt improve your blog, and this article will discuss some of those points.
1: Install Wordpress:
Wordpress is THE best blogging platform out there – no exceptions. It’s extremely easy to use, is very customisable (with all the plugins and themes that are now widely available) and is also completely free. If you’re serious about your blog, then Wordpress is the only real option when you put it back-to-back with competitors, and, without it, the rest of these tips aren’t very helpful.
2: Comments:
Every blog should have comments. If you aren’t getting comments on your blog, you’re something majorly wrong. I could go into a load of detail and write a whole article about how to get comments, but I don’t have time, plus it’d probably start getting boring, so I’ll give you my top two ways. Firstly, install the ‘Top Commentator’ widget and The Comment Luv Plugin, as these both add an incentive to commenting. The second is to leave comments on other people’s blogs. You’ll soon find that the majority of bloggers will comment back, and, if they don’t, stop commenting on their blog.
3: Askimet:
Askimet is a great plugin for Wordpress that I would recommend to every blog in the planet. It basically controls all your spam comments for you and segregates them. If you are receiving a lot of traffic or comments then you’re bound to get at least some spam, and Askimet does all the hard work for you so that you can focus on answering the good comments.
What do you think?
What else do you think essential or a must for a blog ? Feel free to comment, We’d like to know. 
Author Bio:
This is a guest post by Simon Rogers, a teenager from the UK who runs www.teenius.com. He knows a lot about Blogging and Making Money Online, and you can follow him on Twitter @teenius.
April 24th, 2009 at 6:09 pm
Hello Simon! Another good post! You have been cranking them out this week haven’t you? I really like the ideas you have been sharing this week. Keep’em coming!
Thanks!
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April 24th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
Good to see you here for the first time dude. Yeah right Simon has been rocking this week with his cool Posts.
P.S: I don’t know why, I’ve never been able to open your Blog. Never.
Hoping to see you here again.
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April 24th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
Keith, thanks for the kind words and the comments, means a lot. Yeah, I’ve got a new goal to do at least 1 guest post per week (and still maintain the ‘post every 2 days’ thing I have on my blog), so it’s a lot of work
Still, hopefully it’ll be worth it.
Enk, that’s weird about Keiths blog, always works fine for me. You could try using it through a proxy?
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April 25th, 2009 at 5:17 am
I have those 3 things on my blog, so I must be doing something right. :p
Some things I could add:
- Threaded Comments
- Popular Posts
- Search Bar
- Guest post page
There’s just so many things a blog should have, I don’t think we could ever come up with a big enough list to fit all of them into. But I guess this post is a start, right?
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April 25th, 2009 at 7:39 am
Thanks for the comment, Alex.
Yeah, I agree that those are all important parts of a good blog. I didn’t want to do a super long post as it no doubt would have got boring, hence there only being three points. Still, I suppose it opens the door for more guest posts at chidimar
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April 25th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Yeah right Alex, those are really some more Blog fundamentals.
@ Simon,
You are always more than Welcome for Guest Posts at Chidimar.
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April 28th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Thanks for this wonderful post. I use WordPress and I am having trouble finding out what my API key is. I need it to activate Askimet because I have been getting a lot of spam. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks in advance!
Friends 4 Life!
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April 28th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
you can get your API key over http://en.wordpress.com/profile/
you may need to registered / login First
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May 4th, 2009 at 2:03 am
Totally agree with the author – Worpress is the best, comments make a blog, and Askimet is great about comment-ruining bots
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May 4th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
Hey Glad to see you here Kristaps,
Yes those are some really good tips there.
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May 5th, 2009 at 6:03 am
“I could go into a load of detail and write a whole article about how to get comments, but I don’t have time”
this is probably the lamest thing i have ever read in an article showing you tips on how to do better blogging.
This type of attitude causes first time readers like me to leave forever and never come back.
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May 5th, 2009 at 10:07 am
I highly appreciate your comments Akmal. This article was basically focusing new bees who just entered into the blogosphere or who want to start blogging. That’s why those are very basic tips written there.
Hope you get my point.
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May 13th, 2009 at 1:46 am
I’d have to agree with Akmal here. While the post itself is good, the way you said that makes it feel like you’re deliberately holding out on us to inflate your status.
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May 7th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
What my blog should have erik? I’m using blogger
Thanks!
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May 7th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
First of all its Enk. not Erik.
About what your Blog should have, the very first thing I’d say is “A domain !” if you can.. else, get your self an elegant theme.
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May 9th, 2009 at 1:22 am
WordPress installed blogs have a default Akismet already… I agree with alex about the Search bar, it’s good to have that one if you have tons of posts on your blog.
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May 9th, 2009 at 3:19 am
Thanks for the Comments MeiYah.
Yeah Akismet comes installed already but you need an API to activate it
Its not necessary you have tons of post or less, I guess Search bar is a must for all !
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May 11th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Can I quote you in my report for school?
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May 11th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Yeah sure !
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