You've created your blog.

Now you need a blog design that will make it look good for your viewers.

The easiest way to do this is by using a free blog template.

Amazingly, there are lots of people out there who are very happy to create blog templates that you can use for free.

I guess that's why there are so many starving artists. But, hey, why not take advantage and use a free blog template.

Incidentally, if you're using Wordpress, my favorite blog platform, you need to remember that they call a blog template a blog theme. So you may need to expand your search to include free blog theme.

Actually, with Wordpress it's really easy to find a free blog template.

Go into the presentation section of your blog's control panel.

Scroll down the page.

You'll see a section that says "Get more themes".

Click on the link that is in that section and you'll get a screen with more free blog templates than you'll get to use in this lifetime.

In fact, if this is the first time you've used this screen to find your free blog template, it can be a bit daunting.

They almost all look good.

But which one to use?

Start by deciding how many columns you want your free blog template to have. Personally, I tend to use two columns but it's completely your choice.

Then narrow your choice down by color scheme. A bright red blog template isn't likely to work with a blog that encourages people to relax. But there are instances where it would be ok.

After that, assuming you've chosen a two column blog template, decide whether you want the sidebar on the left or the right. The sidebar is the narrower column and usually contains links to your blog's articles. A lot of people also use it to monetize their blog with things like Google Adsense.

Click the "show" button and the screen will refresh to reflect your choices.

Then it's a matter of looking at the thumbnail images that appear. If any of these free blog templates looks good, click the "test run" button to double check it full screen.

If it still looks good, download it to your hard drive and then upload it to your web hosting, following the simple instructions on your Wordpress control panel.

Then press "refresh" on your control panel screen and select the new theme.

Congratulations, you've just installed a new free blog template.

Blogging has become a central pillar in the online world. Internet technologies come and go with increasing frequency but blogging has staked a claim and is here to stay. A variety of platforms allow people to start a blog in minutes and without a penny changing hands. In addition, countless other service providers have developed widgets that can enhance a blog with additional functionality and style. This article will look at a few of the basics so you can get off to a running start.

There are two decisions you need to make right at the beginning. The first is which platform you'll be using to build your blog and the second is whether you'll host it on the provider's servers or your own. Let's look at both decisions in a bit more detail.

The two primary platforms out there are Blogger and WordPress. Blogger is owned by Google and is probably the easiest platform to get started on. It's really designed for the novice. Functionality features are easy to use and the interface is simple and intuitive. WordPress is an open source platform. That means it's developed by individual programmers all over the world and is available for anyone to use, free of charge.

Open source software is a fascinating phenomenon. People with all kinds of different business objectives end up developing extensions to facilitate their needs and those extensions then become available to the entire community. As a result, you can search for just about any extension you can imagine and build your own custom blog with precisely the features you want. WordPress is designed for a more sophisticated user but the advantages for the final product are substantial.

The next decision revolves around where you host your new blog. You can host it on the Blogger platform or the WordPress platform. In both cases, you would end up with a URL something like YourBlog.Blogger.com rather than your own custom URL. The upside is that it's easier and your blog will then be part of a HUGE website. That may improve your search engine ranking. The downside is that the ultimate control is out of your hands and your branding isn't complete. In other words, you will never have your own free-standing web address.

Once you have created your new blog, you're well advised to register it with all the free blog directories. Not surprisingly, there are dozens of them and they can help you drive traffic. You can also cross reference other people's comments, leaving them with a free banklink. That will help you get established in the community and encourage others to reference your comments on their blog. Depending on the blog, you could easily get the majority of your traffic from such a link.

A number of companies have developed platforms that add functionality or aggregate information and their widgets can easily be added to a blog, simply by adding a small piece of java script to your platform. This has become so common that Blogger, WordPress and others have designed specific modules to easily accept such scripts. Done properly, these widgets can make a simple blog look impressive and professional.

Tactical Execution is devoted to helping people and companies position themselves for tomorrow's opportunities. Learning the mechanics of blogging can contribute directly to your ability to capitalize on those opportunities. Visit the website to learn countless other strategies as well.