Choosing a specialty host might be a better option for a person looking to host a Web log or blog.

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Blogs are simple tools for publishing to the Web one idea at a time. By simplifying the process of publishing, letting authors create posts easily, and making it simple to link to related ideas on the Web, blogs make it easy to update a Web site while still making sure your words retain a clear, personal voice.

Blogs have emerged over the past few years as the most popular format for publishing to the Web. They are used to manage Web site content, publish photos, collaborate with workers or publish personal journals.

The problem initially was that consumers needed to set up and maintain blog software themselves. Users were required to find Web space, download and install a blog software package like Movable Type (movabletype.org) and then develop their own site templates.

Now a unique breed of hosting services has emerged that specifically caters to customers who want to maintain a Web log. Blog hosting services allow consumers to access a system that will publish and store their blogs.

Tucows recently began to private label its Blogware (blogware.com) Web log publishing service. Blogware makes it easy for all Internet users to publish online using its drag and drop layout, editing and digital photo management tools. Users can even manage who has permission to view sensitive or confidential information. Blogware generates a broad range of leading standards based syndication formats including RSS, OpenReviews and OPML.

Blogware is quite comprehensive as it not only allows consumers to share content, but also decide what medium to publish to. Blogware lets users publish to email, the Web and even to cellular phone. As a standards-based tool, Blogware is also supported by many desktop applications that make publishing even easier. Those that use the interfaces can create Web sites without a being experienced webmasters. Users of the service need not learn HTML, or download and install special software, they simply publish immediately. Blogware is available through a network of retail hosting providers.

Traditional pure play Web hosts are also launching their own blogging services. For example, Affinity Internet (affinity.com) recently began offering a new Web logging service to all its business customers. Called Blog-It, the new service enables small and medium-sized businesses to rapidly update Web site content without using HTML.

If a user already has sufficient hosting space with a provider, he or she can opt for a blog service that will publish the blog and all its associated documents to their existing site. Blogger (blogger.com) is one of the most popular services that facilitate this type of "push-button" Web publishing.

The service allows users to edit messages through its centralized Web site. Users define FTP information about their hosting service through the service's control panel and then select site design from a set of stock templates. Once the user composes and edits their message on the service, and define a template of their choice, the service designs the Web pages and publishes the blog to their site.

Such a service makes publishing a blog easy, and inexpensive, especially since the basic blogging service at Blogger is free.

For blog hosting, there is usually a small fee associated with the service. Services provided through Blogware's network of resellers can retail between $4.95 to $19.95 per month for 5GB of transfer and storage.

When purchasing any hosting for a blog, users should ask the service provider about the scalability of the hosting environment. Blogs are demanding applications, as they prompt rapid-fire access to syndicated Web site content that can place heavy loads on servers. As a result, consumers will want to ensure that their host is capable of handling the type of traffic a popular blog can generate.