Although I’m a fan of publishing directly via WordPress’ own system, I’ve been looking for alternatives “forever.”
Although I haven’t landed on one yet to be a permanent station for publishing, I’ve collected a list of a few that have been recommended to me. I have both a Mac machine and a Windows machine for blogging.
So here’s the list. I’d love your thoughts and experiences with each if you have them!
Mac-Specific:
Windows-Specific:
- BlogJet
- WinJournal
- Windows Live Writer
OS Agnostic:
Am I missing some? Your thoughts?
I have been using ecto for about four years. I love it. It's definitely a power-users tool. I especially like the ability to create post templates, custom tags, etc. You can even import your blogs CSS stylesheet, so that your posts are formatted correctly in preview mode.
My only complaint is that the original developer sold the product. He was very active in the ecto forum and in issuing frequent releases. The new owners are not as active. It's been quite a while since we've had a new release.
Still, if you are a serious blogger, I would give ecto a try. Be patient while you learn it. It is well-worth the effort. (I have also used MarsEdit and it is good, too. I just don't think it is quite as powerful.)
Thanks for that Mike! I'm going to give it another try.
i've been thinking about this since @michaelhyatt blogged about one of those tools.
I've been on a Macbook for two months now, and the one program I miss the most from my PC is Windows LiveWriter. Microsoft may have never made a more useful, easy-to-use program than LiveWriter.
thanks for that!
Being a windows user 70% of the time, I am a HUGE Live Writer fan. I love it. Like a brother, you know, not in any other way…
Now its all awkward…
PUAHA. …
LOLed.
peace | dewde
Given that composing posts in the WordPress dashboard is pretty straightforward, I'm hesitant to spend $20 or $30 (the equivalent of a bajillion dollars for a destitute writer like myself) on a blogging app, as much as I'd love to have one.
John — Why don't you build one in Cocoa real quick and give it to me for free?
working on it.
Ha ha ha John. Such a kidder. Ha ha ha.
(ssshhhhhhhh!)
peace | dewde
I can see why one of these apps would be good if you didn't have a constant internet connection, and wanted to write, and then post once you were back online.
But if you have internet while you're writting, why wouldn't you do everything on the online interface?
Apparently there are some features that are “easier” for some people… but, it's all preference I suppose!
I’ve been using BlogJet for years now (and remain a big fan). It’s definitely easier than the native online WordPress editing window…
between your blog, a few other folks, and my lynda.com membership I'm in constant learning mode. When I saw the tweet about @MichaelHyatt learning css and php over 5 months time I was like, I got this… hahaha! My process: learn, translate, test, implement, transfer.
Thanks for sharing your great post this will help us a lot i will try this at home. G-d bless you and more power to your site!
Thanks I will try this at home more power to your site! G-d bless
“OS Agnostic”
Hah!
Why would you need this over logging into wp-admin? Not seeing any benefits to this? If you are offline – be offline
I’ve found doing extensive text formatting in the native WordPress editing window frequently makes me want to gouge my eyes out.
I’m always looking for other option to help me format posts (esp. ones people send me that they formatted in MS Word *shudder*)
I have heard good stuff about BlogJet on the PC. Isn’t LiveWriter abandoned by MS?
Thanks for the article John. Thanks Kenny (+ others) for the recommendations, and LiveWriter is an abandoned MS project.
This is a great idea, and I would love to implement it, mostly because I consider jumping around the WordPress Admin to be a little clunky even on a decently fast connection. After giving BlogJet a quick glance, it became apparent that I would not have access to a few of my key plugins which have extra boxes on the “Post” page. For instance, the Wordbooker plugin has a couple check boxes to allow you to publish a post directly to facebook or not.
If ‘they’ could make software to mimic the WordPress admin, just without the delay of the browser software.