What are Desktop Blog Editors ?

Its true that majority of people still don’t know what are desktop blog editors. Just like how you use Outlook to send mails from desktop, just like how you post to Twitter from desktop, you can also post to your blogs right from your desktop. From a poll conducted by Lifehacker 2 years back, over 60% of the bloggers just use an online editor.

But, that was the situation 2 years ago. Now, with the availability of Windows Live Writer (WLW), many bloggers have switched to it. Still, I’m convinced that atleast 50% of the crowd still use online editors.

Why People don’t use Desktop Editors :

When we look at the reasons why people still don’t use Desktop editors, the first reason is that they don’t have the knowledge about the availability of one. When I started blogging 2 years ago, I just used Wordpress’s inbuilt online editor, adjusting myself to the features available. But, after I came to know about WLW, I hop over to Wordpress Dashboard only for things like comment moderation, plugin installation etc..

Why use a Desktop Editor ?

When you insist people to switch to Desktop Editors, you need to give them reasons, don’t you ? There are a lot of reasons to make the switch :

1. Manage more than just 1 blog. Almost every desktop editor gives you the ability to add many blogs. You can post to these different blogs from 1 place.

2. You can write offline. When you get a new idea for a post, but unfortunately, you’ve been disconnected from the internet. During such situations, you can still open your desktop editor, write down your post and save for publishing later.

3. You get more formatting options. Most online editors have limited formatting options. But, there are richer in desktop editors. Especially, I love the “Web layout” feature in WLW, which gives the look of frontend of your blog whilst you still write the post.

4. Enhanced Image Support. WLW lets you apply a number of effects to your photos like Drop Shadow, Sepia tone, Black and White, Watermark, Emboss etc…

5. Tagging Support… Most desktop editors come with either inbuilt tagging support or with the help of external plugins, for technorati, delicious and the like.

These are not the only features available in desktop editors. Its not just about listing down the advantages. Its the entire feel that you get when you use a desktop editor. The simplicity, the ease.. You don’t find these in online editors.

Now, if you are in look out for a desktop editor, I strongly recommend Windows Live Writer. But, if you want to look out for alternatives, I suggest that you take a look at this post.