Why I Use Windows Live Writer
September 28, 2011
Hey friends, I’ve had this question come up several times in the recent weeks, so today I’m sharing my #1 tool for writing blog posts, it’s Windows Live Writer! I know for many of you this is not news, but for others still writing your posts in Blogger or WordPress or TypePad, if you’re a PC user, there is a free and user friendly alternative.
This is not a sponsored post, this is my personal opinion and what works for me. Every blogger needs to find his or her groove when it comes to posting, and WLW is my go to source for creating all of my articles – I’ve been using it for over two years and absolutely love it.
Since it’s a Windows based application, WLW is designed for PC users, but I did read this article which allows a Mac user access (Mac lovers, if you try it, let me know if it works). I won’t go through the basic step by step for installing WLW, but it’s really simple, just follow the prompts to have the application upload your blog theme to get started.
The first difference you’ll notice between writing in Blogger or WP and using WLW is that it imports your blog’s theme – mine is seen below.
My number one frustration with blogging in the WordPress platform is the time it takes to resize and upload images. I can’t stand it. I take all of my images in high resolution (2000+ px) but my blog column width is only 600 px wide. With WordPress (and I assume Blogger?) all images must be resized before importing them but there’s no need to go to the trouble if you use WLW – it does it for you, which is a huge time saver.
With WLW, picture uploading and resizing happens in a simple step. In addition, once you hit publish, all of your images (in WP) are instantly uploaded to your media library, thumbnails too.
Here’s how it works. You take your image (whatever size) and copy and paste it into your draft or you can use the “insert picture” and find your file image, then click on it. I often just copy it from my picture file and paste it in the post, easy peasy.
To resize your image, you can do it manually (seen above in the top left corner) or click and drag it to the size you want. No need to resize your image before you import it, WLW does it for you. It’s really brilliant.
You can also change the name of your image and quickly add hyperlinks attached to your image or highlighted text.
In this world of quickly circulating images without proper credit, you can watermark them in WLW before publishing to protect your work.
I also prefer WLW because it’s formatted much like Microsoft Word and allows you to change your fonts, their size, color, etc. I’ve never used anything other than my standard Lucida Sans Unicode font, but the option is there (be sure to research what fonts are universally read in all browsers first).
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Another great tool is the “preview” tab which allows you to see your blog post as it will appear when posted, with your header, sidebar, etc. This is similar to a preview in your blog platform, but there is no need to open a new window, it happens by clicking a tab (seen in the bottom left corner). You can scroll up and down quickly to review your entire post.
There are a lot of other perks too like spellcheck, the ability to copy and paste HTML under the Source tab, or to manage multiple blogs in one editing program. If you have time for more than one blog, please send me a detailed email and include all of your secrets, thank you.
WLW makes video importing easy too.
The WLW posts are automatically saved to my desktop in a file (which I have set to back up daily with Carbonite in case of any problems like I recently experienced) providing an additional layer of security – they can always be republished again should anything happen to my server or blog.
Any of your blog’s widgets, pages, tables, plugins, etc. need to be managed inside of your blog’s platform, and you need not make any changes to your existing blog layout to use this program. It’s simple and easy to use this post editing application – it’s also free and user friendly. It may just help you blog easier, so give it a try if you haven’t already! Find the free download here.
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Tags: blog tools, windows live writer
Thank you so much for this!
I’m still a new blogger and have been looking for easier and better ways of writting!
I’ll def be checking this out!
:-)
Hi Centsational Girl, Just found your blog today and I love it. I’ve only been blogging since May but I was told about WLW and have always used it. I love it because even when you are doing the draft you get an overall look of the big picture. I hate the little narrow windows in blogger.
OH MY GOD! I just started a test blog with WLW. It’s so easy to use. Why have I not used this before?
This is my second comment of the day … I just downloaded WLW and used it for the first time. I wrote a blog post in 1/2 the time it normally takes (mostly because of the time saved loading/formatting photos). I love that you can view the post as it will look once published. It’s brilliant. THIS is what I’ve been looking for!!! Thank you so much. :)
Oh girl! You just made me download it all over again after we talked about it last week. I just did a post & yep, it is as easy as I remember. I’m going to look at the html and see how it compares to my other posts & I hope my blog designer was wrong telling me not to use it for reasons she had relating to coding.
Thank you so very much for this post. I really liked the way you present your articles. I thought you were using photo shop or something. I have never heard of this software but I appreciate your bringing awareness to it. Thank you!
Awesome post, Kate! Thank you for taking the time to put it together. I know how long those posts with tutorials/screen shots take! If I can figure out the download without breaking my computer, I want to do this. Does WLW give you the option to edit posts within your WP or Blogger dash if for some reason you can’t access WLW?
Thanks a million. The photo upload has always been such a drag to me. I just tried it out using the windows writer. I have died and gone to heaven. Writng my blog will be so much quicker now.
againthanks for this post..
downloading now.. so excited to try this!
Wow! Thank you for this link for Mac users. I just created my teaching blog on blogger and it has been a serious learning curve! I’m downloading this now. =)
Thanks,
Rebecca
teachingfirst-abc.blogspot.com
I love WLW as well, but I didn’t know you could watermark directly with it. I generally pull into Paint Shop to watermark. Glad to know a way to speed things up.
Hey Amanda, you’ll notice after you publish your post it appears in order of your regular posts on your blog platform’s dashboard, whether Blogger or WP. You can edit it directly from there if necessary, and I’ve found if you reopen in WLW, the changes you made in WP (and I assume Blogger) are still there.
Happy blogging,
xo
Kate
I’m giving this a try :) Thanks for your honest opinion!
Wow, the ability to drag the corners of photos to resize them is reason enough to use this, and to add a watermark, fantastic! Fiddling with my pics in blogger is a pain in the backside LOL! Thanks for sharing your info.
I’m on Typepad and they actually recommended WLW to me when I complained about the time it took to upload images. I’ve never looked back. It’s the best!
Downloading it now! Thanks!!!! :)
I LOVE WLW also! I didn’t really “get” it at first but it has made blogging a zillion times easier. My favorite thing about it is just how easy it is to insert the photos.
That’s great about the script name on the photo. I always wondered how you did that and thought you had to get someone to make you a scanned written signature and imprint it on all your photos… cool. Good to know.
Thanks so much for this intro to WLW – I’ve had it installed but never used it. I’ll be learning how it works and I know I’ll love it. I have two blogs and this will be a big time saver! You’re the best!
HI Kate-
I would not be blogging if it were not for Window Live Writer. It makes getting a post ready written and off in less than 1/2 the time than my WP Dashboard. Recently I had a security issue on my site and the tech guys closed the access to it down for a few days. I had to write a post in my WP Dashboard – it was so frustrating! I love the fact that all my posts are saved and backed up too.
I used to us WLW until I switched to a Mac a few months ago…which has been the major downfall. My husband and I have spent many many hours trying to find something like it for the Mac and we have found nothing. I have tried to run virtual box before and had issues setting it up. I tried again today and I got a little further but still got stuck. I will have to have my husband look into it. I did try out mars edit as someone mentioned in the comments but just looking at it briefly, by no means nearly as user friendly as WLW. I find that with bloggers on a Mac, this is the one main complaint and there is nothing out there that is as good. So frustrating. I have been blogging through blogger again the last few months and it drives me crazy! I will keep you posted if we get anywhere with virtual box.
So, I heard about this several months ago, but at the time didn’t have time to do anything with it. I’ve been thinking I should try and find it again for weeks now (but only when I’m in the shower. When actually faced with a computer, all rational shower thoughts fly from my noggin). Thank you so much for helping me find it!
Thanks so much Ashley, it’s so great to hear from someone on a Mac with actual experience and knowledge of WLW – keep me posted, I’m definitely interested in the virtual box application.
Good luck!
Kate
Excellent post!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I have been following you (quietly) for the last 6 months. You are great girl!! And you have inspired me to start my own blog. I will email you soon.
Hey Kate! I have in the back of my mind been considering starting a blog of my very own but I’m kind of intimidated by it. This information is so helpful! Thank you and every once and a while an article/entry/whatever you call it about how to blog is very helpful and interesting. Keep up the good work! I told my boyfriend yesterday that I aspire to be like you and what you do and he was like “Kate who?” LoL
You just saved my life. I’ve actually been writing my posts in Word, then doing a copy/paste, then uploading pictures, etc. If you are ever in North Daktota, I’ll take you out to dinner and a great glass of wine! Thank you so much!
Fantastic Jill, I’ll take you up on that offer someday!
Too kind SoulandGrace!
:)
Kate
Thanks for writing this. The one thing that I should note, is that while, yes it IS available for Mac users. Mac users will have to buy a copy of windows 7, or another windows operating system product, which can be a bit pricey. WLW looks really cool, but I can’t justify the cost of $120 for a FREE editing software. Sure, I own a Mac, so as the author of the article says, “I can afford it.” It would be cost prohibitive, you know? There’s a reason I shop at thrift stores and auctions. So I can occasionally splurge on things like my Macs. :o) I guess this is the perils of being a Mac snob. No WLW (which stinks. WP is annoying, I’ll agree with you there).
Oh my! So thrilled to be reading this post right now – I have the exact same image frustration with WP! I’m definitely trying this out, thanks for sharing.
I really need to try this. I get so exhausted with all the work that goes into uploading and resizing photos in WP. Thanks, Kate!
I have been told that it is fabulous but I have a Mac. I must read the article you linked to!
Interesting. I have been blogging with WordPress.com since February and honestly there wasn’t a whole lot that you described above that I don’t do with ease in WordPress. When I upload images to my Media Library their full size is retained but then when I go to insert them into a post it automatically sets them at my max width (a measly 460 px). So I’m not sure what WLW does better in that respect. Although I do like that you can click and drag an image to change it right in the editing field. That’s more intuitive and precise than the slightly lame resizing features in WordPress.
If everything is already formatted to your theme as you edit, what is the purpose of having a Preview tab? Aren’t you already previewing essentially?
I am intrigued. Even though I enjoy using WordPress, this might be worth a look-see.
Thanks SO MUCH for sharing. This seems like a dream come true when it comes to pics, etc. but I’m having issues actually publishing from WLW to blogger. Getting an error message. I’m googling around trying to get to the bottom of it. So far I’ve tried several tips from forums and they haven’t worked. Anyone else have trouble with this?
Thank You! Such a timesaver. I have used it now for 2 posts and I finised them both quicker than it would have taken me in WordPress! Awesome tip, thanks for sharing!!
I absolutely LOVE WLW….it’s my favorite program to draft my blogs in! :D
Thank you for sharing this. I downloaded it and gave it a try. It’s cut my blogging time in half. So fast ans easy!!
Kate, WLW has been my “go-to” posting method for over two years! I never liked using Blogger, so when I discovered Writer, it made life so much easier. I have my photos set to post to a default size, with the watermark embedded automatically. Easy peasy!!! When I updated from XP to Windows 7, Writer updated to its new version automatically. While the newer version took a bit of getting used to- ( certain things were in different places in the tabs), but now it is a piece of cake, once again. I am surprised that more people don’t use this method of posting! I’m sure you’ve enticed more than a few to look at this option. :-) Sue
Very interesting! I’ve been using blogger for the past 2 years and never heard of this! Thanks, I will surely check it out. :)
Thanks so much for sharing this. I uploaded the program and had fun making a post for my blogger blog. I LOVE the options to work with the photos. Saves me SO MUCH TIME! Except…..
I am getting an error, like Katie above mentioned it will not let me post. grrrrr. I am using my trusty google skills to try and figure it out and have not as of yet. Its something about an FTP site. Kate, do you use an online hosting service provifiing you wirth an ftp site? I don’t even fully understand this but thats what I am seeing that I need to make it work.
I hope I can get this figured out so I can use this. I have been blogging for many years and am so anxious to use this instead of Blogger and its silly little quirks.
Thanks so much for all your help and tips! Love your blog.
Hey y’all, a couple of people have written about errors after an initial post. My best suggestion is to update your blog’s theme, and perhaps troubleshoot your feed (resync it). I’m not sure why the error messages are occuring, perhaps there is an online forum addressing this!
Kate
I agree, WLW is the BEST!!
Oh, this is awesome! I am truly in love =)
Awesome! Thanks for this post. I’m a new blogger and definitely needed this!
I just downloaded it and love it! way faster than wordpress!
Thanks Kate! I have figured out and found many others who have had this issue with blogger. It will post just fine without photos. Still haven’t figure it out totally but I am sure with some more time googling etc I will. I’ll let you know here what I find just in case it can help some of your other readers! Have a great week.
Jenn-lee
I starred this and came back to it. So glad I did and so glad you took the time to give out this short-cut. Love it!
Thanks!
Hey Kate,
I’ve been using WLW for a couple months now and I’m loving it. However, there are several features that greyed out and I’m not able to use – including the Watermark feature. Any idea why that might be? I’ve tried doing all kinds of troubleshooting and can’t figure out why I can’t use that feature.