How do I create my own blog on blogs.ed?

Updated

If you are a qualifying member of the University of Edinburgh, you can create your own blog on blogs.ed instantly: open the site, choose Create a blog, and complete the sign-up. Existing blog owners log in through EASE, and WordPress help is available on the site if you get stuck.

Who can create a blog

The site states that qualifying University members can create their own blog instantly. It does not list the exact eligibility rules, so if you are unsure whether your account qualifies, try the Create a blog route first — the sign-up flow will tell you whether you can proceed.

The service is the University's Academic Blogging Service, described as "Staff and student blogs for our connected learning community." As of the site's current figures, the network hosts 9,652 blogs with 12,358 users.

Steps to create your blog

  1. Go to blogs.ed.ac.uk.
  2. Select Create a blog (shown on the homepage as "Get your own blog").
  3. Sign in or authenticate as required by the sign-up flow. The site does not spell out every field, so follow the prompts as they appear.
  4. Set up your blog's name and basic settings in WordPress.
  5. Publish your first post.

Expected result: you have a working WordPress blog on the blogs.ed network that you can post to and, if you choose, make public.

If you already have a blog

Use the Log in link and authenticate with EASE. The homepage notes "Already have a blog? Log in using EASE," so EASE is the route back into an existing blog rather than a separate username and password.

Getting help with WordPress

The site has a dedicated Get help section for creating or updating your blog and for learning more about WordPress. It also points to:

  • News and announcements for updates about the Academic Blogging Service.
  • A public Microsoft Teams team you can join.
  • A mailing list you can sign up for by email.

These are the places to check for service changes or setup questions before looking elsewhere.

What to expect from the network

Blogs on blogs.ed cover a wide range of uses. Recent posts include a Learning & Teaching Enhancement Theme on pedagogies of supervision edited by Dr Lindsay Randall, a student's notes on learning Python libraries (pandas and scikit-learn) for an Introduction to Audio Machine Learning course, a Swiss-American student's account of discovering Edinburgh, and a project diary entry about arranging a visit. That range is a useful signal: the platform supports course-related, reflective, and personal-academic writing rather than a single format.

One thing to keep in mind: the site states that views expressed in media on the service are those of the contributors and should not be taken as approved or endorsed by the University. If you plan to write in a public or professional capacity, treat your blog as personal commentary rather than an official University position.

Common sticking points

  • Eligibility: if the create route does not let you proceed, your account may not qualify; the site does not publish the criteria, so ask via the help channels.
  • Login confusion: new blogs are created through Create a blog, while returning users go through Log in using EASE. Using the wrong entry point is an easy mistake.
  • Finding your blog later: public blogs can be browsed via View all public blogs, and the site also offers search across all blogs and search within a single blog.