I had a little time yesterday and today, so I used one of the domain names we have (www.wizhosting.net) and put up a Top 100 Blogs site. I added this blog to it, and some others, and got Mel to add hers. If you want to get in early to this, which keeps stats for a month, sign up now!

Let’s say a couple of words about this PHP-based software by Jeremy Scheff (www.aardvarkind.com). It is tremendously easy to set up - you just need a host, and a MySQL database - there is a simple config.php script, just fill in the values, then initiate the install.php (www.server.com/install.php). With the latest releases there is a /skin/ directory where you can work on your own skin design without messing the installation up (very useful).

There is an easy-to-use admin backend, it is not complicated at all. I think this is a conscious design decision by Jeremy, and a smart one. Not everyone is a web designer like myself, and knows their way around code as well, so by making it easy he has drawn a few more customers than he might ordinarily get.

I made my own skin for this, using what looks like a notepad (blog - writing - notes). Simply put, I have a top section for the header, a middle bit for the menu and main listings, and a bottom part for the footer notes. There are a few other pieces like the adbreaks where I put my Google AdSense advertising. I opted to not use traditional advertising from Commission Junction or Linkshare. It didn’t take me too long to string together and although I have one or two small bits to finish off, I’m done with about 6 hours of work. Here is the finished product - http://www.wizhosting.net/ - add your blog to it for free, you get a button like the one on the left with the “Blog Top 100″.