If you look at the address for my blog, you will see that I point it to a sub directory in my website. The "homepage" for my blog is http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/. But my website for my video tips are on http://www.marketingtipsforauthors.com/. I have been using a free template from FreeWebTemplates.com to create my webpages with Kompozer and uploading them to my server with Wise FTP. Part of the reason I look for free, or low cost methods of creating a web presence (other than the obvious one of saving money) is to reinforce my platform to help authors (and anyone) find low-cost/no-cost ways to market their books, products, or services. I won't spends thousands to create a website. I will find ways to do things at low cost and then pass on that knowledge to you.
Until now, I have had a disadvantage when it comes to passing on tips to WordPress users since I don't use that blog platform. WordPress blogs come in two flavors:
1. Web-based blogs at WordPress.com- This is similar to Blogger. You can create a blog and run it from the WordPress server. The main advantage to this is that you can get up and running without spending money on a website host. The main disadvantage is that you don't have total control of your blog.
2. WordPress.org that you can upload to your server- For more control over your blog, you can download the WordPress software and upload it to your server. The main advantage to this is that you are not limited to the restrictions imposed by WordPress on the blog they host for you. You can also customize the templates (themes) and even the HTML code to your hearts desire. The main disadvantage of this method is that you need to have some basic technical skills (or know someone who does) to pull this off. While the installation of the WordPress software to your sever is not too difficult, it will require you to create a MySQL database to link to it.
Well, I have finally decided to take the plunge and replace my main website with WordPress. While this blog will remain a Blogger blog, I will be using WordPress to create the pages of my main website. That means that my video subscribers will soon see a new look to my page. For those linking to my current website, don't worry. The links will still work fine. However, one day in the near future, those pages will look different (and hopefully better).
Why did I decide to make this change?
It was actually borne of necessity. I am not a website designer. I don't know HTML programming (though I can look up simple codes on the net to make my site do what I want it to do). I just needed something that was a little more flexible that fit within my skill level. After looking at the landscape, WordPress.org seemed to be a good fit.
This will allow me to write blog posts and create video tips on how to customize WordPress blogs as well as Blogger blogs. I have uploaded the software and I am currently looking for the theme I will use for my site (Suggestions welcomed :-) ).
Another reason I chose to use WordPress is that it allows me to create both blog posts and web pages. While I won't be using the function to create blog posts much, I will be using WordPress to create a "traditional" website. We have come a long way with blogging technology. Long gone are the days when using a blog as a website was considered an inferior option (though that mentality still lingers in some corners of the net). The truth is that using a good blog platform can be a viable, professional option for establishing a web presence. Companies all over the globe are doing just that. Web designers are starting to drop their accusations about the inferiority of blog-based websites and they are now jumping in with both feet to offer their skills to create and customize these blog-based sites.
One last word- there are a lot of good blog platforms out there. Some are free and some are offered for a monthly cost. However, Blogger and WordPress are two of the most prolific platforms. This is the reason I have chosen these two platforms to integrate into my web presence. Over the next couple of weeks, you should start to see the changes to my site. I hope you enjoy not only the changes to my site, but the tips that come from my experience in using this new platform.
Tony Eldridge
19 comments:
Great information here. Thanks! I have both Blogger and WordPress as well.
I am recommending your blog to BubbleCow who put the following request out on Twitter about an hour ago:
"BubbleCow If you DM me links to good blog posts for writers I will tweet them back out."
Thanx for posting this! I have been looking into the same thing lately. I look forward to your experiences with this project.
Tony, you'll be in a perfect position to address how--if an author changes from Blogger to Wordpress--one maintains all one's subscriber/followers. THAT (other than the tech conundrum--that is learning another new thing when blogger seems to be working fine for me) would be the one big deterrent that would keep me from making any changes. I wouldn't want to lost one precious reader!
Best,
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Blogging at, yes! Blogger! www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com
I'm quite a fan of WordPress-based sites. I run several at work and have my personal site on WordPress. Many hosts offer one-click installation and there is TONS of help available on the Internet.
Hope it goes well for you.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
Thanks, Chrystal! I will be happy to send you a few great links. I am popping in for a bit before having to log off again for most off the day, I try to RT posts I think authors may find interesting.
Jaimey, I will keep you all posted. Part of this process is to really see how easy it is to make a change. I can say that with playing with WP on my server for less than 24 hours, I am loving it!! More on that later.
Carolyn, you hit on a great point. I will confirm all of this, but I don't think it's going to be a problem if someone has to transfer his/her feedburner that's attached to his blog to maintain subscribers. But the "followers" you see with the tiny little heads on the sidebar of a Blogger blog may be a different story. I would say that you would need to send out multiple posts preparing your readers for the move and hope they come with you. My guess is that the active followers will. But non-the-less, you make a great point.
It's also my understanding that you always have to expect a certain amount of attrition when making a move from one blog platform to another (which is not exactly my case here). The secret is to manage the move in order to minimize the attrition, and to make a move when it means that you will be able to do a better job providing resources to your readers. The hope is that with the new platform, you will be able to actually increase the rate at which you can find new followers, or people interested in what you have to offer.
Tim, I have heard the same from a lot of people. I can confirm that so far I am finding things I can do on WP that I can not do on blogger. In fact, there is not one task that I have not been able to find a quick and easy answer to based on my need. The WP community seems to be robust, friendly, ready to help, and deep in experience. My first response in the short time that I have been playing with WP is WOW! Now I see what all the fuss is about.
That said, Blogger still has some great points of it's own. That's one of the reasons I want to maintain this blog on Blogger, create my website on WP and perhaps start a new Blog on WP. That may come down the road.
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I love Wordpress. They are my favorite along with blogpost. Excellent Information.
Thanks
I originally started on Blogger for my book blog, but wanted the ability to have multiple pages, so in Oct '08, I transferred it to WP.com (easy, just a click of a button) and all the comments, photos, etc. migrated over. I kept my blogspot page and just made my last post a "We're moving" notice with a link to the new Wordpress blog: http://www.thebreak-updiet.com.
Then I created a writing blog to showcase my clips, writing services and workshops, etc., and to blog about writing craft topics (also on WP): http://www.annettefix.com. I love the flexibility of WP and all the great functions.
I recently created a self-hosted WP blog for my son's photography (through Go Daddy). GD has a one-click installation and you can upload any of the great free or paid templates you find on the internet. GD has great customer service, so they'll walk you through setting everything up.
I just love the fact that a blog-based site is so easy you don't have to pay a webmaster to do updates and it's not as expensive as paying to have a content management system created (Cold Fusion, et al.). I'd never go back to a static site.
Dear Tony:
This is a very valuable blog post, one I'm pleased to be able to recommend and retweet.
Having worked with a variety of content management systems, I find that working with WordPress to be a refreshing experience.
I do encourage everyone to back up all of their blog posts offline, i.e., on their computer's hard drive. Not only does this aid recycling and repurposing, it protects against worst case scenario server problems.
Roger
Hi Tony,
I have two sites based on Wordpress and am very pleased.
Since I prefer simple and clean layouts, I found a free them called Mandigo. It's much more flexible than other free themes I looked at. You can change many of the options from a control panel, and if you really want to tweak, you can of course edit the stylesheet.
Merrill
Very thoughtfull post on HTML Programming. It should be very much helpfull.
Thanks,
Mark - USMLE Solutions & Absite
Great comments! After reading them, I am more convinces that WordPress is better than I even thought. The people behind WP have really done a great job to create what is arguably the premier blog/website platform available.
Great advice from everyone! I use both WP and blogspot...
Good move, Tony. I've been using WordPress since it launched and it's become so much easier and better since, which is why I didn't consider any other platform for launching my author community.
Steven, you and I have talked about this. I have yet to move my site to WP, but it's on my to-do list. I've got to tell you, since we last talked, I am having serious questions about keeping by blog on Blogger. It's a big move to change platforms, especially when your site is indexed in Google so well. There's a lot to think about. You, and a lot of other people I respect, have given me a lot to consider.
Hi Tony,
I just moved from Blogger to Wordpress. I just wanted a change and found WP had some interesting and easy facilities than blogger. The best thing WP has is that with my poor internet connection, WP pages and editor gets loaded within seconds whereas blogger can take so many minutes. And I guess the traffic won't be that bad either. In WP, other bloggers happen to see our post when we publish them. Blogger takes more traffic to be noticed, I guess. While the follower box is, like you said, another story. Many don't even check our blogs when we post a new post. Those who do read will surely read when we share the link, even if they aren't following the blog.
I have my author website set up using weebly.com, as my brother has his site there and his pro account allows upto 10 websites, and he gave one site to me. But due to slow net connection, it hasn't been getting loaded on the browser lately and I haven't been able to make any changes in the latest things over there. So I was thinking today about how good WP is to set up a website. That's how I tripped over your post. I guess I will give it a go after designing a blog at it. I'm no techie, but good enough at the computer for a medical student. :)
And I set up my blogs and website and even direct the domain to these sites. Blogger was the first platform I used to set up www.sanarose.com.
I'm glad there's a place to come up and check in case I have some doubts. :) Thank you!
Sana Rose
www.sanarose.com
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