Wordpress.com vs. Wordpress.org

1. 60

   Jane@CMposted 15 years ago

   I've now figured out the difference.  Wordpress.com is for just writing blogs & from what I've figured out you can't use adsense or Amazon, etc.  If I'm wrong, please correct me, and I need clear cut directions for adding their codes, I am not finding anyplace to add the codes. 
   
   Wordpress.org is a download to add to your website, so you need a host.  This option also offers more.
   
   It would makes sense then to have a host.  Yep, read all the threads about hosting sites.  Still don't hear a clear, "this is the best" free site online.
   
   So do you use Wordpress.org & have a website or blog on the .com site just for blogging & not to get paid?

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   1. 59

      Eric Graudinsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Some wordpress templates are optimised for Adsense, and already have ad blocks set up.
      For these templates, there is usually a configuration file where you put your adsense ID code, and then it will If your template is not already set up for adsense, you will need to paste your own block of adsense code for whatever type of advertisement you want to display.
      This code is created from within your adsense login, and you just paste it into the HTML window of your blog content wherever you want to adverts to appear.
      
      And I just know that someone is going to ask where they can get a template that is already set up for adsense.
      
      Well see if you can work it out.
      
      (HINT: It involves the Google search engine, and the search terms "Wordpress Adsense template" )
      
      cheers,
      Eric G.

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2. 68

   lrohnerposted 15 years ago

   You definitely want to go the wordpress.org way. Otherwise, your domain will be something like this: www.domain-name.wordpress.com. Not the best way to go!

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3. 68

   lrohnerposted 15 years ago

   Oh, and for Wordpress, you need to find Plug-ins for everything. Yes, you can use Adsense and Amazon. Just Google wordpress plug-ins and you'll find all you need. Although to be honest, if I'm really setting up a blog for backlinks (although I will blog on it to make it legit), I just use Blogger. Totally simple.

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      Jane@CMposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I use blogger now and like it.  I guess I've been reading too much on making money and how you need different places to blog...
      
      Thanks lrohner

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4. 77

   sunforgedposted 15 years ago

   Wordpress.com does not allow advertising.
   
   They actually serve ads on your site, most people dont realize because they are not served when you are logged into your wordpress.com
   
   You are also limited on what widgets you can use.
   
   Wordpress.org is where one can find support info, plug ins and themes for ones self hosted wordpress based site.
   
   Wordpress.com did actually suspend my blog for using affiliate links! Kind of a drag as i was getting 600+ hits a day to one article daily.
   
   But I was aware of the rules, and was even given the opportunity to remove the links and they would continue to host my site for me!
   
   Blogger(blogspot) is a great publishing platform, and yes it is not a bad idea to have sites on all the platforms plus your own sites and use web 2.0 properties such as hubpages,squidoo, ezine articles etc. to maximize your exposure
   
   Personally, after buying unlimited hosting and having full control of as many wordpress based sites as I desire, I have trouble putting time into the other more restricted options.
   
   But, Blogspot is a great option, preferable to wordpress.com in my eyes.
   
   I was recently revamping an old blogspot address and found a pretty collection of advanced themes you may enjoy
   
   http://www.anewmorning.com/2008/08/23/1 … er-themes/
   
   many of them are adopted from popular wordpress themes

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5. 60

   Jane@CMposted 15 years ago

   @sunforged, thanks for you comment.  Thanks for the link.  New themes are great, but the HTML thing is what hangs me up-side-down!  I know how to copy them, I just don't know what to delete in the theme code and have and put a new theme in without loosing any content.  Yes, I believe, I'm speaking gibberish.

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      sunforgedposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I believe she was referencing the advanced blogspot theme links I posted.
      
      These themes are adapted from Wordpress themes, they are in XML
      and in most cases in order to fully use the features (sliders, drop down tabs etc.)one does have to modify the html/css. I was impressed by the capabilities many of these have for a blogger page
      
      BUT, you can follow the instructions on the demo pages, its usually no more difficult than adding img codes to proper locations. YOu can follow directions, without really knowing what you are doing.
      
      Im sure there are few on the list that do not require any code changes and there are def thousands of Blogspot themes that one would never have to change any code

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   2. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      You don't need to know any HTML to use Wordpress.org software.  You might need it if you want to "tweak" themes, but there are so many out there, you should be able to find something that works without tweaking (at least at first).
      
      Even if you do want to tweak, it's just a matter of reading the documentation on the Wordpress site, which is very "plain English" and cutting and pasting bits of code.
      
      I couldn't go back to Blogger now I've got used to having my own Wordpress sites.

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6. 66

   Mishaposted 15 years ago

   For most of the themes you don't need any freaking HTML, all is configured through the blog control panel.

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      Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      And the latest versions allow some CSS through it as well. I have quite a few wordpress blogs and wouldn't know an HTML if it slapped me in the face.

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7. 71

   livewithrichardposted 15 years ago

   Go with your own domain name that way you have total control.  I just wrote a hub on how to add an Amazon store to your wordpress theme too.

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8. 60

   Jane@CMposted 15 years ago

   Thanks all.

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9. 66

   Ladybird33posted 15 years ago

   Do you need wordpress.org and blogspot too?  Is there a beneift to both?  I think that is where I am confused.  Thanks Jane, great stuff here

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   1. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Ladybird, if you're using wordpress.org you have probably bought a domain name and paid to host it somewhere like Hostgator. Then you upload the software, choose a theme and off you go.

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10. 59

    Eric Graudinsposted 15 years ago

    Istvan Horvath is a Wordpress expert, and has written a book for beginners about the modification of wordpress themes.
    
    It explains what all the files do, and which ones you have to modify to achieve the changes you want to make. This is an invaluable resourse to learn about some of the inner workings of wordpress.
    
    It's available free at http://wp-book.onetimeinstantoffer.com/
    
    You'll have to provide your email address, but you'll want to be on his mailing list anyway.
    
    Cheers, Eric G.

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11. 60

    Jane@CMposted 15 years ago

    Thanks, Eric, Marisa & Ladybird 33.
    
    I already found the WordPress templates
    
    Now the decision I need to make is whether I want a website to host Wordpress or just continue with Blogger.

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       lrohnerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Jane -- If it's any help, I have some on Blogger, some on Wordpress and some full-fledged websites. It really depends on what the purpose of the site is -- getting backlinks, making money or just having fun (which I do with some of my blogs!).

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          Jane@CMposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          Honestly, I want to make money. I want to do it with good articles & good content.  With my hubby's layoff only a week away, my daughter moving onto campus in just a few weeks, I feel that a bit of extra income will help out.  I think the website would be my husbands wood turned vases to sell, but then I'm stuck in a niche for blogging only about wood turning on that website - I think.

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             sunforgedposted 15 years agoin reply to this

             You never mentioned you wanted it to be an e-commerce site!
             
             Wordpress all the way, forget about blogger, the e-commerce plug in makes store creation a snap and it is easily linked to your paypal and google checkout accounts.
             
             I dont think I would buy something from a blogger site (if i could tell)...if a business owner cant afford a domain name, a hosting account and the time or money to create a authentic reputable looking site...my cc or paypal email arent going anywhere near it.
             
             Look it up "e-commerce plug in"   
             
             The market theme is pretty excellent also (but its not free)

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                Jane@CMposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                Sweet!  Still researching domain names & hosting sites. I need to set a budget too.
                
                Back to the wordpress in the hosting site...do you only blog about what the site is about or blog about anything?

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                   Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                   Why do you want a blog of you are setting up an e-commerce site?

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                      Jane@CMposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                      We are thinking of setting up an e-commerce site.  I'd add wordpress to it, but my thinking was I'd only be able to blog on wordpress about the e-commerce business.

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                         Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                         I don't think you need to "blog" at all. You can use Wordpress to create a website, rather than a blog, and that's what I'd be doing in your case.
                         
                         You will need to create content and it does have to be about wood turning, but I wouldn't be creating blog posts.  I'd be creating longer articles, more like Hubs.
                         
                         If you check out my belly dance website (www.bellydanceoz.com), I've used blog posts to create the dancer profiles and pages to create the shop.  It's not really obvious that the dancer profiles are blog posts (in fact if I could figure out how to remove the date without breaking the theme, you would never know!)
                         
                         Marisa
                         
                         PS  I absolutely agree that if you want to sell your own products, you must have your own domain.  People are anxious about buying online - you need to look like a genuine, established business to make sales.  Another reason why you should be creating a "website" look rather than a "blog" look, which could look more amateurish.

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                            Eric Graudinsposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                            Would you like to give some reasons why?
                            
                            
                            
                            Hi Marisa,
                            
                            See my post at http://hubpages.com/forum/topic/19062#post297528
                            This contains a link to a great free tutorial that will show you how to modify wordpress templates. And you'll be able to remove the date
                            cheers, Eric G.

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                            1. 85

                               Marisa Wrightposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                               I wish, Eric.  I have seen that link before and I also looked on the Wordpress site (which is great, nice plain English and easy to understand, even for me).  I found the relevant code and it looked perfectly straightforward - all I had to do was delete it.
                               
                               Unfortunately it wasn't as straightforward as I thought!  I think it has something to do with the fact the theme has pretty formatted dates rather than ordinary ones.  Whatever, I've tried every way I can think of, but the best I've been able to do is remove the year. Anything else breaks my theme.

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                         sunforgedposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                         Budget - 10 bucks max a year for domain
                         Hosting- 5-15/month
                         Sweat Equity ( research, learn, build yourself)
                         or Hire a designer (200-500 can get a decent site of what u explained)
                         
                         Lose the idea of Blog - think Content management System
                         
                         Use the e-commerce plug in to create products - this automatically creates your pages for you.
                         
                         For the "blogging" aspect you can write articles and reviews about your products and within your niche to attract traffic.
                         
                         These will appear on a  different page than your store
                         
                         If you really want to build an online business, You have a lot of research to do!

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    livewithrichardposted 15 years ago

    If you're out to make money then you should focus on one niche idea and only blog about that niche.  Start with a hobby of yours or something that you have a real passion for.  By doing that you will always have material to pull from and add content. 
    
    Say for example that you love going out to eat and love to cook, you could create a blog that focuses on reviewing local or popular restaurants then giving recipe ideas for the meals you enjoyed there.  You could monetize your site by getting those restaurants to advertise on your blog, of course that will have to wait until you have some traffic to make it worth their while. But you can add an Amazon store to your wordpress blog and direct traffic to it.  <shameless self promotion> I wrote a hub on how to add the Amazon store and it's not hard.
    
    The point is, don't just start a blog and hope to make money from it.  Make a plan that is profitable and then blog about your plan.

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    Jane@CMposted 15 years ago

    We are doing a lot of research.  This isn't something that we plan to launch anytime soon.  First, we need a strong inventory
    
    Thanks so much for all of your comments.
    
    I'll continue to blog & Hub & research, research!

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       lrohnerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

       Jane, Hopefully you won't use Wordpress for your website. I would look into Joomla or some other CMS for that. I think that having a blog supplement your website is a great idea -- as long as the information provided is useful rather than salesy. I've dne that with websites and the results have been very good.

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          Jane@CMposted 15 years agoin reply to this

          No, I'm not going to use Wordpress for the website, I'd use it to blog on, but since I can't get ad sense on the .com side of it, I'll stick to blogger for now. 
          
          I just sent you an email

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