Do you have a blog?

1. 71

   jenblacksheepposted 13 years ago

   I was just curious about how many of you all have blogs outside of hubpages and what the sites are? Do you make money from them like hubpages? Is hubpages where you do the majority of your writing or is hubpages secondary to something else?
   
   I'm trying to decide whether starting one would be beneficial for me.

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      rebekahELLEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I do, and I haven't spent much time on it lately. it needs a revamp and I'm still deciding if I want to add ads. it's more a creative writing blog, not sure I want ads on it. I would love to hear others who do have ads on creative writing blogs.

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   2. 85

      rebekahELLEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      jenblack, I think we better get busy.
      
      misha, I'm impressed, very nice. love the squidoo bag blogs.
      
      I want to change my theme on wordpress. I saw a few I really liked girly, but would have to go back to the site to see the names. maybe tomorrow.

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      Drew Breezzyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes I have some blogs. They are fairly new so not much success.

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   4. 69

      JulietduPreezposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Hey, yes I have a blog - links on my profile I think.
      A blog can be fun, but depends how much time you want to put into writing. (and how fast a writer you are)

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   5. 0

      Scott.Lifeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I write articles on Blogspot just like I do here, although you really couldn,t call it a blog.I definitely get a ton more hits here on Hubpages but when you consider how much of it is interior traffic and how few of them ever click an ad, I actually make more money on blogspot and for some reason Google seems to find my articles quicker there as well, could have something to do with the fact that Google owns it maybe?

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   6. 64

      Lady_Eposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I have 2 Websites outside HP with Adsense on. I think it will be beneficial to you. You could maybe test the waters with a Free Website.

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   7. 60

      Denny Lyonposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, have a pack of blogs.  Started with one (The Social Poets) and as it grew started branching off into different themes and interests to keep the original blog from becoming too confusing to people. 
      
      Started the blog originally to park my HubPages writes and other poems, favorite art photos and quotes.  Where you begin is rarely where you end up!  The blogs have all gone off in different directions than I anticipated. 
      
      I've learned more about finding and inserting code for various gadgets and widgets on the blogs, linking posts to various good search engines and social sites, using Google Analytics to observe the blogs' performance levels, picked up over a thousand subscribers total among the various blogs along the way and more.  Also, have doubled my readership for HubPages and posts.  It has slowed down the publishing of new hubs as my time is drawn away to post on 12 blogs almost daily.
      
      It's been great fun and I highly recommend it!  The original blog is almost a year old now and has gained to page two rank on Google even without embedding metatags yet (have got to stop long enough to do the obvious).

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2. 67

   Ivorwenposted 13 years ago

   I have several, for different purposes and types of writing. 
   One, that I have maintained for over a year now, gets steady amounts of traffic.  However, I find that my articles on Hubpages of similar content get more traffic. 
   
   There are things I put on hubpages that would not fit on any of my blogs and there are things on my blogs that don't belong here, IMO.

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3. 64

   Mishaposted 13 years ago

   Sure you will benefit. If you are serious of making money on the Internet, you will have a plenty of blogs and other sites.

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   1. 85

      rebekahELLEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      misha, what kind of blogs do you have?

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4. 64

   Mishaposted 13 years ago

   I guess all kinds you can name

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      rebekahELLEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I'll take a look at your profile page, are they listed?

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5. 88

   Marisa Wrightposted 13 years ago

   I have two main websites and a couple more in development.  I've used blog software (Wordpress) to set them up, but I wouldn't call them blogs exactly, in that I don't constantly add new posts.  and yes, I do make money from them.

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6. 64

   Mishaposted 13 years ago

   Just a couple of them, which are done on the blog platform but technically are not blogs because they are not updated periodically.

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7. 0

   girly_girl09posted 13 years ago

   I just started a new one with wordpress. I had a theme that I liked, but yesterday the adsense ads started disappearing from it and displaying PSAs....so I freaked and disabled adsense on that blog and changed the theme.
   
   Anyone have any adsense ready install wordpress themes that are proven useful for SEO and earnings?

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   1. 0

      Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      girly_girl09 why the freak out over PSAs? Sometimes google does this because there aren't any advertisers available or because something isn't working on their end. Then the ads come back.
      
      I don't see why changing the theme was necessary. If your content is good and you aren't breaking any of the rules, just relax.
      
      To learn about SEO and blogs I like yoast dot com. Great stuff if you're using wordpress.

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8. 64

   Mishaposted 13 years ago

   Pros use semiologic

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   1. 88

      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Mark Knowles uses it, I didn't know you did too.  What's the big advantage?
      [edit) don't worry, I just found the answer.
      http://markpknowles.com/how-to-make-money-blogging/

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      1. 64

         Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         He uses a paid version. I, being cheap, still use a free one.
         
         Several years ago when I started with wordpress, semiologic was hands down the best and allowed to do a lot of things SEO- and design- wise, basically converting WP from a pure blog platform into CMS. Modern versions of wordpress can do most of that stuff out of the box, but I am being very inert - or is it conservative?

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         1. 59

            hinckles komaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            iam listening, that's a good topic.

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         2. 0

            girly_girl09posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            How do you use it for free? The $295 drove me away... hahha I hate paying 8.95 a month for hosting, as it is! Especially since I'm not seeing any income yet. (For some reason google was displaying PSAs, even though I had great targeted ads for about a week). Being paranoid about my account, I quickly deactivated that theme and adsense widgets on my blog. Now, I'm getting traffic but not earning. So, I feel a sense of urgency to re-introduce some ads on there with a new theme!

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            1. 64

               Mishaposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I think they discontinued a free version a while ago. But i got it way before that.
               
               As for adsense - I think it's unlikely it has anything to do with your theme, could be just a general lack of advertisers. I wouldn't panic. What you could do is to use <!-- google_ad_section_start --> <!-- google_ad_section_end --> brackets to enclose your text, this will make ads better targeted.

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            2. 73

               sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               heres the free version of semiologic -
               
               http://www.semiologic.com/software/sem-reloaded/
               
               I suggest Ataluahapa as the best free theme
               
               Thesis is my pick for best paid theme (also has an amazing support forum)
               
               but of course your theme is not effecting your adsense targetting anyway

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                  cosetteposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  wow.
                  
                  you're really knowledgable! i have been thinking about activating my wordpress blog for my hubpages stuff and now i will. thanks so much!

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               2. 85

                  rebekahELLEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  is Ataluahapa a wordpress theme? I bet you talk fast, don't you?

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                  1. 73

                     sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Ataluahapa is a wordpress theme, as far as free goes, I would say its THE wordpress theme..but that is because it is amazingly customizable, so expect at least a week of learning how to make it yours, if you just want to start writing it isnt necessarily required.
                     
                     download, demo and support forums
                     http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/atahualpa
                     
                     
                     eric graudins of hubpages uses it on one of his sites
                     
                     http://theinternetbloke.com/
                     
                     
                     and just to show how different it can be here is just another random site using the same theme (would you have known?)
                     
                     http://www.bfmcmillen.com/?p=644
                     
                     and yes, i do talk alittle to fast

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                     1. 85

                        rebekahELLEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        thanks sunforged. I just took a look at both atahualpa sites and, no, I would not have been able to tell they were the same theme.  I've spent the last couple hours looking at other blogs, Mark Knowles blogs which are amazing, and reading some info hubs here. 
                        
                        so, if I want to change the wordpress theme of my current site, how do I do that?  (don't laugh... )  I don't want to lose the content.

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                        1. 58

                           greennicheposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           You can consider a theme as just a skin - your page and post content will not be effected simply by placing another skin over it.
                           
                           Sometimes your widgets (in the sidebars) will be moved or changed, but the content will not be lost.
                           
                           So content is always safe with a theme change
                           
                           To change a theme is very simple BUT we have to be on the same page, are you using a wordpress.com site? or do you have your own hosted page?
                           
                           as long as its hosted you can either use your ftp program and load the new theme folder to the folder called "theme" within your wordpress install
                           
                           you would then access your WP dashboard  http;//www.yoursite.com/wp-admin
                           
                           go to teh appearance tab - if you uploaded right you will see the new theme - click activate and you will be all set

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                           1. 85

                              rebekahELLEposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              I have my own hosted site. thank you, I thought it was this simple, but wanted to make sure. I'll play around with it later.
                              so much to learn here from so many excellent writers. thank u.

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                              1. 58

                                 greennicheposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                                 oops i didnt write the second answer which is easier
                                 
                                 go to:
                                 http://your-domain-here.com/wp-admin/theme-install.php
                                 
                                 and you can actually upload themes directly from the wordpress theme directory (as long as your Wp is updated, which it should be for security reasons)
                                 
                                 that link is from the appearance tab -> install themes

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9. 85

   rebekahELLEposted 13 years ago

   I just tried to find the themes I found the other day and now I can't find them... I have heard about black background not being the best, any opinions?

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   1. 67

      Ivorwenposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I will rarely read a blog with a dark background.  Most of the ones I have come across lean towards darker subjects, cars or depressive poetry.

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10. 64

    Mishaposted 13 years ago

    There is a reason they print books with black letters on white background.

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11. 64

    Mishaposted 13 years ago

    Thanks for the link Sunforged, I definitely can update mine

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12. 73

    sunforgedposted 13 years ago

    Looks like the link is only 6 days old!
    
    I use thesis, and I have all my normal plugins preloaded into my install, it takes me all of 5 minutes to install wordpress and another 5 to upload my pre-set customized theme folder.
    
    I do this at least 3-4 times a week, does Semiologic make this even easier for me? considering I have already taken the time to create my own ultimate base install?

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    1. 58

       Mark Knowlesposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       The best thing about semio is the ad widget contexts. I can have one set of ads on individual posts or pages and another ad elsewhere. This is useful for me as I also sell banner ads.
       
       I am working on combining that with google admanager. That is proving more complex than I anticipated - but will eventually give me complete control through one interface.
       
       I hope lol

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       1. 73

          sunforgedposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          I use teh advertsng manager plugin, Im pretty sure it has the same level of control, but, and this is a big but, I have to configure every new install. I could see how helpful that could be, but then again, my ad services are pretty specifc to each niche/site
          
          if you havent heard of this
          http://www.mbpninjaaffiliate.com/
          
          its pretty amazing - that link is a sales page, i have a free version somehow, maybe its pirated, i dont really remmeber, but I would buy it
          
          It allows you to create your own contextual links (i,e,) everytime u use the word host it could be hotlinked to hostgator link etc.
          
          also has tracking for all your links, helps me figure out who is shaving me the  most
          
          cms = content management system

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13. 83

    SweetiePieposted 13 years ago

    I have really been getting into trying different blogs lately, and some are just on spontaneous topics.  Great writer's block when you really do not know what to write about!

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14. 58

    Mark Knowlesposted 13 years ago

    One of the reasons I started using semiologic was the things it could do with ad placements. At the time - it meant getting into the template and I found I was wasting so much time messing around trying to get the "look" right.
    
    Now I probably have 60 or so income blogs - and am setting more up all the time. With semio I can get them set up the way I want in about 10 minutes. Plus they are all the same on the inside.
    
    But thesis is good also and nowhere near as expensive.

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    1. 60

       r2moo2posted 13 years agoin reply to this

       How on earth do you maintain 60 blogs?!?! Hiring ghost writers or articles may make it possible, but to supervise the posting, emails and such, doesn't it require a tremendous amount of time?

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          Nelle Hoxieposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          I have probably that many or more. I'd have to check my records. I don't hire ghost writers, I just write all day long, about everything. It just requires a lot of discipline and organization.

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15. 0

    TMinutposted 13 years ago

    I figured out that PSA = public service announcements or ads, I know SEO, but what is CMS?

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16. 58

    Mark Knowlesposted 13 years ago

    Content Management System

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17. 59

    RDIndiaposted 13 years ago

    I have several blog but have not used many of them for earnings yet a few of them have Google adsense and gave me enough. But all depends upon the traffic and popularity of your blog.

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18. 58

    Mark Knowlesposted 13 years ago

    That looks interesting. I am getting more into affiliate sales so I will look at that. I have found that some plugins do not work with semio though.
    
    The semio ad context widget is good to go out of the box. And of course - they were doing one click updates way before wordpress was.
    
    The 295 is a one time thing and then about 90 a year I think - and I have got my money back many times over. Once you get used to it, you can have a blog set up looking totally the way you want with ads where you want in about 10 minutes flat.
    
    Plus there is now quite a lot of CSS through the back end so you can really go to town if you want. I spent waaaaay too much time messing about with wordpress when I first started,. I mean - who cares what it looks like. If you want adsense clicks - the more boring the better. lol

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19. 76

    AEvansposted 13 years ago

    I certainly do and make money from them too! My recommendation is get your feet wet and spread your wings.

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    1. 68

       emievilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Great advice AEvans (lovely avatar, too). Thinking about putting  a blog up before Christmas. Must get cracking. Lots of things I don't know and so little time to know them .

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20. 71

    jenblacksheepposted 13 years ago

    Wow, that all seems a lot more complicated than i imagined when i started this thread. Does anyone have a hub about how to go about creating a blog, or feel like writing a 'blogging for dummies' hub??? I know you can't post the link, but if u tell me you have one then i'll find it.

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    1. 93

       Susana Sposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Isabella Snow has a whole series of hubs written on the basics of blogging - I found them helpful
       
       I now have one blog I started a few weeks ago - I also have two websites. My older website makes money and I'm working on promoting my new one at the mo.

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21. 61

    Lisa HWposted 13 years ago

    jen, if you just want to get started and get a general feel for it I think Blogger is a good one, because it's easy and because you can play around with the color schemes.  You can always add pictures.
    
    I have a bunch of them that I started as a kind of "two-phase" thing; with the first phase just being to get some things I've written onto them (because I wanted a lot of my casual writing categorized into themes) and the second phase (not there yet) to make them more like blogs (rather than "writing storage units").  I do have ads on them.  Google lets you select the kind/color of ads; so it's easy to have ads on them.  They aren't really what blogs are "supposed to be"; but then I once read how these days blogs can be whatever anyone wants them to be.  Mine are more "supplemental" things, and I don't do much in terms of promoting them (mostly because they're so undeveloped).  Anyway, if you want to see what you can do with colors on a basic Blogger theme you can find my blogs through my profile.

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    r2moo2posted 13 years ago

    I have a blog, and only earning just a little from Adsense.
    
    However planning to develop it as much as possible.
    
    Using Wordpress as my blog.
    
    Hope to be financial independent through my endeavors though.

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23. 67

    torimariposted 13 years ago

    I have a blog on blogger. I usually write occasional blogs that promote my articles, but I'm thinking I could manage writing on it everyday. Maybe that would draw in more folks...and than sprinkle my hubs throughout it.
    
    It looks pretty nice though, especially with my articles and a preview picture...really makes it pop. If only I had the patience to script and customize it. Hehe.
    
    I get 0 traffic from it though.

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    1. 48

       HealthTipposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I find www.pingomatic.com helps with traffic, gets my blog a lot anyway !

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24. 51

    ocbillposted 13 years ago

    Yes, I do. Make your blog interactive so people can not just read but also comment on some articles.

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25. 70

    Envoyposted 13 years ago

    I have a blog on blogger (it's on my profile) I have had it for a few years it is my hobby & I have a lot of fun doing it. Surprisingly & unintentionally (at the time) I have made money off of my blog & now HP as well. I love them both.
    I like blogger because  you can use templates for your blog & it is as simple as cut & paste. I can change the look of my blog in minutes. The widgets have to be placed back on your layout page when you change the template but other than that it is really easy. For me easy is what I need I just don't have the time to learn much html or java nor do I wish too lol. HP is as easy to use if not a bit easier I like that I do not have to sit all day to figure out how to change my back ground that is depressing lol

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26. 0

    L. Andrew Marrposted 13 years ago

    Do we count facebook?

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27. 59

    anujagarwalposted 13 years ago

    I have couple of blogs and a website. I get better clicks from my website, may be due to the niche. But having a blog is really advantageous to get more traffic and also to create back-links for your hubs.

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       greennicheposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       100% correct, everybody who reads this hub should go start a blogger blog or even better get their own hosted site immediately.
       
       If your not into yet, fine, use it to write  small blurbs and create a backlink to your hubs, as you decide you want to use it more that increased age will help your rankings and will assist you greatly in getting into affiliate programs.
       
       Its better to have it sitting around doing nothing, than to decide 6 months from now that you have agreat idea for a site and have to start with a brand new site
       
       of course selecting a great domain with some forward thinking would help

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28. 0

    Crazdwriterposted 13 years ago

    I don't but hopfeully I will one day soon to promote my writing; some good advice from the conference that I ahd recieved.

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29. 60

    azraelsbaneposted 13 years ago

    I had a blog, but I shut it down because my name was all over it. Once I became an issue it wasn't an option to keep it anymore.

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30. 59

    speaseposted 13 years ago

    I have one, it works well for me.  It is about Disc golf.  I also write hubs about disc golf.  I get about 100 views per day on my blog, they see the links to the stories I put on Hub Pages for disc golf, and they come and read them.  I also do updates on the blog that keep them coming back.  I also post on a couple of forums that draw viewers to my Hubs.

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    flread45posted 13 years ago

    I have many blogs and they are the ones that generate my money:)

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32. 61

    cutedollposted 13 years ago

    I love all my blogs and it is actually fun also. Ofcourse you can make money with blogs but hubpages is a good choice.

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33. 85

    Whitney05posted 13 years ago

    I have 5 blogs and a personal website. Without hubpages, I wouldn't make a monthly payout. Blogs and website totaled, each month they bring in about $80ish. Hubpages totals MUCH more.

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    Jane@CMposted 13 years ago

    Those of you who use wordpress on your websites, do you pay for it?  I'm going through the 30 Day challenge and they offer wordpress for free through Wordpress Direct, but otherwise you have to pay for it.  My confusion in this 30DC process is I'm not sure how many WP blogs you can have with Host Gator.

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       Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Wordpress is always free.  What you pay for is your hosting.

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          Jane@CMposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Specifically in the 30 day challenge there are packages through Wordpress Direct & they give you a bronze package for free, I checked & you get 10 sites with it.  I think I'll go with wordpress.org instead of the Wordpress Direct.  If you google Wordpress Direct, you'll see what I'm talking about as far as pricing goes.  I think 30DC confused me.

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    Mark Knowlesposted 13 years ago

    You are being conned.
    
    Wordpress is free - either type.
    
    Almost any hosting service will provide as many installs as you wish - for free - hostgator, bluehost and godaddy will not charge a penny to install it - over and over and over.
    
    And you are far better off using wordpress.org and installing it on your own sites.

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       Jane@CMposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Thank you sir!

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    sunforgedposted 13 years ago

    any hosting that allows unlimited domains can handle unlimited WP installs...but you also need unlimited mSQL databases, which is commonly limited.
    
    mark is right all round, but when your looking at those hosting packages, make sure you check the msql database option, I think you commented on the hub that covered WP and hosting?
    
    30Dc is agreat resource for the knowledge, but they have to make money somewhere and it comes mostly from all those upsells they are sending to our email for the rest of our life

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       Jane@CMposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       They spent one whole "session" on Wordpress Direct.

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