May 30, 2008
Is WordPress REALLY All That?
I have a lot of people ask what type of system, editor, builder, etc. they should use to build their websites. It’s really tough to give a one-size fits all answer to that question. It depends on your own skill set and very importantly, the purpose of your website.
Regardless, I have noticed a lot of people giving the blanket advice, “Just go with Wordpress. You won’t regret it.”
Yes, WordPress is Powerful and Very Functional
I agree that WordPress is highly functional and can be a great solution for many purposes. It is not simply a blogging platform…it is a very powerful content management system. In fact, it’s what we use at Schmoozins.com and although some may recognize the theme used, most wouldn’t know we used WordPress to create it.
That’s one of the many reasons WordPress rocks.
You can make WordPress do just about anything you want - as long as you know what you’re doing and that’s the issue here.
If you want to use WordPress - especially for anything other than a blog, you DO need to have some technical skills and know-how or have a techy on hand to do it for you…otherwise, you may very well be doing damage to your marketing efforts and sacrificing profitability.
(By the way, customizing your blog, writing content and updating your WordPress blog is something we can do at Outsourcing Sweetie in our Platinum Membership)
There Are Many Things to Consider before Jumping in Head First
I see a lot of people taking older sites and moving them to WordPress en masse, but consider a few things…
If you have a product-based or service-based website, throwing a theme on WordPress and letting it roll is probably not in the best interest of your business as your site is not structured to guide people into the sale. WordPress, by it’s nature, includes a lot of distracting links and features that you need to be able to control on a page per page, section to section basis. In addition to the distractions, there are still more finite details you want have control over, but if you don’t know how to modify what happens in the background of WordPress, you lose control over your whole marketing process.
Content Management Systems Drove Me Nuts, But WordPress Has Some Saving Graces
I have tried a lot of content management systems and have always felt stifled by their limitations, even with the help of a programmer. That’s why I’ve largely worked with static sites because even though you may spend more time developing the site, you have easy and complete control over everything. But I have to admit, WordPress impresses me in that I can get it to do MOST of what I want (in my case, with the help of a programmer cuz I ain’t doin’ it myslef).
In fact, I’m in the process of doing a huge overhaul to Internet Marketing Sweetie where most of the site will be put into WordPress. However, it will be highly-customized, navigation will be structured with marketing ends in mind and all kinds of other tweaks with be implemented. And even after all that, my sales pages will always remain static pages OUTSIDE of WordPress, because I will not give up any control when it comes to actual selling of a product.
If You’re Thinking of Moving
If you’re thinking of moving an existing website to WordPress, ensure you redirect all your old pages to their new location. I’ve seen so many people complain that their traffic and sales went down after a move to WordPress, but they didn’t take the steps necessary to ensure that visitors didn’t get lost following old links and hopefully you can retain your search engine rankings. For search engine purposes, a 301 redirect is recommended and you might want to listen to this podcast archive for tips on WordPress and search engines.
I’m Picky, but for Good Reason
When getting ready to use WordPress on any website, I am ultra-picky in how I want things laid out (as Lynette can attest to - I’m sure I drive her crazy). It’s not just because I’m a control freak, but because I want to have complete control of my visitor’s experience and help ensure I get the results I want on each and every page of my website.
Now, I can’t really give a checklist of the what I change because it absolutely varies depending on what I want to get out of a site, a particular site section or a particular page, but to give you some idea about how picky this can get, here’s just a partial laundry list of modifications I’ve insisted on (again, depending on the precise requirements):
1. Removal of dates on posts. For a frequently updated blog, I’d keep the date. But if I’m using WP as a general content management system with evergreen content, I’d remove the dates.
2. Creation of Categories with a different template and not listed in the main categories. For example, we just added a press release/media section to a website, but it needed to be very separate from the rest of the site because the media has different needs than a general website visitor. They want to see previous press releases, get company info and need an RSS/email option for company news only.
3. Wording on links. I change these all the time.
Example - Instead of using the default “No Comments” when nobody has left a comment, why not have a call to action instead? For example, “Leave a comment” or “Be the first to leave a comment”.
Example - If you have a review site, dosn’t it make more sense to have the “Previous Posts” link read “More Reviews” or something like that?
There are so many nit-picky possibilities that you can try to get more clickthroughs and action.
4. Static Information on Your Category Pages: By default, WordPress just posts your content to a category and the top of the category page is the latest post. Instead you might want to include a strategically formatted category description, product promo and/or mailing list offer.
5. Page Headlines & Incoming Links That Differ. On my Administrative-type pages it always drives me crazy that the title/headline I put on the page matches the incoming link to that page. So, if I wanted my affiliate sign up page to have a simple incoming link that said “Affiliates” I was limited to using that as my title for the pge. But you can actually set up templates that won’t show the title of the article on the page and you can put your own headline in the body of the page. That way, I can have a boring administrative link to the page, but the page itself can have an attention-getting headline.
6. Removal of Ads, Comments, etc. from Certain Categories. Some categories just don’t need commentary or to display advertising. You want to be able to remove that from specific pages, categories, etc. where appropriate.
Like I said, those are just a handful of changes I couldn’t manage on my own, but there are very sound marketing reasons to have those changes.
What All This Yammering Means to You
Well, honestly I don’t know what it means to you…it depends on what you hope to get out of your website.
WordPress really is a terrific tool, but is it meant for a beginner blogger/content site owner who isn’t willing to recruit some help in customization? As far as I’m concerned…no.
Is it meant for product-based or service-based websites? As far as I’m concerned…no way…unless you get some heavy customization.
If you’re going to use WordPress and you’re technically-inclined, than it’s probably right up your alley. If you’re techno-challenged like me, get some help to set it up right. And when I say get the help, I don’t mean you need to hire someone full-time to work on your site all the time. Just ensure you get things customized and functioning for your unique business. But do consider that this is a script on your server and it will require occasional updating.
(By the way, if you’re looking for suggestions based on the type of site you’re creating, I’ll be back - hopefully this weekend - with some more guidance on what tools typically work best for which job)
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Hi, found this post from Twitter. I have to disagree with you. I am using wordpress on my site and it is very functional and not “blog” looking. The key is to find (or purchase) a theme designed to present your information or product in a manner that is most in conducive to what you are trying to accomplish. Let me know what you think.
Hi Annabelle. My post was long (I felt like I rambled and had trouble getting my thoughts together to illustrate my point), so I understand if you didn’t read it the whole way through.
I don’t think we necessarily disagree, but I’m asking people to take it further best results. There are all kinds of themes that can be used for different purposes, but taking any theme out-of-the-box is likely still leaving money on the table.
For your site, for example - here’s a tiny nit-picky detail. You don’t allow comments on some (or possibly all of your posts). That probably makes sense for your type of site.
But at the bottom of your pages it says:
“Comments are closed.”
I would have my programmer (or if do it myself if I knew how!) remove that. It’s not necessary and might make visitors wonder why it’s there, why you don’t want comments, etc. It’s a distraction and a statement that is not needed on your pages.
Yes, that’s just one little thing, but little things can add up to big things…and creating a site that appears and functions exactly as it should can be very valuable indeed.
EDITED TO ADD: Just noticed something else. The theme has links that aren’t underlined which might make them less noticeable and not as likely to be clicked by your visitor. I like my links to be clicked, so I’d make them as recognizable as possible.
I’m not picking on you or your site, as I’m sure you understand, but if we look - there are always things we can do to potentially boost our results.
I read the post the whole way through, but perhaps misunderstood your meaning. I REALLY appreciate the suggestions.
It never occurred to me to remove the ‘comments are closed” text. I think I can figure out how to do it, so I am glad you mentioned it.
I have never read about the importance of underlined hyperlinks. I hear frequently that they should be blue, but no mentioned that it would be more effective to underline them as well. I will make that change.
I thank you again for the advice.
Take care,
Annabelle
Hey again, Annabelle…Of course, those are just suggestions that you may not see the need to implement. On the comment text, there probably is no reason to have it and removing it will just take a moment. For the underlines, I think that could make a diffence too as it is what our eyes have been trained to see as a link (underlined and blue - and out of those two, I believe the underline is more important than the color). I personally try not to mess with a proven formula.
By the way, I edited my post where I said maybe you didn’t read all the way. I didn’t want it to sound rude, but to acknowledge I may have rambled. I did have trouble putting my thoughts together because every site is different and has different needs.
It sounds like you are able to do more back end stuff with WordPress than I can…and most people can…so you’re ahead of many of us. That’s why I encourage non-technical people to be ready to enlist some help. Some of us couldn’t install a theme if our lives depended on it…embarrassingly enough.
In reading this post I said to myself… “Finally someone understands”. Alice you bring up some very important points. I too have a lot of good things to say about WordPress (I use to use it), but WordPress is not an “out-box” tool. In fact in my book there is no such thing. You think your picky… I am a programmer and web developer, and far to often I see sites go up with little to no attention paid to the details that can make or break their efforts. Tools like WordPress should be treated as your foundation, and should be built up to your standards and goals. Alice you are right, the technical side can be challenging and not recommend for beginners. It would be wise to get some help, at least until your comfortable going solo. It would save you a lot of headaches.
P.S. Since your mentioned CMS foundations, what are your thoughts on other Content Management Systems, like Mambo, Joomla, etc? Your response can be made off-line. Great post by the way.
Robert Mesa
SiliconPost.Com
Excellent post Alice. I was overjoyed at discovering WordPress last June when I started out and quickly dumped my Dreamweaver designed site that kept me up nights for weeks on end (I did it myself - looked pretty but took forever to do because I’m not a designer).
I do, however, agree that depending on the objective of the site Wordpress out of the box isn’t always appropriate. When I launched my writing services site last December I wasn’t about to struggle with setting up the site myself. Instead hired a designer to customize Wordpress for my writing business (sharonwrites.com). For my blog I decided to purchase one of Brian Gardner’s sharp templates. Still I didn’t have the expertise to customize that so I outsourced.
Even with that initial outsourcing, I still have a running list of all the changes I need to have made to both sites to address changing/evolving marketing strategies, just as you point out. I think having a designer handy who knows your site and business objectives is invaluable. Looking forward to seeing what you do with the Internet Marketing Sweetie site.
Hi Alice… great post! I resisted WordPress for a LONG time, but upon discovering the Revolution themes, finally jumped in.
I agree that the standard WordPress theme is probably not a good idea for a service based business, but a highly customized theme - such as Revolution Pro Business - makes a very professional looking website for service businesses.
I am in the process of switching my financial planning website to WordPress using the Revolution Pro Business theme now and am very happy with the look and the ability to update/customize it myself!
Can’t wait to see what you do with the IM Sweetie site!
Kristine - our sites may look very similar then. That’s my upcoming theme too.
Robert, my experience is limited with most as I grew frustrated trying. I do have Mambo on this domain and although I like some things about it, I don’t think I had the programmer on hand who knew it inside and out so I could do exactly what I wanted.
This is awesome Alice, you just gave me a neat list of things I’d like to change…or rather have changed like you
I was a true “theme-aholic”, never really satisfied and too non-techy to do anything about it.
Finally I found a (trustworthy) designer…dissected about 30 themes I liked lol, and had her create ONE I was/am very happy with.
Trust me folks, if you can find that person or people that know their stuff and trustworthy to actually do it…be good to them
Alice,
Great post! I LOVE wordpress. Since I had zero clue as to how to use Wordpress, Michelle Waters actually put together the Wahmcart (wordpress site) for us a while back. Since then I’ve done my own wordpress sites as well as a few others for clients. It’s a great content management solution and I do agree with you when it comes to product delivery… not so ‘friendly’ would be the word? Still, we’ve worked around that so far.
We also purchased one of the Revolutionary Themes for the new site coming soon. I’m excited about all the possibilities with wordpress… I’ve just about got all my sites switched.
Look forward to your tool recommendations. Thanks again.
Thanks for the feed-back Alice. I am a big advocate for Content Management Systems. Although on occassion I do have a need for a simple static page. The CMS that I use is Joomla (which can use both static and active pages). I switched from WordPress to Joomla and found Joomla to be the most versitle CMS, and like WordPress it’s open source (A techie thing). If any reader is interested visit my Web Studio, it’s a Joomla based foundation with my customization. Sorry I do not mean to be selling, just expressing a thought on: “You should build up, on the foundation you choose”. Out of box is not enough!
Thanks again,
Robert Mesa
I love Wordpress too but as you said, there’s more to the story.
I won’t be moving my sites that earn most of their income from AdSense, because if I do, my income would drop significantly… obviously I don’t want that!
That’s just one thing.
Awesome post! Very timely for me.
#3 is something I think about frequently but never seem to remember to actually change. I just switched to a new theme today for my personal blog and it killed me that I couldn’t mess with the code right away since I had other things to do first.
I can never leave it “out of the box” - not just because of functionality, but also because I like to be unique. Even if I choose a free template, I don’t want it to look exactly like everyone else’s who have chosen the same template.
Hi Alice,
I haven’t been by in awhile, but saw this post and thought I would comment.
I have been considering switching one of my sites and possibly my blog to wordpress. I use a php CMS right now and wonder if it is easy to change over to wordpress from a php site? I use blogger for my blog. Will they require a lot of technical changes or is it fairly easy to copy your code into wordpress? If it is more technical than I can expect who do you recommend to assist with this at a reasonable rate?
Hi Patty, if you’re already using the CMS, the move is a little less complicated as generally the posts can be imported. I moved from Blogger and my programmer also was able to important to WP, but there were things to fix along the way.
As far as HOW easy it is, I don’t know as I didn’t do the work and wouldn’t dream of trying it.
Unfortunately, the two programmers I have on hand aren’t taking new clients (except we do take people into Platinum which more than you need for this job - and we’re full right now).
Have a look at Kelly McCausey’s FreshNets - they move people to WordPress all the time.
Great post, Alice! I especially love the list of possible things to change. Like the suggestion to change the wording of the “no comments” links - i’ve been looking for a way to “advertise” my Comment Incentive Art without going so far as to add an extra line about it to every post. Changing “no comments” to read something like “leave a comment to get a freebie” is so obvious, it hurts to think it didn’t occur to me sooner…
Patty, i used to use Blogger, too, before i switched to WordPress - importing an old blog into WP is pretty much built in and no trouble at all. Back then there was a bug which meant Blogger users had to import to a WordPress.com account first, but that was a while ago, i think it’s fixed now.
Thanks for the great post. I agree that you need to be a little “techy” to use everything that Wordpress has to offer. It is definitely a great blogging platform and if you do learn a little, it is wonderful for so many other things. Thanks again!!
Cheers.