WordPress VS Websites

WordPress VS static websites? Is there a difference?More websites are now using WordPress.

When it comes to blogging, for some reason people are really confused. I spoke with two different people yesterday about the differences between a blog and a website. They can be both. Many times they are implemented as a Website.

However, one person did not realize her site was on a WordPress platform. Another person, was moving her website over to a WordPress or blogging platform and then she was going to add a blog to it? Because of the confusion, it prompted me to write about this topic.

Let’s delve into what the differences are:

WordPress is a open source or platform in which you create your content for your blog. You have access to the back end to make changes, via a wysiwyg. “What you see is what you get” either in HTML or Visual format.

A traditional website is written in HTML or hyperlink language; then adding pages; pictures maybe some flash and the like, to create website. It is not user friendly, unless you know how to code. Most people don’t. A client who has a website, cannot usually just go and make text changes when they want to, it requires someone to do it for them. Most websites of this kind are considered static. There isn’t an opportunity to engage, in other words you can’t leave a question or comment.

Over the years, people have become unhappy with every time they want to change or edit some text it would cost them 100’s of dollars. The blogging movement has grown into the now most requested way to have a presence online. It’s not just for hobbyists.

In The Beginning:

WordPress started in 2003 with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing and with fewer users than you can count on your fingers and toes. Since then it has grown to be the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on millions of sites and seen by tens of millions of people every day.

Everything you see here, from the documentation to the code itself, was created by and for the community. WordPress is an Open Source project, which means there are hundreds of people all over the world working on it.

What You Can Use WordPress For:

WordPress started as just a blogging systems, but has evolved to be used as full content management system and so much more through the thousands of plugins, widgets, and themes, WordPress is limited only by your imagination. And tech chops, if you are savvy enough.

Some key features are:

• No rebuilding – you can make changes to your templates or content that shows up immediately on your site without a web designer to make changes for you **

• Plugins that give your site more functionality, (only available with hosted URL’s)

• You are able to use your own URL – which is means: Uniform Relocator Location or in plain language your own Website address. It’s time to brand yourself, register your own name before someone else does and tries to sell it to you.

• Pages allows you to have a static page or welcome page to your blog/website; Contact us page; About your services or products; or add a paypal page for shopping

• Links allow you to cross promote with your buddies or JV’s, share resources

• Cross-blog communications, WordPress fully supports Trackback and Pingbacks

• Comments you enable or disable comments to your blog

• Spam protection, has very robust tools to help you keep spam out

• Full user registration, you can have people to register with you to leave comments.

• Easy to install, upgrades are given with one click..

What can you use a Blog for?

Building your Brand
Community or Association sites
Corporate or Company site
Offering e-commerce
A forum to have discussions on
Sharing your videos
Personal
Public relations
Membership sites
Journalism

The differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com

On wordpress.org you can download and install a software script called WordPress. To do this you need a webhost provider like Dreamweaver or Greengeeks who meets the minimum requirements and a little time, for the DIY’ers.

WordPress.com
Which lets you get started with a new and free WordPress-based blog in seconds, but varies in several ways and is less flexible than the WordPress you download and install yourself.

I would highly recommend that you further investigate and educate yourself about WordPress at http://wordpress.org. Check out the other platforms as well. They may work well for you. Personally, I am already sold on WordPress. Why? Because it is open source there are wordcamps, improvements and upgrades. Just ask the boys..

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