Need Help With Link Structure For Static Blog?

by Evita
3 replies
How should I set up the link structure for a static blog?

I'll probably have 60-100 pages or so, in maybe 6-8 categories. I'd prefer the blog to
not look like a blog, but am uncertain how to set up the links. (Are there any good plugins for this?)

IOW, if I have a category for "Homemade Catfood" that has 15 static pages, should clicking on the category lead to a page with links to all the homemade catfood pages?

I'm thinking that listing all the pages on the homepage will make for a very looong home page if I have 60-100 pages? Or??

I'm a new blogger so hopefully this is really obvious for you experienced people....

Thanks,

Evita
#blog #link #static #structure
  • This is one area where I actually do have a little experience...

    A few things:

    1) Why not make it "look like a blog?" People love blogs. Blogs are less intimidating than commercial sites that look like stores. In your niche, I would guess people would be likely to trust a blogger. Plus, a blog lets you update whenever you want, and search engines love that. If you want the site to be "static," just don't allow comments and use aggressive page caching. That will take a huge load off your server, too.

    You don't need to make your product pages look like a blog, but you certainly could use a blog to drive traffic there.

    2) Linking is incredibly important. I use text links in my blog posts for everything -- linking to affiliate products, my own products, other blog posts, informational resources. Spiders love links, and surfers trust them if they're relevant to the blog content.

    3) Use a sitemap and prioritize your main page and product page more highly than your blog pages. Your main page doesn't have to look anything like a blog, but it should definitely link to your blog and a link to your products.

    4) Categories are there for a reason -- to organize things and make things easy to find. Once your taxonomy is set up, don't link to your pages from your home page, link to your categories. When you do that, people clicking on the categories will get a list of all pages tagged with that category. Search engines also love tags because they're, by nature, relevant links.

    I have a site that works kind of as described above. It doesn't get a ton of traffic, but it generates some income. It "looks like a blog," but I could make it look much different with a few mouse clicks. The site gets good action from the search engines even though it has almost no incoming links. Almost all my traffic comes from search. In your niche, I bet you could absolutely rock the search engines with very little effort.

    CharlieHipHop | music and musings

    Good luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author Marie Pugh
      Hi Evita

      You can use a plugin which will allow you to have parent pages showing up on the main page, and then fold the other pages so they only show up when the person clicks on the parent page.

      You can get it at Navy Road Folding Pages Widget

      So, you could have your main page be called "Homemade catfood" Then, under that page, you set each page after that as the child page when you write it, and it will only show up when they click on the title for "Homemade catfood".

      I use it for a lot of sites where I am making them static sites. Very easy to use, and makes the navigation a bit easier. You can look at my writing site in my sig to see how it works. You need to click on the portfolio link, then you will see the list of articles drop down from the page.

      Hope this helps.

      Marie
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  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    I generally like to link to the MAIN areas on the homepage, and then the latest new topics. For a new site I prefer not to have more than about 20 links overall to internal pages, but as it grows, I don't mind having more so long as it makes sense and is easy to navigate.
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    It is okay to contact me! I have been developing software since 1999, creating many popular products like phpLD.
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