Should I make my site a blog or static html?

I've decided to work on a single site for awhile and make it a focus. I'm wondering whether I'm better off making it a blog or a regular static site. I'm not very skilled with static sites, and I'm a little more comfortable with the idea of working on a blog (not to mention I have a Firepow membership), but what will work out better over the long-term? Does it really matter?

Thanks.

Mike

Hi Mike, I think it goes back to a purpose.

For long term of updating info to your readers, a blog is good.

Plus, I would prefer you choose something you enjoy and it is your strength.

Blog is the answer. =)

Cheers,
John

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Manuel Viloria

16 years ago

You might consider making a combination blog+static site.
Afterall, you can create folders.

Sometimes, when a webserver's SQL system goes haywire,
the WordPress-powered blog is not accessible. But the static
pages of your site can still be read by your visitors.

Kind regards,
Manuel Viloria

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jjpmarketing

16 years ago

Really if you are using Wordpress there are plugins like all-in-one seo and platinum-seo that you could use to make it very search engine friendly.

I also recommend using one called "Permalinks Moved Permanently". It will let you customize your permalinks to use something like domain.com/blog-title which is good for seo. Then you can go in and change it to be very user friendly as well. You could take something like "This really cool and amazing car post" and create a permalink like domain.com/amazing-car-post.

Then there is another side to this. You have a double edged sword. You can create the static versions of the posts, but it could either be good or bad. On one side of it, there will be double the pages for search engines to index. Then on the other side of it, search engines may ding you for duplicate content. I really don't know the true answer to that one. That will not apply if you are trying to decide on one or the other, and not both.

I would just use the SEO plugins for wordpress.

On the other hand, all wordpress does is provide a gui to create pages. So you could use that as an example for creating static pages. Just create a blog post template file and modify that file every time you want to add content. If you use an external CSS you won't have to worry too much about formatting either.

If you learn HTML, if you don't already know it, creating a static site isn't that big of a deal. But it is more of a pain to modify style. If you use a blog you can always apply a theme to update the look. If you aren't that technical, then stick with the blog.

With the Wordpress Static Page fucntion, you will be able to create a static landing page for the site, and you will also be able to create a static posts page for the site.

Thanks
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mbomb

16 years ago

Thanks for the info guys...I think I'll go with the blog

This leads me to my next question....for a niche marketing website building strategy, do you that it's better to focus on one site and building that up with as much content, links, etc as possible, or is it best to focus on a handful of smaller sites and make your income that way? I'm torn between the two approaches.

Mike

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4 replies

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jjpmarketing 16 years ago

I would opt for one site. It will be easier to manage.
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- zerofill 16 years ago
  
  Really...you can rank just as well from a site as a blog...but...take some hints from the blogs and put them into your static site. Like urls that are titles of pages or articles or .htaccess rewrite, xml sitemaps, different meta data on every page related to that page, anchors, css, and the list can go on and on...so that is why people choose blog systems. The plugins make it easy.
  
  So do you want to do it all manually? Or do you want to take the easy road? I go for the easy road on that one LOL.
  
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jhongren

16 years ago

Originally Posted by mbomb

Thanks for the info guys...I think I'll go with the blog

This leads me to my next question....for a niche marketing website building strategy, do you that it's better to focus on one site and building that up with as much content, links, etc as possible, or is it best to focus on a handful of smaller sites and make your income that way? I'm torn between the two approaches.

Mike

Hi Mike,

I would like to know what niche you have selected and what you are selling.

Different tactics for different niche.

Cheers,
John

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jjpmarketing 16 years ago

By the way, there are techniques you can use that can make a wordpress blog look identical to an actual website. A few code modifications and visitors will think it actually is a website and not a blog.
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- Stanley Tang 16 years ago
  
  With CSS, you can use a blog platform (such as Wordpress) and make it look like a static html site.
  
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  crystalq 16 years ago
  
  I would go with the static html blog.
  
  Google loves them as well, my static html wp sites do 100%
  better than my blogs do, with the static blogs you don't
  have to always update and you can focus on marketing a site.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  RebeccaL 16 years ago
  
  Im now going for the static HTML site with a blog off it for news and updates. I like full control over the template. if that doesnt bother you, then go for a static WP site with a 'blog' running off it (ie Pages for content, Posts for news)
  
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  jjpmarketing 16 years ago
  
  You could always do a static site with a page that has an rss feed to your blog posts.
  
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  Dennis Sim 16 years ago
  
  With WordPress, you can always use static page
  
  And it is much much easier to set with WordPress rather than ordinary HTML.
  
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jensrsa

16 years ago

Originally Posted by mbomb

Thanks for the info guys...I think I'll go with the blog

This leads me to my next question....for a niche marketing website building strategy, do you that it's better to focus on one site and building that up with as much content, links, etc as possible, or is it best to focus on a handful of smaller sites and make your income that way? I'm torn between the two approaches.

Mike

Well, I would focus on one site.

However, I would put up mini sites or one pagers on the other niches as well and let them lie and gather traffic and maybe get some adsense/affiliate income till I get time to work on them.

Jens

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HeySal 16 years ago

I think it depends on how much time you have to put into it or how much money you feel like putting to outsourcing. Either method works if you do them right, but blogs can be a hastle from heck when you're stretched for time and energy.
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edynas

Banned 16 years ago

Originally Posted by mbomb

Thanks for the info guys...I think I'll go with the blog

This leads me to my next question....for a niche marketing website building strategy, do you that it's better to focus on one site and building that up with as much content, links, etc as possible, or is it best to focus on a handful of smaller sites and make your income that way? I'm torn between the two approaches.

Mike

I used the small sites approach but I tend to go the other way and focus on 1 site and using that with subdirectories for each niche. It's hard to heep focus on 100+ sites while on one it would be easier.

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ali_ravians 16 years ago

Create a static site and focus on marketing. I think its really difficult to update a blog regularly.
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- mbomb 16 years ago
  
  Ok, so I can make a static site with Wordpress? Is it possible to go between a blog and a static site or are these permanent once set? Just wondering if I could keep the site as a blog during periods of high activity. Really though..I plan to create 3-5 articles per day and I'm wondering if it's best to put these on the site or to submit these to an ezine directory like ezinearticles. Any opinions?
  
  Mike
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  Simon_Sezs 16 years ago
  
  The problem with blogs is that most bloggers get so focused on writing content that they don't take the time to do all the "other" stuff that comes with getting ranked. It is kind of like that "rat on a wheel" mentality.
  
  In my opinion, blogs work well if you are trying to get readers. But really, who cares about readers if you are trying to make money, right? I have made more money from my 10 page niche related sites than I have from my blogs so I usually create blogs as axillary sites (in which I "vent") to my static money site. Works for me....
  
  Thanks
  
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VegasGreg

16 years ago

You can use Wordpress to make your site as a static site. That way it is easier to use for you. WP has a built in feature to use static pages.

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Thomas

16 years ago

Originally Posted by mbomb

Does it really matter?

Of course it matters but it depends on more than what Google & Co. think.

A big factor is your niche. On some topics, you could write reams of stuff every day.

On the other hand, if your subject is "The Mating Habits of the Jagged Hooked Arse-Worms Of The Ballyhack Boglands" (nasty buggers)... well, there's only so much you can write before you start repeating yourself!

Tommy.

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mindvalley 16 years ago

I would change your question from: blog or static site? To:

What system / platform should I use to manage my site?

The answer is WordPress. It can be used for blogs and or websites and is by far one of the easiest and best systems out there. Of course you are going to get lots of different opinions but WordPress is our tool of choice combined with Windows Live Writer.
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Should I make my site a blog or static html?

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