WP vs. Typepad vs. static sites

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I have been doing my sites with XSite Pro as regular websites. I also have some blogs on Typepad which I have pretty much ignored for a long time. Now I plan on putting a lot of effort into working on them. I never have gotten the hang of WP and I do like Typepad. Can blogs on Typepad be as effective as WP or does it really matter? Also, how about static sites versus blogs? Mainly I am into adsense and Amazon. Thanks.
#sites #static #typepad
  • Profile picture of the author Eko Ventures
    Hey Katied,

    I've never personally used Typepad, however after doing a bit of research it appears to be a subscription based platform (monthly cost)? If that's the case, I wouldn't even consider it as an option for my websites.

    I personally build nearly all my clients and my personal sites on Wordpress, regardless of the type of site. Whether it be a blog, static page, a portfolio, video/picture gallery - anything can be done with WP. It's easy to use, free, extremely versatile and has an extremely vast amount of freely available resources. With a bit of experience, you can whip up a professional looking website for nearly any purpose in a few hours.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Henderson
      Originally Posted by Yasha View Post

      I've never personally used Typepad, however after doing a bit of research it appears to be a subscription based platform (monthly cost)? If that's the case, I wouldn't even consider it as an option for my websites.
      I know that this won't suit the OPer who's affiliated with AdSense and Amazon, but TypePad do offer a slimmed-down version of their blogging service that asks no monthly subscription. It's called "TypePad Micro"...

      Free, Simple, Social, & Personal Blogs - Micro Blogging | TypePad
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by katied772 View Post

    I do like Typepad. Can blogs on Typepad be as effective as WP
    Yes, they most definitely can.

    I use TypePad in preference to Wordpress for all my main "money site" affiliate marketing niche sites.

    Originally Posted by katied772 View Post

    Also, how about static sites versus blogs?
    People say that "Google loves blogs". The reality is that Google loves "regularly updated websites" whether they're blogs or static pages. It's true, obviously, that many blogs are regularly updated, but it's that, rather than "the fact that they're blogs", that's effectively scoring them SEO points.

    That said, Wordpress's "all-in-one SEO plug-in" is, of course, popular, and it's true that there's more help, advice and information available here for Wordpress users than for TypePad users.

    I remain firmly of the opinion that TypePad is a vastly underrated, extremely good form of hosting. And tremendous value, of course. I strongly suspect that most forum posters who like to point out what they see as disadvantages of TypePad have never actually used it.

    Originally Posted by Yasha View Post

    after doing a bit of research it appears to be a subscription based platform (monthly cost)? If that's the case, I wouldn't even consider it as an option for my websites.
    You use free hosting for them, then? I can't help wondering whether we're quite comparing like with like, here? It might be a little more meaningful, perhaps, in this context, to compare the cost of a year's hosting at TypePad with that of a year's hosting at Hostgator, don't you think?
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    • Profile picture of the author Johnny12345
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      People say that "Google loves blogs". The reality is that Google loves "regularly updated websites" whether they're blogs or static pages.

      I have to agree that adding fresh content on a regular basis is probably the biggest key element to why The Big G supposedly "loves" WP.

      So I'm not sure what "type" of website you use really matters.

      If you add...

      * Fresh relevant content
      * An RSS feed (which can be done manually)
      * A site map
      * Contact/privacy/disclaimer pages
      * A proper title tag

      ... to any static site, you're probably good to go.

      John
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    • Profile picture of the author katied772
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      Yes, they most definitely can.

      I use TypePad in preference to Wordpress for all my main "money site" affiliate marketing niche sites.



      People say that "Google loves blogs". The reality is that Google loves "regularly updated websites" whether they're blogs or static pages. It's true, obviously, that many blogs are regularly updated, but it's that, rather than "the fact that they're blogs", that's effectively scoring them SEO points.

      That said, Wordpress's "all-in-one SEO plug-in" is, of course, popular, and it's true that there's more help, advice and information available here for Wordpress users than for TypePad users.

      I remain firmly of the opinion that TypePad is a vastly underrated, extremely good form of hosting. And tremendous value, of course. I strongly suspect that most forum posters who like to point out what they see as disadvantages of TypePad have never actually used it.



      You use free hosting for them, then? I can't help wondering whether we're quite comparing like with like, here? It might be a little more meaningful, perhaps, in this context, to compare the cost of a year's hosting at TypePad with that of a year's hosting at Hostgator, don't you think?
      I really like the look and ease of use with Typepad. Like I said, I've really not done anything with my blogs there but want to now. Do they have any tools for SEO purposes?
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by katied772 View Post

        Do they have any tools for SEO purposes?
        Yes ... but I'm not a technologically competent enough person to comment on them, and especially not to compare them with the Wordpress ones. Have a browse in the "knowledge base", using things like "SEO"/"promotion" and so on as the search-terms.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mrs S
    I don't know a lot about Typepad - but do you own the site or is it hosted with them? If your serious about making money online then you should definitely invest in your own domain and hosting. Then you have control over your assets.

    Personally I don't think you can go wrong with WP.org - it' s a very powerful content management system and great for building IM sites that convert.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Mrs S View Post

      I don't know a lot about Typepad - but do you own the site or is it hosted with them?
      Both.

      TypePad is essentially hosting with a built-in site-builder and good customer service. The built-in site-builder is considered by some to be a "content management system" and by others to be "blogging software". It's just considerably easier to do stuff with it than it is with Worpdress.

      Originally Posted by Mrs S View Post

      you should definitely invest in your own domain and hosting. Then you have control over your assets.
      Obviously.
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      • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
        I've never used Typepad, but I really am not proficient with WP at all and I consider Alexa a pretty smart cookie, so I guess I'll have to look into trying Typepad out now. Thanks Alexa.

        -Dani
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        • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
          Banned
          Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

          I've never used Typepad, but I really am not proficient with WP at all and I consider Alexa a pretty smart cookie, so I guess I'll have to look into trying Typepad out now.
          Nooo, you shouldn't at all in this context (but thank you): it's because I can't cope with Wordpress (I'm a really technophobic incompetent) and find even the most trivial stuff quite impossible to do, myself, that I use TypePad instead. If you're already using Wordpress, I don't doubt that your time would be better spent becoming more proficient at it than by switching to TypePad.

          I just feel obliged to defend TypePad (which I do really like) when people start saying they'd never use it "because it has a monthly fee" and that "you should own your own site and use your domain names" and so on.

          Hostgator has a monthly fee, too.

          You use your own domains hosting at TypePad, too.

          People who have never used it just don't always compare like with like, and try to adduce all sorts of actually totally invalid arguments against it. :rolleyes:

          John McEachern, who posts above, has used both TypePad and Wordpress and is of course worth listening to for practical experience.
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          • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
            Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

            Nooo, you shouldn't at all in this context (but thank you): it's because I can't cope with Wordpress (I'm a really technophobic incompetent) and find even the most trivial stuff quite impossible to do, myself, that I use TypePad instead. If you're already using Wordpress, I don't doubt that your time would be better spent becoming more proficient at it than by switching to TypePad.

            I just feel obliged to defend TypePad (which I do really like) when people start saying they'd never use it "because it has a monthly fee" and that "you should own your own site and use your domain names" and so on.

            Hostgator has a monthly fee, too.

            You use your own domains hosting at TypePad, too.

            People who have never used it just don't always compare like with like, and try to adduce all sorts of actually totally invalid arguments against it. :rolleyes:

            John McEachern, who posts above, has used both TypePad and Wordpress and is of course worth listening to for practical experience.
            Thank you for taking the time to write that Alexa. My problems with Wordrpress are generally with the themes and not being able to customized them without going into the code. Is Typepad more of a 'point and click' setup?

            I can make a layout anyway I want it by using Tables in FrontPage, but I see these awesome WP themes with so many fields in them, I install them, and then I realize I can't replace the content in those spaces unless I do it in the code. Then I get annoyed and I go look for another theme.
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            • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
              Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

              I can make a layout anyway I want it by using Tables in FrontPage, but I see these awesome WP themes with so many fields in them, I install them, and then I realize I can't replace the content in those spaces unless I do it in the code. Then I get annoyed and I go look for another theme.
              Dani, unless you want something really complex, it isn't all that difficult to adapt a regular html template for use with Wordpress.

              Warrior Istvan Horvath has a free report on doing the conversions available on his website (IstvanHorvath.com, I believe).
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            • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
              Banned
              Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

              Is Typepad more of a 'point and click' setup?
              I've barely used Wordpress so it's really difficult for me to compare.

              I need "customer support" of a kind that isn't available for Wordpress.

              I keep seeing threads here asking for Wordpress advice over things which I know, in TypePad, to be easy for even an incompetent technophobe like me to do (like changing the font for some of a post), and when the smoke and heat of the (often very different and sometimes disputed!) answers blow over and Istvan Horvath posts something factual, accurate and helpful, I often find myself thinking "I'm so glad I don't use Wordpress, if a little thing like this is so difficult to do and confuses so many experienced people".

              Originally Posted by DanielleS View Post

              I install them, and then I realize I can't replace the content in those spaces unless I do it in the code. Then I get annoyed and I go look for another theme.
              I even joined "Elegant Themes" (who have some beautiful Wordpress themes) and managed to get a selection of their themes installed in some of my Hostgator Wordpress domains (by outsourcing, not by doing it myself, you understand! ) in the hope that it might encourage me to give Wordpress "another fair trial before I shoot it", but it hasn't done, yet.
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              • Profile picture of the author kwikgal
                Being a programmer, I must confess to being a techi. I have created many static websites using CSS, HTML, php, etc... But I don't really want to be so technically involved for sites whose main aim is making money.

                I have gone for WP, since there are just so many people using it, there are many, many plugins, themes, help and whatever else you can think of (some good and some not so good) that you can find. That I think it is the most practical option.

                Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

                Warrior Istvan Horvath has a free report on doing the conversions available on his website (IstvanHorvath.com, I believe).
                Thanks John for this reference. Istavan also seems to have a paid for product that happens to be for sale. Just do a Google search for "Dream Tool Videos", it came up as the first result for me. It's going for $21 or $28 depending how fast you act. I might just get it, after I read his free report, which I found by using Google again with "Istvan Horvath free report".

                BTW I am not affiliated with Istavan, never heard of him before today, just thought the sale might be useful info.

                Kwikgal
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          • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
            I've used XsitePro, Wordpress and Movable Type (the engine that runs Typepad). All can be very effective. So can building static sites with Notepad or another text editor.

            The platform isn't nearly as important as the structure or content. Although it might take a little while to knock the rust off, I could create sites with all three where you would have no idea what platform was supporting them.

            Having used all three, I'm convinced that the popularity of Wordpress pretty much boils down to three things:

            1. It's free.
            2. It's open-source.
            3. Because of 1 & 2, there are a ton of people developing for it (including many who shouldn't).

            Movable Type is a really nice platform, and likely doesn't get the love it deserves because there is (or used to be) an annual license fee.

            I moved over to Wordpress because many of the people I was working with at the time preferred it, and now I'm used to it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Aaron.Scott
    WP can be optimized better than most sites, or at least easier in my opinion. And WP has ton's of support so I would go with WP for now, the learning curve isn't that bad.
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    • Profile picture of the author VanessaB
      John,
      Thank you very much for the referral. I might have a go at Istavan's report.

      Alexa,
      Thank you. I would be delighted if you would share with me some resources for outsourcing this. I have yet to find anyone who does that kind of work, and can I understand what I am trying to convey. Sometimes I feel like the people who actually do that kind of work speak a different language than I do, and it makes communication impossible. It's my own fault, I don't speak their language.

      -Dani
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  • Profile picture of the author marco005
    Hello,

    is it true, than other IM said, that you can not earn big money with adsense,so you use wrodpress?

    So ist like hearing be this, that with an software you must pay, who is not free google pays you more adsense money??

    with best wishes
    marco005
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by marco005 View Post

      Hello,

      is it true, than other IM said, that you can not earn big money with adsense,so you use wrodpress?

      So ist like hearing be this, that with an software you must pay, who is not free google pays you more adsense money??

      with best wishes
      marco005
      Marco, I think you are a little confused.

      Adsense is a program offered by Google where you place Adwords ads on your pages. When someone clicks one of those ads, Google makes money, which they share with you.

      Wordpress is a publishing platform, usually associated with blogging. One could place Adsense ads on a site created using Wordpress, but they are completely different things.
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      • Profile picture of the author jgant
        WordPress takes a little getting used to for sure. Give WordPress.com a try and see how you like it. I realize with WordPress.org (where you can get your own domain) has an added step of installing in a host, but that's pretty easy and a quality hosting service will have info on this.

        I haven't used Typepad, but have looked at it. I'm sure like most online website builders (webs, Weebly, Yola, Viviti - all four of which I've used) it's extremely easy to use. I'm impressed with Typepad's pricing at $14.95 per month for unlimited custom domain hosting. That's not bad at all for an online website builder.

        I wouldn't overthink this too much. Go with your comfort zone and then start building a site. There's always time to learn other platforms in the future.
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        How I hit $10,000+ per month very fast w/ 1 niche blog - Click Here to learn more (no opt-in).
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  • Profile picture of the author mlcmartin
    One thing that you have to realize is that wordpress is just a library of ready made functionality. You can build a website using wordpress as your base library and you can build a website in plain html. The end result will probably be the same.

    BUT. When you use wordpress you are getting so much of the stuff for free. Instead of having to write your own website framework, you can just open up a text editor and type /* Template Name: Custom Page */ <?php get_header(); ?> your other html/php stuff <?php get_sidebar(); get_footer(); ?> and you are ready to go.

    Now that's simple and very convenient - but ultimately if you are going to build your own custom websites then you will still need to learn html, css and php. And SQL if you are going to create more advanced web applications. And jQuery if you want interactive client side scripting.
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