Blogging at Wordpress... why?

Can someone explain why Wordpress is recomended. I had a personal blog on blogger. Decided to switch to wordpress. Now I am regretting it. It sure seems harder to use. I just spent a hunk of time just trying to figure out how to post a file. I did it a while ago but now can't figure out how I did it. Frustrating. I KNOW it can be done. So my question is not how to post a file on wordpress, I'm sure if I do a search of help files I can eventually find out. My question is : Is it wise to spend this time on the learning curve?

I do realize that wordpress can be hosted at your own domain. This is the reason why I decided to try it out. If and when I ever find the domain name I want, I'd like the option to keep what work I've done and move it to my own domain name.... however I now see that blogger blogs can be moved into wordpress as well. So my thought process is this - while I am playing around with my ideas, use blogger for the ease and familiarity, when I get my own domain name switch to wordpress using my domain. Clear as mud?

Maybe I am making this more difficult than it needs to be.

Here is my blog at wordpress. Simply Sharon

Remember ,I have not utilized this for any business purposes. Just a personal blog that I would like to use to start learning to utilize key words etc.

Sharon

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Permalink Reply by Sharon on March 26, 2010 at 4:33pm

I understood that for the extra options I'd need to go with wordpress.org and then I'd have to pay for hosting.

Sharon

Justin Lukasavige said:

Yes, it's one button press to import everything Sharon. It's more difficult to move the domain, but isn't a problem. I don't have any costs with wordpress by the way so that shouldn't be an issue. So I moved to WP from blogger to get a lot more functionality for the exact same price: free.

Sharon said:
I guess my thought is ... is it worth the cost.

Right now all I need is basic. Can a blogger blog be moved to wordpress.org in the future if I find I start needing more than basic? If I use my domain name simpleambitions through the free blogger set up can it also be moved to wordpress.org in th future.

>

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Permalink Reply by Justin Lukasavige on March 26, 2010 at 4:52pm

Yes, but that's $4 / month at 1and1.com. .com is free and imports everything in the same format whereas blogger has to re-categorize everything. Not a big deal.

Sharon said:

I understood that for the extra options I'd need to go with wordpress.org and then I'd have to pay for hosting.

Sharon

Justin Lukasavige said:
Yes, it's one button press to import everything Sharon. It's more difficult to move the domain, but isn't a problem. I don't have any costs with wordpress by the way so that shouldn't be an issue. So I moved to WP from blogger to get a lot more functionality for the exact same price: free.

Sharon said:
I guess my thought is ... is it worth the cost.

Right now all I need is basic. Can a blogger blog be moved to wordpress.org in the future if I find I start needing more than basic? If I use my domain name simpleambitions through the free blogger set up can it also be moved to wordpress.org in th future.

>

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Long on March 26, 2010 at 7:42pm

Sharon,

Yes, Wordpress.org is WAY better, but there is a learning curve. If you are thinking long term possibilities for your site, than I would also highly recommend WP.org. So many ways to customize...but it can be technical. Once you learn the system, though it's a lot of fun. I've designed a lot of websites and would be happy to help create one for you...or there are other skilled designers on this site too.

I'm excited to see what direction you go. It took me a while to learn the system and get up and running...but now I love it. And it's gotten much better since I started.

Good luck.

Jeff Long
"teaching people to create New Income online"

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Permalink Reply by Kathleen Rokavec, MD on March 26, 2010 at 8:00pm

I am going to jump into this discussion. I have my website on GoDaddy and am relatively happy with it. I am helping my husband as he is starting his new business and want to get a website going for him.
So - Jeff and Justin (and anyone else), should I stay with godaddy for his or try wordpress? I am pretty good at designing, organizing and figuring things out on my own.
He will need to accept payments for services on the site as well, but no product.

Kathy
www.thehospitaldoctor.com

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Permalink Reply by Justin Lukasavige on March 26, 2010 at 8:44pm

You can do anything you want on Wordpress Kathy. There are plugins for whatever you need, including shopping carts, membership sites, etc. You'll still need GoDaddy to host the site for you. I'm assuming you're using a website builder that they have. You'd just stop using that and use WP instead. I suggest a theme such as Thesis. I have it installed on Coach Radio.

Kathleen Rokavec, MD said:

I am going to jump into this discussion. I have my website on GoDaddy and am relatively happy with it. I am helping my husband as he is starting his new business and want to get a website going for him.
So - Jeff and Justin (and anyone else), should I stay with godaddy for his or try wordpress? I am pretty good at designing, organizing and figuring things out on my own.
He will need to accept payments for services on the site as well, but no product.

Kathy
www.thehospitaldoctor.com

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Permalink Reply by Sharon on March 28, 2010 at 12:25pm

Ok so now I'm really surprised. I guess I have not been looking in the right places because I had the impression that hosting would cost me a couple of hundred dollars a year. I guess I need to look more.

Thanks this conversation has been helpful.

Sharon
http://www.simplycanning.com/
http://simplysharon.wordpress.com/

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Permalink Reply by Rob Orr on March 28, 2010 at 1:32pm

Godaddy is notoriously oversold, and crowded when it comes to hosting. The support that I got when I used to use them, was spotty at best. I've had clients on 1and1 and it was okay. Dealing with install issues can be tricky, and most shared hosting is going to be pretty much the same, just make sure you get solid support. Media Temple is a big name in hosting that has some pretty high-profile clients. I sell hosting through Rackspace for my clients and their support is absolutely amazing.

If you do a google search for web hosting reviews you should come across a couple good sites that will get you the pros and cons of the multitude of hosts out there.

Rob
RobOrr.net
@roborracle

Sharon said:

Ok so now I'm really surprised. I guess I have not been looking in the right places because I had the impression that hosting would cost me a couple of hundred dollars a year. I guess I need to look more.
Thanks this conversation has been helpful. Sharon
http://www.simplycanning.com/
http://simplysharon.wordpress.com/

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Permalink Reply by Sharon on April 4, 2010 at 9:26pm

Thanks Kelly, I'll message you about a couple questions I have.

Kelly Harbaugh said:

Sharon,
There is an important distinction to make here before you spend money on more hosting - are you going to operate this as a separate site or integrate it into your canning site? If you want to keep it separate, then, of course you will need to host it (you can do this with blogger).

However, if you just want to integrate it into your current canning site, you don't have to spend a dime on hosting - you just need to use Infinit! to set everything up, and your blog page will be a subdomain of the current site. This is completely up to you and your goals, but I think that your blog would complement your site well, and you wouldn't have to rebuild traffic.

I can help you with this, because I did it with my own site, and we are using the same service.

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Permalink Reply by Sharon on April 9, 2010 at 5:35pm

I have another question about Wordpress.org.

If I do decide to continue with my wordpress.com blog for the moment, I assume I will go to my own hosting at some point.

Does the dashboard then change? If I switch to blue host for example. Or 1and1. I have figured out the dashboard and stats for my current wordpress blog and like it better than blogger. But that is really not important if it will just change when I go to my own domain.

Thanks for your help.

Sharon

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Permalink Reply by Sharon on April 9, 2010 at 6:51pm

Never mind I did finally find an aswer at BlueHost. It seems the dashboard goes with wordpress. Thanks

Sharon said:

I have another question about Wordpress.org.

If I do decide to continue with my wordpress.com blog for the moment, I assume I will go to my own hosting at some point.

Does the dashboard then change? If I switch to blue host for example. Or 1and1. I have figured out the dashboard and stats for my current wordpress blog and like it better than blogger. But that is really not important if it will just change when I go to my own domain.

Thanks for your help.

Sharon

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Permalink Reply by Peter Brissette on April 11, 2010 at 7:44pm

Sharon,

If you use a wordpress.org blog you will still need hosting even if you set up a subdomain for your SBI site.

Wordpress.org has to be installed on bluehost (or another host) and then you can do a redirect to your SBI subdomain.

Peter

Sharon said:

Never mind I did finally find an aswer at BlueHost. It seems the dashboard goes with wordpress. Thanks

Sharon said:
I have another question about Wordpress.org.

If I do decide to continue with my wordpress.com blog for the moment, I assume I will go to my own hosting at some point.

Does the dashboard then change? If I switch to blue host for example. Or 1and1. I have figured out the dashboard and stats for my current wordpress blog and like it better than blogger. But that is really not important if it will just change when I go to my own domain.

Thanks for your help.

Sharon

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Permalink Reply by Jeff Long on May 3, 2010 at 12:38pm

Sharon,

I don't know where you are in the search for how to set up Wordpress for your website. I've been a part of this community since the day it started and love helping people. Wordpress is the best way for a personal blog as well as a company website that sells products (I use it for both, myself).

I understand your pain. Several years ago I was going through the same thing and decided to learn on my own (I thought I would save money). It was a mistake that wasted at least a year of my time and money (I could have saved time and earned money with my website). Once I hired someone to answer my questions, I was soaring like an eagle (Dan Miller would be proud!) I have since created a lot of websites for myself and clients and love using Wordpress.

One thing I noticed is how many people on this site want to sell something on their website...or just create a good looking website for their product or service. I just released a video training series that is almost 3 hours in length. It's both detailed and easy to understand. I thought you might be interested in checking it out. It would cost a lot less than hiring someone to do it for you. I paid someone almost $300 to answer all my questions...I wish I had something like this video years ago when I had all my questions (and this is why I want to help people with this video training).

Here are some of the topics I cover in detail:
-3 website research tools that make it easy to search, find and create memorable website names
-How to buy and set up your domain name (website name)
-Easily setting up your e-mail address and how to create multiple e-mail addresses for yourself or others
-Installing Wordpress and configuring it
-The best plugin you need to get rid of spam
-How to add photos and videos to your website
-What plugins you need to get make your site look great…and what a plugin does
-How to create multiple users with various functionality and responsibilities
-How to use FTP and why it’s vital to your website
-What are permalinks and how to set them up the right way
-How to use social media on your website to maximize its potential
-Customizing the sidebar
-Learn HTML and how customizing your stylesheets will dramatically change your website to look just as you want
-How to add new themes
-How to customize a free theme to give it your personality
-Changing the footer (what it is and how to make it your own)
-Going live. What you need to know before you publish your site to the world!

You can find the training video by clicking here.
Or, you can go to: http://www.newincomeuniversity.com/business-website-creator/

I hope this help. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Jeff Long

Learn how to make your own website with this video