Website Antics!

Several weeks ago, I decided that since I tell people that Blogging for Business is a great marketing tool, I should explore ways to expand that tool.

When I first started my blog, I used the free version of WordPress (WordPress.com). It was great, but I wanted to add features not available with the free version. So, I switched to the hosted version (WordPress.org). WordPress itself doesn’t charge—rather, you have to use a web host that is able to host WordPress and there’s typically a fee for that. You should be able to find a host for under $10 per month.

I use a template—a “theme”—to make my blog look good. I bought The Thesis Theme for WordPress*, from DIY Themes. I won’t go into detail here, but Thesis was developed to incorporate great Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools and has many ways to personalize it.

An entire website can be developed using Thesis, so I decided to try it. First, I contacted my web developer and made sure my current website was backed up—in case I really messed up!

Next, I started creating my site. I liked the text I had on my current site, so it was a matter of just cutting and pasting the information into the new pages.

I won’t lie—this was a somewhat complicated process. I know just enough HTML programming and web development to be dangerous! At one point, I did something that completely locked me out of WordPress. I also accidentally linked my current site into the middle of the new site I was creating. Fortunately, I have a terrific web host, VPS Hosting*, and they fixed all of my mistakes.

One of the reasons I wanted to have my entire site on WordPress is widgets. A widget is simply a small application that I incorporated into my site. Through widgets, I was able to have a “welcome” video on my Home page and five alternating videos on my Topics page. Widgets also allow people to subscribe to my blog and contact me. It took a bit of experimentation, but I’m pleased with the results.

So what was the point of this? I’m definitely not suggesting that all websites should be created this way. While I can personalize my theme, it is limited on what it can do and how it can look. If I knew more about HTML, I could personalize it more—and there are web developers who specialize in creating websites using themes.

What I accomplished was finding out if I could do this myself without killing too many brain cells. It’s simply another way to create a website—especially one that includes a blog.

I’d love your feedback on my efforts. Click through the navigation tabs to explore. If you’ve used a theme to create your website, I’d love to get your thoughts on the process.

*Full disclosure: I’m an affiliate partner with both DIY Themes and InMotion Hosting. I receive a commission on sales generated by my links.