Using Wordpress
Posted on April 26, 2007 - Filed Under General |
I love wordpress. Wordpress, for those who don’t know, is a free software that allows you to create a blog. As more marketers talk about the importance of having a website for complementary healthcare workers, I’d like to point out that wordpress is a great way to start.
My personal acupuncture site for my practice in North Bend, WA is on wordpress.  Originally my site was a traditional site that required html programming. When I moved hosts, I wanted to do something different.  I’m an avid blogger and I started thinking that wordpress could be the way to go.
Why would I want to use blog software for a personal site? I wanted a blog on the site and I wanted the blog to look like the static pages on the site. I also liked the fact that I can change content on wordpress as often as I want. It’s very easy to do.  If you can send an email, you can create content on a wordpress blog.
Wordpress jokingly describes the installation process as the five minute installation. It really is. Some hosts have “fantastico” on their control panel if you have such a webhost, this makes wordpress a one click installation.  It’s that easy.  The hard part may be finding a template you like. There are hundreds of them. Most templates are designed by wordpress fans and web designers who want their name out there. This means some templates work better than others.   When I’m looking for something, I’ll usually make sure I have some back up options.
In the case of my site, I saw a template with the colors I liked but it didn’t look right. I took one in blue and changed the colors. Â This does require a bit of knowledge of html, but for someone who has any web savvy, it’s a short process.
I can now add more photos any time I want or when I get more taken. I can photograph changes in my practice. I can add and change information as I need to.  I have no need to hire someone to help me with any of that.  It’s as easy to use as my email program.  Really.
I like my blogs because I also feel that I have a bit of an advantage with search engines. I’m not that savvy about search engine optimization. With wordpress, I have to worry about that less.  It still means I need to use good keywords frequently in my posts, but I don’t have to work quite as hard on the unseen stuff to make my site search engine friendly.
Blogs are also set up to be syndicated easily, which means people can subscribe on a feedreader and get to read any new posts you might make. This makes it easy for people to hear about what’s new.  I don’t have to do anything.  I can make it easier for people to subscribe by putting in the RSS feed I hope they’ll use but an RSS feed can be found even if it’s not on the blog.
I do have a static page as my landing page. Â Wordpress makes this quite easy but I did have to do some coding to link to the blog home page, where new posts are listed.
If you are thinking about a website but don’t currently have the money to pay someone to design it for you and you’re not afraid of learning the internet, you might want to check out wordpress.  There are some other tips here as well!
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