Thanks LaShae,Originally Posted by LaShae
I see it now. Lol, guess I havent been in the themes area much lately, so I forgot about that feature. I see you can uplaod plugins also.
Thanks LaShae,
I see it now. Lol, guess I havent been in the themes area much lately, so I forgot about that feature. I see you can uplaod plugins also.
Hmm...
Well, are we building web sites to be website artists, or to do business?
I do understand how some of us could enjoy installing software, themes and plugins, and overcoming the technical challenges involved etc. I like challenges like this so much that I became a programmer, so I get what's fun about it.
I don't see what wrestling with Wordpress etc has to do with business.
And novices especially, why should they pick up this unnecessary burden when they have so many other more important things to attend to?
Here's a reality check, our readers, the people who have the money we want, really don't care about our theme, or Wordpress installation skills.
Why is it good advice to tell Faith to stick with a process that requires her to look for strangers on the Internet to help her, just to get a site up and running?
She's here because her host won't help her with this, and neither will the people who coded Wordpress, right? Why is that a good situation to be in?
The "Do-It-Yourself" lone wolf everybody is a technician model left over from the early days of the Net is a dying paradigm.
Here's a replacement.
Pretend we were just hired to write a daily column for the New York Times. Our editor demands we meet the deadline every day, and they hired us to produce excellent content.
Producing excellent content on a regular basis, becoming experts on our topic, is a big enough job by itself. And, it's a job our readers, the people who have the money we want, do actually care about.
Unless we are going to learn technology well enough that we can charge for our skills, every minute spent messing around with technology is a minute spent hiding from the real job.
Gosh, that's a lot of great replies. Very helpful. It's interesting to see how the capabilities of Wordpress have continued to change and expand.
Except, to be honest, Engage, I couldn't quite get the point you were trying to make in the above post. I want to learn this stuff. I turned down the option of paying for already built websites, because they wouldn't feel like mine. I want something to feel like "mine," at least until I have some measure of success. I want to be confident of my own capabilities. That's a very important goal. Along with making money, of course.
Faith
Hi Faith,
Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it. Your original question and follow on comment do a great job of introducing issues that are common to whole webmaster community. Thanks for that. I really don't mean to focus on just you and your situation only, which is of course fully your decision.
A desire to have a site that "feels like ours" is very very common. And it's completely understandable, as creating websites (especially our first ones) feels a lot like going on stage in front of the whole world. There's not a thing in the world wrong with this feeling.
It's also true that this feeling is all about our human egos, and has little to nothing to do with our business.
Being a website artist is a fun hobby. If someone wishes to pursue this hobby, and enjoys the challenges involved, they should go for it. I've done the same myself many times.
I'm trying to make a case for clear mindedness.
There is a widespread impression among publishers that climbing the technical learning curve is taking our business forward. We feel like we are working productively. We are swept along in a group consensus flood (which is driven by commissioned sales people) that tells us buying and learning all this stuff is necessary, important.
In fact, all we are doing is delaying our business progress by focusing on things our customers don't care about.
This principle extends beyond just technology.
Go to any webmaster forum, and read through the conversations. And then ask yourself this...
Which of the threads on webmaster forums would the readers of our sites find relevant and interesting?
Very few, almost none.
That is, the things we webmasters typically consume ourselves with are out of touch with the interests of those who have the money we want.
If we were to put aside all the fancy tools and clever strategies that endlessly distract webmasters, and limit ourselves to just pen and paper for a bit, we would have the opportunity to direct our attention to the real job...
Finding out if we have anything to offer that will help our readers. Mastering our topic. Discovering ever better ways to say what we have to share.
A New York Times columnist, a real publishing professional, will leave the messy mechanics of producing the newspaper to the tech guys downstairs in the printing press operations.
Follow the development of web publishing since 1995, and project the pattern forward.
In coming years, everybody on earth will be able to create a very professional looking website filled with fancy gadgets, with just one click.
In such a world, there will be only one thing that can distinguish us from our competitors.
The quality of our mind.
Focus on that.
Elite Member
Engage
"Producing excellent content on a regular basis, becoming experts on our topic, is a big enough job by itself. And, it's a job our readers, the people who have the money we want, do actually care about."
Totally agree.
"Here's a reality check, our readers, the people who have the money we want, really don't care about our theme, or Wordpress installation skills."
True and important to point out to us
"I don't see what wrestling with Wordpress etc has to do with business. "
To do business on the Net mandates a website and we have the options of self build, hire a tech or buy a site.
Frankly if you have the cash the latter is by far the best. Buying an earning functioning site is now doable at a reasonable cost. The earnings you can devote to expanding your biz and learning more.
Hiring a tech is OK and I've done it but there's a whole hassle of communicating and supervising and sometimes it can be easier just to do it yourself!
The D-I-Y option is now much easier than years ago, due to Wordpress and other, simpler web editors. This learning curve is optional as you point out, but some folks even build their own house and for many the cost free option is the only feasible one.
And some just like the, " I did that myself feeling!"
:-)
All The Best
Alex
Last edited by AlexNewell; May 5th, 2010 at 04:34 AM. Reason: forgot the smiley, :-)
Hi Alex, thanks for joining in, good to hear from you.
The reasonable rules of the forum format prevent me from offering another option here in this thread.To do business on the Net mandates a website and we have the options of self build, hire a tech or buy a site.
This is a quite interesting contribution, and I'd like to hear you expand on this if you wish. Yes, buying an existing site, and diving immediately in to promoting it, is in tune with the spirit of my comments.Buying an earning functioning site is now doable at a reasonable cost. The earnings you can devote to expanding your biz and learning more.
Yes, indeed. Me too! If I had a dime for every hour I've spent fiddling with buttons and colors and such over the last 15 years, I could buy Hawaii.And some just like the, " I did that myself feeling!"
I'm passionate about this topic, because I've spent years making all these mistakes myself. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, would I trade all my nice buttons and colors for a beach house? Um, yea, I think I would!
i use wordpress and have no problems its nothing to do with your coding expiriance what so ever its to do with the expirance you have using content management systems all coding will get you is knowing what code is running behind the scenes and how its doing stuff it takes time to learn how to use wordpress
keep trying its a good platform i use it myself for my tech blog
Elite Member
Engage:
Hi Alex, thanks for joining in, good to hear from you.
It's nice to pop in - I'm busy!
The reasonable rules of the forum format prevent me from offering another option here in this thread.
Are you sure - this is not just a nice forum to be in but a very liberal one too. Could you pm me?
This is a quite interesting contribution, and I'd like to hear you expand on this if you wish. Yes, buying an existing site, and diving immediately in to promoting it, is in tune with the spirit of my comments.
This is recent speculation on my part. I spent tons of time - like all of us trying to "build a website" in my early days...when I could have been getting value from a website instead.
Thinking on the situation of a beginner - something I am passionate about - it seems obvious that since a blog nowadays can be picked up for LESS THAN A PDF on how to "build a website" we are wasting TONS of time - even those of us who are not beginners.
Yes, indeed. Me too! If I had a dime for every hour I've spent fiddling with buttons and colors and such over the last 15 years, I could buy Hawaii.
I'm passionate about this topic, because I've spent years making all these mistakes myself. Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, would I trade all my nice buttons and colors for a beach house? Um, yea, I think I would!
A nice header graphic or a beach house? Yeah I'll take the beach house too !!
:-)
Hi,
Here is a free site that gives videos and lessons on wordpress blogs. http://www.mybloggingblueprint.com
or there is http://www.wordpress.tv both these are good resources for anybody using Wordpress
Yes, the management here are good sports, agreed.Are you sure - this is not just a nice forum to be in but a very liberal one too. Could you pm me?
I feel like I sometimes ride the line of what is appropriate, in uh, more ways than one, so I'd be happy to PM you details, and would direct other curious parties to my sig.
Darn, there I go again!
I love where you are going with this. I really do.Thinking on the situation of a beginner - something I am passionate about - it seems obvious that since a blog nowadays can be picked up for LESS THAN A PDF on how to "build a website" we are wasting TONS of time - even those of us who are not beginners.[/B]
Honestly, I feel you are right in the same groove as my thinking, but one step ahead.
After all, there's no easier way to build a site than to buy one that's already built. The simplicity of this solution is very appealing.
My coding addiction seems to have prevented me from really grasping this point, until your post.
I'm aware that people buy and sell sites, but that's about it. Most of us are probably in that situation.
I hereby nominate you to become our tutor on the subject. Could be a site for you, an ebook, a membership site, etc.
When we become really successful, we'll have a site about our beach houses, and our site will have a really nice header graphic.A nice header graphic or a beach house? Yeah I'll take the beach house too !!
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