I just successfully completed the transition of a static website to a wordpress blog. That wording sounds kind of awkward so I’ll try again. I just took one of the sites I originally created in XSitePro and turned it into a WordPress blog, keeping the page urls consistent in the process. I’m thrilled. I’ve been wanting to do this for quite awhile but have felt anxious about it, not wanting to screw the whole thing up in the process.
There are a couple reasons that I wanted to do this. I find wordpress to be much easier to add content to. With all the plugins, it’s so much easier to get the design and functionality I want. It’s also much easier to build in participation by the visitors, which really helps keep people on the page and coming back again. WP also has build in RSS which helps with promotion and link building. So lots of very good reasons.
Now, I’m not sure my process was the most orderly, but it worked. I started by installing wordpress in the root directory of the domain. The index.html file of the website automatically overrides the index.php file of the blog, so the website stays up in its original form while you’re working in the background. I created the database and all the other stuff that has to happen to get the blog up and going. Then I created the posts with the current articles from the site. I created the contact and about pages, and got the privacy policy and TOS links on there – all the basics.
By that point I could start deleting the XSitePro pages from the server and the blog was up and running as a blog. Finally I did all the design work of trying out different themes and color schemes, loading the sidebars, and installing adsense and banners. Ultimately I like what I came up with, although I couldn’t find the theme layout I had in mind. (I can always keep my eye open for it in the months to come and make a change later on.)
It’s time to start a real promotional blitz. I have 5 new articles ready to submit to Ezine Articles and other directories. I woke up this morning composing my press release (and wrote it down quickly before I forgot it!). I recently purchased a program put together by Kim Roach called the Instant Payday Formula. She shares a virtual TON of promotional ideas and step by step methods for implementing them. I’m planning to follow those as well.
A final big promotional effort will be a video. I’ve not tried to do this before but I’ve heard too many times how vital it is for traffic generation and so I am determined to create some. Kim includes a segment on video in her product and I have superb information from Kevin Riley of Warrior Forum fame as well. It will happen. It will be good.
Oh yeah! I’ve been slowly building a list over these past months but not started any kind of email marketing campaign with them yet. That’s also on the to do list. I’ve been composing the first email in my head as the day has gone on. I guess I’m excited to get out there and try some new stuff. Article marketing is great for traffic, but there is so much more that I could also be doing. Yes, this will be good.
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