Posts Tagged ‘Web site’

Just finding out about WordPress? Then you my be wondering , “What’s the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org blogs?”

WordPress.com is a free blogging site where you register and set up one or more new blogs. You blog’s Web address will be {mynewblog}.wordpress.com, where “{mynewblog}” is the domain you select for your blog.

WordPress.org blogs are blog sites that have WordPress’s free blogging system installed on them. This means you would download the code then install it on a server and run the blog from there. Many choose to use a Web hosting company that has a quick WordPress install. WordPress.org blog are often referred to as “custom blog installs.”

The following items are some of the key characteristics of WordPress.com and WordPress.org blogs:

WordPress.com

• Free, most of the time. You can pay for premium services like domain mapping and video-related upgrades
• Allows users to create multiple blogs under one user account.
• Does not allow users to run JavaScript code. This limits a user’s ability to add many types of custom widgets.
• Does not allow users to run advanced analytics programs like Google Analytics. This falls under the “no JavaScript” bullet point but is an important example of the limitation. WordPress.com does have a very basic blog stats feature though.
• Has a set number of available themes. However, WordPress recently expanded it’s Theme team and has been releasing a greater number of new themes.
• Has a new Slideshow tool that is wicked cool and even works with the new iPad.
• Has strict rules about the type of advertising that can be done on the blog.
• Has built-in widgets but does not allow for third party-plugins
• Has support at http://en.support.wordpress.com/. Note: there are different Support sites for WordPress.com and WordPress.org sites.

I recommend WordPress.com to:

• New bloggers or people who have only dabbled in blogging. The system is easy to use, it’s free, and if you change your mind about your blog’s focus, you can easily create a new blog under that same account. It also makes for a good introduction to WordPress.org blogs because the two function the same way.
• Anyone who is “testing out” blogging.
• Small companies and organizations that need a blog but don’t have the resources (time, people, or money) to manage a custom install blog.
• Small companies and organizations that need a Web site with a full content management systems, but don’t have the resources to build a custom site. There are several tweaks that can be made to a WordPress.com blog that can make it run as a “regular” Web site.
• Teachers/professors that want to teach blogging to their students. It’s an easy to use fully functioning blogging system.

WordPress.org

• Free WordPress.org code download. The download includes everything you need to get a new blog running if the server is properly configured. WordPress.org boasts of having a 5-minute install but it will take longer the first time.
• Allows for one blog per install. However the highly anticipated WordPress 3.0 release will allow for the creation of multi-site blog networks.
• Allows site owners to add plugins and code that contain JavaScript. WordPress.org runs on your site domain, so you can put any kind of code you want on it. There are thousands of free plugins to help customize your blog.
• Requires frequent updates to patch up new security holes and new builds.
• Can use thousands of different free and premium themes as well as custom-designed themes.
• Allows you to run any kind of Analytics program you like, including Google Analytics.
• WordPress.org blogs are open-source.
• Has its own Support site: http://wordpress.org/support/.

I recommend WordPress.org to:

• People, companies, and organizations that want to leverage the full force behind blogging and have the resources and willingness to learn a full-bodied blogging system.
• Individuals that want to build a personal brand.
• Techie tinkerers. There are a million and one things you can do with a WordPress blog.
• Anyone who wants to couple ecommerce and blogging.

So which is right for you, a WordPress.com or WordPress.org blog setup? Still not sure? Drop a comment or tweet me up on Twitter at @jesseluna.

Visual Communications Company’s (VCC) has re-designed its site from the ground up. The new version is much more social media friendly. This kind of Web site transition is becoming very common for Business to Consumer (B2C) and online companies, but is still a new thing for brick and mortar Business to Business (B2B) companies. VCC manufacturers and sell LEDs and LED mounting devices.

I was interested in this site change from a designer’s point of view and also from a business perspective. This is a great example of a company with a broadening social media strategy.

[Disclosure: I work for one of VCC's distributors, Component Distirbutors, Inc. (@CDI). However, this is not a paid post.]

I asked VCC’s President, Andrew Zanelli, about the site changes.

1) Please describe the changes you made to the VCC site.

We made a ton of changes to the site. First, we wanted to improve the ability for a visitor to find the info they are looking for. We accomplished this by reorganizing the content in a way that is more intuitive to our users (engineers and purchasers). Additionally, we optimized every page for the search engines. This involved really getting a thorough understanding of the words that people us when describing our products. While we were already familiar with most, our analysis showed that engineers and others had some unique ways of describing the benefits our products provide. By adding their terminology to our site, we are now capturing a larger amount of traffic.

Additionally, we incorporated our blog into the vcclite.com domain. Previously, we had it hosted on a unique domain vccblog.com. This was due to the limitation of our host’s platform. This was a deal breaker and we moved our whole site to the WordPress platform. We use our blog to communicate not only general news about VCC, but also industry news and VCC design wins. Our stakeholders really like the stream of information that VCC provides.

Additionally, we added a wiki to the new site. The wiki is focused on VCC product FAQs and is a constantly being updated with written content and videos that describe common issues that are encountered when someone is new to our products. Now, a user doesn’t need to call in to find the answer to their question, or if they do, we can refer them to a video that describes the solution. One of the goals here is to help reduce the amount of service type calls that our sales and engineering teams field.

All of these efforts are feeding into our vision of vcclite.com turning into an online community for our stakeholders. Not a community like a Facebook, although we do have a fan page on FB, but rather a community of super high quality information being shared about VCC and our efforts.

2) Was the change more about addressing problems with the previous site or about seeking new opportunities? Or both?

The world of sales and marketing is changing very quickly. While no one can really agree on how quickly we are moving away from traditional media, I am convinced that it behooves VCC to be on the leading edge of new ideas and technologies that will help drive leads to our salespeople. An optimized website, a fine-tuned PPC campaign, SEO… these are all things that help potential customers find VCC. More and more people are simply using Google to search for product information. By aligning our efforts with the tools of the future we are getting a serious head-start over our competitors and at the same time saving money that would otherwise be wasted on traditional efforts that are incredibly difficult to assign a true value to. We are not totally abandoning traditional media. In fact, we still have a strong print campaign. It works hand-in-hand with our new efforts. Partners like Hearst Media Electronics Group have really embraced online marketing and have figured out how to blend the two together for a comprehensive approach. VCC loves to participate in its programs.

3) Where do you see the site and VCC going next?

Next generation for VCC is to make our site more interactive. The wiki will help this. Additionally effort will also be made in the social media space. We have some unique ideas here that I prefer not to share yet. Otherwise, our laser beam focus will remain on lead-gen and brand awareness.

The presentation was originally part of my booth display at the LA Mart Prosperity Rally on June 16, 2009.

Presentation tech details: Created using Power Point, imported into Slideshare.com, then added synchronized audio via free Audacity software.