Hello; I'm trying to start a website (culinary) and I'd love some of your quick advic

[espresso]

I have a wordpress.com blog. Even if I get a dedicated domain name (an upgrade, mapping + domain name costs about an extra $15 through wordpress); they say that I can't advertise on a wordpress.com blog.

(I'm also a writer and will have a separate freelance blog, but no advert. on that 1)

I do want to advertise (the usual; adsense/merchant affiliate), but I don't want to use Blogger, as they own all the content.*

Is there no way to use Wordpress and advertise?

I am planning to buy Dreamweaver. Ostensibly, then, I could create my own website. But, in the meantime (while I learn how) I need just a small website on which I can advertise. Any ideas?

Also, what are the best places to buy domain names and best hosting? If I upgrade on Wordpress and get a dedicated domain name, can I take it w/me? (I've asked them; they haven't responded).

My website needs to have the following capabilities (I hope* Dreamweaver can do all of these!):

1. Visitors can make site their home page.
2. I can do several blog posts in advance and don't have to post them in real time; they'll post automatically day by day;
3. Adsense and merchant-affiliate ad formatted;
4. Easy templates such as those in Wordpress.com so I can get going w/o having to know everything @ beg.
5. Visitors can't comment until they've registered.
6. Ability to send out daily/weeky newsletters
7. able to ask visitors why visiting site when they register.

Thank you so much!

Karen*

[Medievalist]

1. Get a domain.
2. Find a host that has a simple one-click installation for WordPress. I'm sure people here will suggest one.
3. Install WordPress at your host, using your domain.
4. Don't buy DreamWeaver. You don't need it to use WordPress.
5. Look at the PioneerWoman cooks site; it's all done with custom WordPress themes; her designer is very good, though I have no idea about her rates.
6. Don't expect to make money via ads, affiliates, etc. until you have c. 50K unique visitors a month, at least.

[Matera the Mad]

What she said. For goodness' sake don't waste money on Dreambarfer.

[espresso]

Thx so much! What I don't understand is how one can use wordpress for advertising when wordpress.com says you can't use for advertising. Is the difference that you're using a premium Wordpress theme made my someone else?
I actually like my current Wordpress.com pg, and I'd like to keep it. But my problem is I can't fig out how to do that and still have advertising.
Pioneer W is a great site, but she has no advert., so it would be diff. than mine.
Also, if you have Dreamweaver, can u do updates on a complex website (for instance, one w/rotating pics?)
Thanks!

[veinglory]

You can use Blogger and self host the files under your own domain thus evading the theoretical ownership problem.

[Medievalist]

Thx so much! What I don't understand is how one can use wordpress for advertising when wordpress.com says you can't use for advertising. Is the difference that you're using a premium Wordpress theme made my someone else?

No; it's because you are running WordPress on someone else's server (ISP/Web host) whom you pay for the privilege of storing your files and consuming their bandwidth.

So it's not WordPress.com's business.

Some of the wordpress.com themes are only available there; but there are thousands of others that are free.

[Medievalist]

Thx so much! What I don't understand is how one can use wordpress for advertising when wordpress.com says you can't use for advertising. Is the difference that you're using a premium Wordpress theme made my someone else?
I actually like my current Wordpress.com pg, and I'd like to keep it. But my problem is I can't fig out how to do that and still have advertising.
Pioneer W is a great site, but she has no advert., so it would be diff. than mine.

Her entire domain is WordPress, and has lots of ads. You just don't recognize them as ads because she's done the art herself.

Also, if you have Dreamweaver, can u do updates on a complex website (for instance, one w/rotating pics?)
Thanks!

Rotating pics is not complex. It's a matter of a javascript that looks in a directory for images that are named in a way that the script works.

If you're planning on using Blogger or Wordpress on your own domain and paying a server host/ISP you'd be smarter to learn how to use FTP, a way of moving files between two servers. (Dreamweaver can do this, but it's not the main purpose of DreamWeaver, and there are good free and cheap FTP clients).

If you know what you're doing. DreamWeaver is not going to work very well for you if you use WordPress. Seriously, you're starting out at the wrong point.

You don't need to use DreamWeaver if you use Blogger or WordPress or Joomla or Drupal or any of the best known blogging/CMS managers.

You can in fact screw you over if you don't know what you're doing and you try to make modifications with DreamWeaver.

[Medievalist]

Also, in terms of starting a new culinary site, and hoping to earn income--look at all the fabulous sites and bloggers you're competing against and be very realistic about your chances of earning money through ads.

[espresso]

Thx again, Mediev!

So, the below are my ? to wordpress, and their answers. Are they only telling me part of the story?

"> 2) I am really really confused re the advert. thing. All over the I-net are "wordpress premium" themes, some config. for Adsense. They are apparently being written by all these obscure sites. I mean, why doesn't wordpresss just sell premium themes themselves?
>
> To clear up any confusion, WordPress.com (free hosting service) and WordPress.org (the free software with paid hosting) are two different entities:
>
> http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
> http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/please-read-me-first-before-posting?replies=1
>
>
> > Also, do u mean that no matter how much I pay in upgrades I'm never going to be able to put adsense or affiliate ads on my site, anywhere?
> > By way of corollary, are u telling me that every wordpress blog I see, if there are any adsense ads, they're always put there by Wordpress, only?
> > It doesn't make sense for Wordpress to lose all this business for people who just want t monetize their blog. What do people like me, do? I don't want to use Blogger, b/c they apparently own your content (ridiculous!); but obviously there are many people in my position.
>
> That's correct. The sites you see running their own ads are WordPress.org powered sites. If advertising is a must, you might be interested in the WordPress.org route.
>
> > I've read that if u want advertising for yr wordpress blog, you have to buy your own host and domain. Yet I thought wordpress was selling domains and hosting for the $5 + $9.97 upgrade.
> > By the way, what is the $9.97 mapping?
> > Asssuming I do have to totally move away from Wordpress, what if I upgraded to get my own domain, and then moved. Do I keep domain?
>
> We sell domains at WordPress.com, but we do not sell the hosting. Hosting is free here, but we have advertising restrictions (and run our own discreet ads) to keep the service free.
>
> If you purchase a domain at WordPress.com, you can redirect your domain later by changing the nameservers or you can transfer it away to another registrar (they will probably charge a fee to accept the transfer).
> "

Thanks!

[espresso]

mediev -

Re compet; you're right; but I've got a specific niche and personal expertise; so I've gotta try!

[Medievalist]

You are not at all understanding.

Wordpress.com is a commercial service associated with some of the people who created the blogging software WordPress.

The software used at wordpress.com is wordpress.

You can install the WordPress software, which is free, on your own domain that is hosted by an ISP/Web host.

The AbsoluteWrite blog (http://www.absolutewrite.com) is WordPress.

My sites:

http://www.digitalmedievalist.com



http://www.digitalmedievalist.net/


They have ads

If you pay wordpress.com or use wordpress.com you can not have ads.

Again, be very cautious about this. You need a lot of traffic to earn any measurable amount of money at all from ads. Most people do not even manage to cover the first year of hosting costs.

[Medievalist]

Blogger does NOT own your content.

If you host your site at blogspot then you do not have direct access to your content; they do not assert copyright over it.

You can use blogger with a custom domain (http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=55373); this is exactly what WordPress.com offers if you use them for a custom domain, except that they do not prohibit advertising, in part, because they are owned by Google.

There are, by the way, a number of plugins for WordPress that are designed to make ad hosting easier; I have not used them, I merely know that they exist. You can not use them if you host at wordpress.com, even if you have a custom domain hosted by wordpress.com.

[espresso]

HI, again, Mediev --

I like your sites. I want one that's very similar. Can u tell me your platform/host?

Anyway, here are the capab. I started out wanting:

My website needs to have the following capabilities (I hope* Dreamweaver can do all of these!):

1. Visitors can make site their home page.
2. I can do several blog posts in advance and don't have to post them in real time; they'll post automatically day by day;
3. Adsense and merchant-affiliate ad formatted;
4. Easy templates such as those in Wordpress.com so I can get going w/o having to know everything @ beg.
5. Visitors can't comment until they've registered.
6. Ability to send out daily/weeky newsletters
7. able to ask visitors why visiting site when they register.

Wordpress already told me (wordpress.com) that they have no button which lets someone make my site their home pg; I really really want this; so I would not wish to use wordpress.com anyway, despite advert.

Re advert: in sev'l posts, I have read that people always believe they should have signed up for adsense/done advert. earlier. I don't see what harm it could possibly do; I mean, isn't it better to be getting some $ (even $10) as opposed to no $? And, Mediev, if the ads are as they appear on your site, they're so unobtrusive that the would not be a deterrent to people visiting your site.

In all the comparison charts (blogger v. wordpress) blogger comes out behind, but the 1 area they come out ahead is ease of adding Adsense. Since this is what I want to do, maybe this is the way I should go.

Re the owning content/vs. access - yes, this is a big distinction. If they (Blogger) don't own the content then this is a big plus. And I can't imagine they'd want access to my site.

My whole point is to get a site up and running and advertising where it will eventually become a big site - complete w/ability to join and comment, links w/facebook, ability to have people make it their home pg., rss feeds, rotating pics -- you know, like a really big, cool site.

Wordpress.org allows the advert., but they caution that u have t prevent yr own spam. I have no idea how to prevent spam. If u use Blogger, can u use both Adsense and merchant affiliate ads? Is it free hosting, as long as u buy domain name (assuming u want dedicated domain name and not .blogspot.com) And does Blogger prevent the spam?

Again, all I want to do is fig. out how to get a site up and running that allows advert. (like yours, Mediev), and I'mm wiling to pay a wee bit more to avoid a lot of hassle.

For instance, I have no idea what a "plug-in" is . Mediev, I might send u a priv msg w/my current site, if I can do that.

[veinglory]

To me that sounds like Blogger, it has adsense and Amazon-affiliate tools built right in.

[espresso]

to Veinglory:

Thx for yr input. Missed yr post earlier. Your idea sounds good. So if I sign up for Blogger and immed. get my own domain (@myowndomain.com), how do I do what u suggested?

[espresso]

Hi Veinglory or Mediev:

Thanks. Does Blogger have something that prevents spam? From what it sounds like, Blogger is just better than wordpress b/c they both have free hosting, but w/blogger u can advertise -- is this basically right?

[espresso]

Hi; Thx again, both of you.

Mediev - can't fig. out how to send priv. msg. !