Is Word Press the right way to go?
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I would like to set up a prefessional community website. It will be informative and include links and professional discussion. In the long run I would like it to be able to support itself with advertising. The advertising would not be affiliate marketing or adsense but professional seminars, jobs and possibly medical equipment. I have just read that advertising is not allowed on WordPress. Would that include what I have just outlined. If that is the case is it possible to start in wordpress and then transfer to another platform or should I start out with something else?
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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That would most certainly include what you’ve just described. Seminars by members should be fine, but job ads and equipment are not allowed.
I think that you might be happier with a Joomla site, as you can integrate a forum and all kinds of functionality in to that. You could also do WordPress.org.
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You’re welcome. Drupal could also do this, but the user interface is a complete nightmare.
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If you use wordpress.com then raincoaster above is right. But Word Press software at wordpress.org can be used in all sorts of creative ways that can be fleshed out with a good web developer — including all your requirements. Peope can become confused about the web offering on wordpress.com (which uses the wordpress.org software, and is wonderful, but purposely limited to keep it managable) and the dedicated software at wordpress.org.
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Yes, I pointed that out above, but this person doesn’t seem to have a web developer or a great deal of experience with php, etc. It’s easier to add on forums etc with Joomla.
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That would be me. WordPress looked pretty good to someone who really has no idea and I am not sure that I am going to be able to put a site together on Joomla as it took me a few weeks to get the hang of WrodPress and my understanding is that it is a lot easier than Joomla.
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What about a .ORG install with a link to an outside Forum? – seems to me also that there are some solid Forum Plug-in’s for the .ORG software.
A .ORG install would also allow an iframe of an outside site I think. But I think a good Plug-in would be more straight forward.
I think there are also some sites that will do registration for an event you could link to.
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On my wordpress.com site, I have a html link to an outside hosted forum (it is not embedded in the site, but serves the purpose and connects me with a wider community). You are not going to get to where you want to go with wordpress.com. If it was me and I had already spent the time with WordPress.com, I would spend at least a bit of time looking at WordPress.org and for a premium theme that might meet my needs. Raincoaster is right in that once you move to the next step php and other software/web experience is very helpful, and, yet, a wordpress.org site is the same software that runs the wordpress.com site so you should not lose your time investment to date if you decide to venture on to the next step.
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So would I be right in saying ….
if I use WordPress.Org and pay for the hosting, I am able to place any advertising I like on the site. I would not be able to have a forum embedded on the site but could have a link to another site where a forum could run.
I have had a look at WordPress.org and don’t see a lot of dofference except the hosting issue. Am I missing something?
Will I need to know code to place the ads or is just a cut and paste type operation (or other).
Is Joomla very different? Would it be like starting over again to learn it.
Thank you very much for your help! Feel free to look at my site which is a work in progress but keep in mind that 3 weeks ago I didn’t even know what a domain name was.
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Joomla is really quite complicated.
Self hosted WP is much easier to learn. Very flexible.
I don’t quite understand why if you’re using a free service like WP.com you would need advertising to pay for it. There are companies that do free web hosting with no adverts on your site, and plenty of free sites to host forums on.
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.ORG = = all the ads you want
I think you can embed a Forum in a .ORG site with a Plug-in but it has been a while, so best to ask over there rather than trust my memory.
Yes one of the big differences is you need to find your own host and install the software (software is free over at WordPress.ORG) – some hosts have a “one button install” – one word of caution not all hosts are created the same so some checking and make sure you host is running the right server software and such.
Ads should be cut and paste – as long as they have a text widget in the theme – some themes have some fancy features for ads but I did not have ads on my .ORG site so I never paid any attention to the ads feature.
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Thank you, the more I learn, the more there is to learn!
With the free hosting and forums, what is the catch? This site needs to look professional, the content/hosting etc has to be good. What is the draw back with the free hosting? Would I be able to use my own domain name, I have heard they are slow, what do I need to look out for. Why do people pay for hosting if you can get it for free?
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With free forums, the catch is that they put ads on your site. I wouldn’t go with free if it’s a professional organization. With free hosting, the issues depend on the host: at WordPress.com, you have excellent security but can’t put ads on. With most other free hosts the issues are serious security and support problems, outdated software, and they’re plastered in ads and look incredibly cheap.
Why do you want ads? If they’re not important you’re going to save a fair bit of money and a great deal of dignity by staying here, using the Ad Free and Domain Mapping upgrades. That gives you a unique URL, excellent SEO, super security (this past weekend notwithstanding), and a classy look.
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Most of the free hosts I’ve heard of do allow you to use your own domain name. I’m with x10 hosting and really like it, although if you need any sort of automated email generator like a contact form it’s not working right now I don’t think. Will let you know as soon as I can. Payed hosting I guess is better, but I’m perfectly happy where I am, and would be even happier if my contact form actually worked.
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Very interesting.
The main issue with ads is the recruitment.
I am predicting that allowing free notices for jobs will mean that as soon as I build up a reasonable amount of traffic, I will be overwhelmed with these notices. If I do not allow job notices (or ads) on my site it will seriously reduce the site’s relevance to the community it serves. Job ads are not the main goal of my site, but as I can see that they may be in demand and I really have to put them there in some capacity, I would like to charge for them. I don’t know about the other advertisingn (events equipment etc), it may or may not be in demand.
Would it be possible to start out using WordPress.com (at my own domain name) allowing free job notices, and then if and when I see the need to charge for job ads, to transfer everything to a hosted website and use the WordPress.org software (at the same domain dame) to have bascially the same site with no interruption?
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Job notices aren’t ads if you don’t get paid to place them. God knows I’d have lost two of my blogs years ago if they were. If you do charge, you CANNOT have your blog here or it will be deleted. Yes, you can do exactly the transference you are talking about whenever you feel you’re ready for WordPress.org, and that’s the route we generally recommend for business blogs anyway.
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