1. November 14 & 15, 2011
Shannon Scanlan
Business Services Librarian
sscanlan@ahml.info

2. Why a Business Blog or Website?
 Blogs are free
 Website hosting is inexpensive
 Control over your website layout and content
 No need for a webmaster
 Easy to publish content
 Variety of applications and appearances to chose from

3. Where Do I Begin?
 Why are you creating a website for your business?
 Money maker
 Customer service
 Informational (highlight your products)
 Networking
 Blogger.com can be accessed with a Gmail account
 Sign up for Wordpress or download the software
 Decide who in your business is going to be creating the website
and/or creating the content
 Decide if you need a web host
 Buy a domain name or create a name for your blog
 http://www.networksolutions.com/
 Develop a style of writing for your website

4. Blogger
 Blogger is a self publishing website for blogs
 A blog is a website that is updated with
content, photos links, videos etc...similar to an online
journal
 Content is usually displayed in chronological order
 Blogger was bought by Google in 2003
 Users can create an unlimited number of blogs
 Those who can add content to your blog-100 users
 10 pages per blog
 No outside hosting

5. Wordpress
 First released in 2003
 More freedom with applications and design than
Blogger
 As of August 2011, powers 22% of all new websites
 Wordpress software can be downloaded and used to
create a website
 Allows for outside website hosting
 Website hosting incurs a host fee (GoDaddy, Bluehost)
 Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is built in

6. Wordpress.com or .org?
 Wordpress.com is free hosting
 Cannot control plug ins or advertising
 Wordpress.org software must be downloaded
 Hosting providers usually are less than $10 a month
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8355qaOKXC8&feat
ure=related

7. Blogger Dashboard

8. Wordpress Dashboard

9. Design
 Blogger and Wordpress have templates/themes for
website design
 Template designer (Blogger) and Appearance
(Wordpress) allows for customization of color,
background, column width and layout
 Page elements can be moved around page layout
 Additional users can be added
 Comments can be moderated

10. Website Stats
 Blogger and Wordpress have stat tracking for visitors
 Tracks top posts, traffic sources
 Wordpress tracks search engine terms and clicks
 Blogger tracking includes a visitor map, page views by
operating systems and browsers

11. Adsense
 Adsense is a program through Google which displays
text, photos, ads targeted to your website’s content
 Revenue is generated “per click”
 Blogger allows Adsense
 Adsense help
https://www.google.com/adsense/support/
 Wordpress does not allow Adsense on free blogs

12. Link to an Online Store
 http://www.aquaricreations.blogspot.com/
 Add a link to Paypal
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_r7aathpBYY

13. Followup
 Submit your website to search engines
 Google
 Bing
 Yahoo
 Monitor comments and stats
 Be patient and consistent
 Share your business website URL on business cards,
flyers, banners, coupons, print ads and stationary

14. Websites Designed with Wordpress & Blogger
 http://andesadventuregu  http://www.stonyfield.co
ides.com/ m/blog/
 http://www.alissaneilpr.c  http://www.blogsouthwe
om/ st.com/
 http://www.aquaresorts.  http://disneyparks.disne
com/ y.go.com/blog/

15. Additional Information
 http://www.expand2web.com/blog/why-use-wordpress-to-
power-your-small-business-website/
 http://www.aoclarkejr.com/wordpress-business-
themes.html
 http://wordpressforbusiness.org/
 http://wordpressforbusiness.org/business-web-design/7-
big-reasons-to-create-your-new-small-business-website-
using-wordpress
 http://www.thesitewizard.com/gettingstarted/startwebsite
.shtml
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gR0xZjhWfJQ&feature
=related