chownsy Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 Hello all, I posted earlier in this section asking for help to redevelop my website.After coding (to a degree) a successful looking website which will be going online within the next week or 2, I want to start on the other website. How ever, currently Im using Wordpress as my publishing platform for easier submission of content. Its terrible, I spend longer editing the post to look good than I used to (updated they did) and the theme looks terrible also. I want to make it look professional but have 0 (zero) expertise with making a theme or even a site that can be easily edited for content. Im not asking now for your time to do the site but instead Ideas and a push in the right direction as to what I should do. The website has 100's of pages of reviews and technical advice. Its not SEO optimised at all (which I cannot understand how it works), It currently does not validate at all either. If I can get it more professional looking Im sure with a bit of promotion it will run a lot better than currently. http://www.madmercsairsoft.co.uk is the website in question If anyone has any input it will be greatly appreciated. Skills I know, Basic HTML, Basic CSS and starting to learn PHP now. I have Ideas for the layout but menu bars and content pages are coming up short currently. RegardsRichard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krewe Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 So what exactly do you need help with? I don't understand where your problem is. Do you not know how to make a theme? Are you having trouble with the layout? What? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownsy Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 (edited) Ive been told wordpress is not the best to use and as stated it takes me ages to upload content since they updated the platform, adding content takes a lot longer than it used to. (for example, I used to be able to C+P from word to wordpress and it would all be formatted but now it leaves huge gaps between every line so I have to manually take the gap out, then paragraph everything) I was asking for either tips or advice on the following: 1. making a website where I upload the content all myself but enable it so formatting of the website (paragraphs etc are easier with maybe a small back end side input form)2, finding a new publishing site like joomla or php nuke but then I would need advice on making a theme3. any alternative ideas people have. My main concern is SEO optimising the website as I get 1000+ views but newer sites that do less than me get 5000- 20000 views a day which is frustrating as I have a lot more knowledge I can give to the sport. Richard Edited September 5, 2012 by chownsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niche Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 I read about issues., like yours, all the time. In fact, it's the issue that everyone with a web site has to consider; do I make or buy (reuse). chownsy, you sound like you're about to cross the line to DIY land. If that's true, it will be a good decision. It makes more sense to become an experienced before using a framework. IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownsy Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 I think the crossing of the line it going to happen but I'm going to need some serious help over this. Can someone at least explain SEO optimisation, I have read online things but still struggle to understand how to implement it to make all my websites get more visits. Thank you niche for all your help, your support has pushed me to do more with my coding and started to look into PHP now too which is great to say im able to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birbal Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 SEO optmisation is about making a semantic page. using meaningfull tags in pages to help bots to recognise tehe contents of the page and index them appropiately.SEO optimisation is simple there is some rule which you have to follow when you build your markup. eg using h1-6 tags to mark a header and emphasis the content type. where as you can use span and give them style using css to display it as h1-6 tags but that wont help in SEO. using appropiate link name (descriptive),using alt attribute to tell what is about the links. etc. . if you have problem in understanding any particular thing you could ask here so we can try to enlighten it. https://www.google.co.in/search?q=google+seo&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-beta check this. there is also a google ebook about SEO there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niche Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 What's the purpose of your site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownsy Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 3 sites i want to SEO optimise. 1st is Agricultural contracting2nd is My motorbike restoration3rd and the one im discussing here is reviews of products for Airsoft (a military simulation sport) - this is the one I want help with rebuilding and why I have a wordpress site atm because of the reviews are easier to publish than coding in manually each page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niche Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Just curious, one site or three? Also, what's the value of each for the users? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownsy Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 2 sites I have got designed and just need to finish off and upload the site www.madmercsairsoft.co.uk is the one i need help with, how you mean value for the users? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niche Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 (edited) Value is the difference between what your site costs your user and what they get from using it even if it's free. SEO becomes somewhat of a false premise if your users don't actively promote your site to others. That requires value. Else, you're just another cork on Google's ocean. When you DIY, you can create a user experience that's powerful enough produce an ocean of your own. That's not to suggest that you want to be without a connection to google. However, you won't be dependent on google when you give users an experience so meaningful that they can't wait to tell their friends. Be the ocean. Edited September 6, 2012 by niche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownsy Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 (edited) Thats what I want to be with my sites, Oceans Costs of my review site: Host: about £2 a monthDomain : £6 a year Products:Some are free, some cost customs and excise, others I pay the full value which can be upto £400 Income from site: £0 I want it so companies come to me and say I want you to review my product, I want to be able to reach audiences that come back time and time again for technical help and reviews of new products. I have advert banners of the companies that send me items which balances out the item cost in an advert for them hence why now its starting to grow a little more again I want to make it be as you say "its own ocean" EDIT: Im so grateful for all this help and guidence, the tutorials do so much, but this advice gives me more confidence to push this my own direction with my own coding. Edited September 6, 2012 by chownsy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niche Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 (edited) Your site is just the sharp end of your spear. You need to get all the wood behind your point else your site won't easily snowball regardless of the SOE that's built into it. 99.x% of that wood has nothing to do with code. It has to do with your business model. Read Gary Hamel's book, Leading the Revolution. It was written 13 years ago, but you'll swear it was written yesterday. Chapter 4 demystifies the business model (pay particular attention the the part about profit boosters) and chapter 6 zeros in on the purpose that needs to be behind powerful business models. Be sure you read the first edition!!! Edited September 6, 2012 by niche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justsomeguy Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 I'm so confused. Are we talking about spearfishing for snowballs on the ocean? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescientist Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 (edited) I'm so confused. Are we talking about spearfishing for snowballs on the ocean? on a wooden raft. Edited September 6, 2012 by thescientist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niche Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 (edited) OK, but don't forget about the profit boosters. They're included! Though seriously, when a poster tells us he's not making any money, it's probably not appropriate to tell him his answer is somewhere in his code. The answer I gave will get him on the right track. Edited September 6, 2012 by niche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownsy Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 Im not out to make any profit on a website. I just want my site to be seen more more users (I dont have google ads or anything generating income) So SEO optimising my other 2 sites I will get someone to look over when they are both fully live (one could take a year if my brother does not hurry up with his information) This Wordpress site www.madmercsairsoft.co.uk What would people suggest then for it. I basically write the review on word. then copy and paste that into the wordpress back end editor and have to then edit it to remove all the stupid spaces it puts in it, then I put the pictures in and then a new page is created. Its faster than manually coding each page to make sure it works and validates. But if you validate the site now it will come up with 3500 errors and just looks rubbish. Im just lost for Ideas on it. Could I use my other site www.repsolhondanc24.co.uk or would you say that would ###### as a review site. I like the site layout for the Bike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niche Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Something's motivating you. That something is taking the place of profit which doesn't always have to be monetized. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownsy Posted September 7, 2012 Author Share Posted September 7, 2012 Something's motivating you. That something is taking the place of profit which doesn't always have to be monetized. I got myself a job working for the ambulance service so wont have time to do much coding after 1st October, Probably just the reviews so Im motivated by that. Also getting more companies to deal with is motivating me as well. Plus I think it looks c**pRichard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownsy Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Okay I have been thinking. Coding my own site would be better and be more secure (no back end to hack, only my ftp) I will be needing a lot of help with the initial design and possibly on the menu layout. The main problem I see is going to be when its made, I will need to make a new page every time and this will mean editing every other page. (links etc) also formatting the site and adding pictures too. Before I start work this morning on the basic layout etc of the site, does anyone have any last offers of help on this . for example use Joomla and make a theme for that or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niche Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 That's true only if you create static pages. Not if you make dynamic. Just google "dynamic vs static pages". You'll need to know php and mysql at a minimum so do some of the w3schools tutorials, but first be clear about the difference between static and dynamic sites. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chownsy Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 Okay so Dynamic it is. Yes I am working through PHP currently (reading only, not practice yet) for my Webmail form that I was on about for my other website. I know I will get totally stuck but I will get as far as I can before coming back for help. Thank you for everything so far Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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