When taking part in today's social Web, the question is no longer "to blog or not to blog?" Instead, the question small businesses getting online should be asking themselves is "what should I blog about?" Getting a blog online is often easier than building a site for your business from scratch.
A number of companies offer blogging plug-ins with their hosting packages or domain names.
These same companies also usually offer interfaces that help to build free websites, but these interfaces are not as customizable nor are they as easily updated as your average blog.
That's why it might be a good idea to forego the idea of a traditional site and have your business website built in blog form.
Blogging tools like WordPress, Blogger, ExpressionEngine, and TextPattern allow for easy customization in appearance.
WordPress in particular is popular these days, and "themes" (template designs expressly made to augment WordPress blogs) abound on the Web for little to no cost.
The majority of these blogging tools allow for the creation of the site pages many visitors come to expect when landing upon a website-About Us, Contact Us, Testimonials, etc.
The major difference is that the homepage, instead of being a static entity, is a living thing.
The latest company news, industry-related articles, or special deals added to the blog are the first items that appear for clients landing on the site.
Not only does this encourage repeat visits, it is good for the site's search engine rankings.
The search engines, especially Google, like to see site content regularly updated in an organic manner.
What better way to add new, relevant, timely content to your site than with a blog? But I Don't Want it to Look Like a Blog Early on in the development of the weblog, using a blogging platform as a site builder probably seemed out of the question, but the fact of the matter is that many corporate sites are built with blogging platforms like WordPress or content management systems operating on blog-like principals.
Just because a blogging platform is what you use to manage the content of your site does not mean that it has to look like a typical blog.
In general, blogs appear with text on the left hand part of the screen and links (blogroll, archives, etc.
) appear on the right.
Simply moving the links to the left hand side will alter the appearance and make it appear more corporate.
Be sure to also include navigation for the site's main non-blog pages (About Us, Company History, Contact, and so on) at the top of the page.
Just Because Others are Doing it, Does that Mean I Should? Of course not, but using a blogging platform as a site builder often allows for a more flexible site whose content can be more easily updated and changed, and for one that encourages more participation from site visitors.
That participation can result in building a customer base through word of mouth, lead collection, and repeat visits.
Making your small business blog your primary site isn't the only option, but it's definitely one to consider.
When shopping for a new hosting package, look for packages that support blogging platforms and their plug-ins, and hosting packages that offer a free website domain name with hosting purchase.
That way, you'll have the option if you decide to use it.
A number of companies offer blogging plug-ins with their hosting packages or domain names.
These same companies also usually offer interfaces that help to build free websites, but these interfaces are not as customizable nor are they as easily updated as your average blog.
That's why it might be a good idea to forego the idea of a traditional site and have your business website built in blog form.
Blogging tools like WordPress, Blogger, ExpressionEngine, and TextPattern allow for easy customization in appearance.
WordPress in particular is popular these days, and "themes" (template designs expressly made to augment WordPress blogs) abound on the Web for little to no cost.
The majority of these blogging tools allow for the creation of the site pages many visitors come to expect when landing upon a website-About Us, Contact Us, Testimonials, etc.
The major difference is that the homepage, instead of being a static entity, is a living thing.
The latest company news, industry-related articles, or special deals added to the blog are the first items that appear for clients landing on the site.
Not only does this encourage repeat visits, it is good for the site's search engine rankings.
The search engines, especially Google, like to see site content regularly updated in an organic manner.
What better way to add new, relevant, timely content to your site than with a blog? But I Don't Want it to Look Like a Blog Early on in the development of the weblog, using a blogging platform as a site builder probably seemed out of the question, but the fact of the matter is that many corporate sites are built with blogging platforms like WordPress or content management systems operating on blog-like principals.
Just because a blogging platform is what you use to manage the content of your site does not mean that it has to look like a typical blog.
In general, blogs appear with text on the left hand part of the screen and links (blogroll, archives, etc.
) appear on the right.
Simply moving the links to the left hand side will alter the appearance and make it appear more corporate.
Be sure to also include navigation for the site's main non-blog pages (About Us, Company History, Contact, and so on) at the top of the page.
Just Because Others are Doing it, Does that Mean I Should? Of course not, but using a blogging platform as a site builder often allows for a more flexible site whose content can be more easily updated and changed, and for one that encourages more participation from site visitors.
That participation can result in building a customer base through word of mouth, lead collection, and repeat visits.
Making your small business blog your primary site isn't the only option, but it's definitely one to consider.
When shopping for a new hosting package, look for packages that support blogging platforms and their plug-ins, and hosting packages that offer a free website domain name with hosting purchase.
That way, you'll have the option if you decide to use it.