The Big Mistake of Author Websites and Blogs

One of nan easiest ways for an writer to get a tract up and moving is to use Blogger aliases WordPress. As convenient arsenic this is, and arsenic awesome arsenic I find WordPress, this tin lead to a captious error.

Authors extremity up utilizing a blog arsenic their website, but aren’t willing successful blogging.

So their tract looks for illustration a neglected, un-updated blog aliases a lackluster website.

Don’t get maine wrong: Both Blogger & WordPress tin beryllium utilized arsenic effective site-building tools. But astir caller writers don’t spell nan other measurement of structuring their “blog” arsenic a website. Let maine explain.

1. Having a blog intends you’ve sewage yourself a website. (Blog = site.) Blogging is simply a functionality aliases a measurement of presenting accusation aliases contented connected a website. A website whitethorn aliases whitethorn not characteristic a blog.
2. Blogger and WordPress systems attraction connected blogging functionality. They put nan blog beforehand and center, and presume that you are willing successful blogging. If you are willing successful having a tract only, past you person to return steps to alteration nan presentation.

You do not person to blog, and if you don’t person overmuch liking successful nan form, past please don’t prosecute it. As pinch immoderate shape of writing, it takes a sizeable finance of power and clip to do it correct and get thing from it. (See my 101 clang people here.)

But I do urge each writer person a website, and utilizing WordPress aliases Blogger is simply a bully measurement to do that for free and still conquer nan learning curve. (See my station here.)

So, really shall we toggle shape your blog-focused tract into thing much appropriate? We want to make nan landing page static. The landing page is what first appears erstwhile group sojourn your site.

While technically specified a point is imaginable successful Blogger, it is not straightforward. (If you want, search Google to position disposable tutorials.)

For that logic (and others!), I ever urge authors usage WordPress erstwhile starting their first site. In WordPress, spell into your Admin, and click connected Settings > Reading.

You want to show WordPress that nan beforehand page (the landing page) should show thing OTHER than blog posts. To show you an example, sojourn janefriedman.wordpress.com. Here’s what I did:

1. I created a page that I called Welcome. As you tin spot below, I’ve designated that arsenic nan beforehand page of my site. The contented you spot connected this page is what I typed correct into nan page contented field. (Click present for a screenshot.)
2. I created different page called News & Events, but I near nan contented section blank. Because I’ve designated this arsenic my “posts page” (see below), nan contented present is populated by thing I adhd to “Posts” successful WordPress. (Click present for a screenshot.)
3. You could besides designate NO page for posts (leave nan action blank alternatively than selecting a page), and your tract will not characteristic immoderate blog posts, only fixed pages.

What I’ve done is fundamentally create a website wherever blog posts exist, but they are not nan focal constituent of nan site. This is astir apt a desirable business for galore authors, yet they make nan correction of putting their blog astatine nan halfway of things erstwhile it doesn’t merit that attention.

Take it from me: There’s nary request to blog to person a website. But please do group up your tract decently to debar nan quality that you do blog, but very badly!