All Web sites fall into one of two categories. They’re either static (your typical HTML site) or dynamic. A blog falls into the latter category, as do other forms of database driven Web sites.

There’s a shorter learning curve to developing a static HTML site from scratch. I build these types of sites in Dreamweaver. Others use FrontPage. Some simply use Notepad, which is all that’s truly needed once you understand how to write the code. Still, there is a learning curve. I generally maintain HTML sites for my clients because I already know how the site works. For a client to take over the site, they need to purchase software and/or learn sufficient HTML to make content changes without “breaking” the site.

A WordPress blog on the other hand, is designed to handle easy content updates by anyone with permission and an Internet connection. Installation is simple, but site customization beyond uploading one of many available themes requires knowledge of PHP and CSS.

A WordPress blog is more versatile than a static Web site. Upon install, it has all the necessary functionality built in to easily update, share, and archive content. Blog posts, such as this, show up on a “posts page.” Clicking on the headline of the post takes you to a “permalink” page that only displays that one specific post and comments. Add a category and tags to your post, and now you and your readers have the ability to find everything you’ve ever written within that category. You can also find posts through the search box, another automatic WordPress function.

This blog uses the posts page as the home page, but you can also create a static home page and any number of additional pages, selecting a different page for your posts page. Changing this is as simple as clicking a radio button inside your settings panel.

WordPress plugins extend the functionality of your blog, offering simple ways to create redirects, search engine optimize each post, track the keywords used to find your post, create contact forms, import video, and easily share each article.

If you regularly add fresh, interesting content to your blog, it will be indexed more frequently by the search engines. If you take the time to search engine optimize your posts for relevant keyword phrases used by your market, your posts will be more easily seen by your market. Over-simplified? Somewhat, but getting the most out of your business blog will be a topic for future posts.

Related Articles:

Should I Change My Website Into a Blog?
Is it a Blog or a Website?

It may seem that I’d welcome them with open arms, seeing as this is a “Do Follow” blog. In other words, the default “nofollow” tag doesn’t attach itself to the Web site URL you leave behind when you comment. Spammers no doubt consider this to be fertile ground!

So, in an effort to encourage legitimate comments and conversation, here’s my policy when it comes to whether or not your blog comment makes it past this human filter.

Leave your name, not a keyword phrase in the name field. It’s my first clue that there may be a human on the other end of the comment.

Like every other writer, I’m glad to hear when you like what I’ve written, but if you’re only telling me that to gain a link, please don’t. You’ll gain a link through contributing to the conversation. Tell me why you’ve liked it, what you’ve learned, add your perspective, or tell me that I’m all wet … here’s why. I’m all for reciprocal linking, but not just for the sake of the link … let’s offer each other’s readers some value.

Please don’t link back directly to your sales page. That’s like walking into a networking meeting and shouting, buy my products! It’s annoying to my readers and of no benefit to you.

When a comment comes through the second time word-for-word, it doesn’t make it past the spam filter. It may sound like a legitimate comment once, but the second time is a dead give-away.

To all who have contributed thoughtful comments, thank you! Your participation is appreciated.

Do you have a blog commenting policy?

Related Articles:

Comment Spamming Do Follow Blogs 101

For Those About to Spam, I Salute You

When I strike out with Flickr, my next choice is Stock.XCHNG for free downloadable images. They also have premium images available for $1.

Another option is iStockphoto. Images on this site tend to be higher quality than on Stock.XCHNG, and prices start at $1 and work up. They offer a beautiful assortment of vector illustrations in the $10 range. This is my site of choice for images to use in web site layouts and for print-based work.

Regardless of where you find images for use on your blog, make sure you read their licensing agreement. Many Creative Commons photos on Flickr only require attribution to the photographer and a link back to their Flickr page, but some add additional restrictions. Likewise, some images on Stock.XCHNG require attribution, and all photographers appreciate a link.

Photo Credit: FelipeArte (Creative Commons)

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To subscribe to an RSS feed, you need a feed reader. My reader of choice is Bloglines. It’s web-based, a plus for those of us who work on more than one computer.

Other options include the Google Reader, My Yahoo, or the browser-based Mozilla Thunderbird. I’ve tried them all and for what it’s worth, settled on Bloglines for its ease of use and functionality.

After you’ve registered for an account, click on Tools in your browser’s toolbar, then options. This will bring up the following pop-up box. (Note that yours will look different than the illustration if you use a browser other than Firefox.)

Simply click on the feeds tab, and select “Subscribe to the feed using,” then click on Bloglines, then OK.

Next, navigate back to this blog, and click on the little orange icon to the right of the address bar:

Your Bloglines will open up (you may need to log-in first), and you’ll be presented with the following screen:

File it in the top folder or create a new folder. Add a note if you like. Then click subscribe. You’ll then find this feed under the “Feeds” tab at the left of your screen.

That little orange subscribe icon will show up in your browser’s address bar whenever an RSS feed is available for a page. And now that you’re set up in Bloglines, two or three clicks of the mouse are all that it takes to subscribe and receive automatic updates on any topic you find interesting.

Related Articles:

Do You Subscribe to Blog Feeds? This post thoroughly covers why you’d want to read your blogs with a feed reader and provides links to several different feed readers.

Newbie’s Guide to Google Reader  What is Google Reader and why should you use it?

What’s a blog, anyway?

A blog (short for weblog) is the beginning of a two-way conversation with your readers. It is interactive by nature. You, the blogger, post fresh information on a regular basis. Your readers subscribe via an email form or by RSS feed, allowing them to view your new post immediately. But they can do more than just view your content. Your readers have the ability to comment or ask questions.

How can a blog help your business?

1. A blog is an excellent customer education platform.
2. Readers subscribe because they want to hear what you have to say. It’s the beginning of a relationship, where your prospect says “tell me more.”
3. A well-written, regularly updated blog is a credibility builder because it positions you as an expert on your topic.
4. Your blog can/should be a resource, where visitors will come to your blog because you are the source of information they need.
5. Search engines love regularly updated content. Your blog (if regularly updated) will be crawled more often than a static web site.

A blog doesn’t have to be limited to words on a page. You can create audio messages, video messages (YouTube, for example), or a photo blog.

You can even micro-blog, thanks to Twitter. Twitter allows only 140 characters per post (called a “tweet”), which is just about right when you want to share just a thought or an amazing web site with your followers. Note my Twitter feed in this blog’s right column, titled “What I’m doing.”

Finally, one of the best aspects of blogging is the ease with which readers can be notified of new posts. You’ll find a link to my RSS feed to the right of this post, as well as at the bottom of the page, but most easily recognized and accessible via your browser’s address bar. See the little orange icon to the right of your address bar? Click on that icon to add this blog to your RSS reader or bookmarks toolbar.

We’ll talk about setting up your RSS reader in my next post.