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Site Build It! or WordPress? Which is Best? Why?

January 16, 2009 by John Dilbeck
Filed under: Blogging, Opinions, Sitesell and Site Build It, Squidoo Lenses, Twitter, Webhosting, WordPress

This is a question that I have been asking myself for months.

Today, I created a new TwitterStorm (Twttrstrm.com) asking Which is better for building an online business? Site Build It! or WordPress? Why?

What’s a TwitterStorm? This is a new site powered by Squidoo. Now you can ask a question of your Twitter followers and easily gather all their answers in one spot.

I know that the majority of people who will see this post are probably happy WordPress users. I’m one, too.

Still, after years of building websites and blogging on a lot of platforms, I still keep coming back to thinking Site Build It! is a better choice for building a business website.

Is it better to blog or build?

When Ken Evoy first raised this question, I was leaning towards blogging and disagreed with some of the things he said about it. Now, however, after months of blogging, I’m not as in favor of WordPress as I once was, especially when building multiple blogs.

As part of my goals for 2009, I’ve decided to do more to promote local businesses in Murphy, NC. I already have several blogs and websites related to Murphy and Cherokee County, NC. I’m really not happy with any of them.

I’m considering mothballing all of them except for my Murphy, NC 28906 blog, which needs serious updating. First off, I have to upgrade to WordPress 2.7, change the theme, add plugins, add widgets, and then I’m faced with finding things to write about, in addition to updating the blog software whenever necessary.

I can probably get the blog to where I want it in a couple of days without too much of a problem, because I’ve been doing this a long time and know what I want to do. I’m going to change it and fashion that blog after this one.

One of the problems with blogs is always having to manage the software and that takes away time and energy from actually writing content.

My Act On Your Dream! site is powered by Site Build It! and has been sadly neglected over the last year or more. Now that I can devote full-time to building my business, I can put more effort into building it into the site I have planned. Still, even with little work on my part, it continues to attract visitors and makes a nice profit.

There are lots of things wrong with that site, however. I’ve only built a small fraction of what I have planned for it, and there are a couple of main reasons for that.

For over six years, I was my Mom’s full-time caretaker and the duties associated with that took precedence over everything else. I am happy that I was able to care for her so long when she needed it.

The second reason is that I wasted a lot of time and effort testing a lot of different ways to build websites. I’ve lost track of how many different blogging platforms and content management systems I’ve tested. What do I have to show for it? A lot of neglected or abandoned blogs in my wake. Of all the blogs I’ve started, there are only two or three that I’m going to continue updating.

What do I do with the others? Some of them get traffic and even earn a profit. Do I delete them and redirect the domain to a page on a site I’ll keep? Or, do I just throw them out with the rest of the clutter and delete them and then let the domain expire?

It’s hard enough to build traffic to a site. I really don’t like the idea of just deleting a site that actually gets visitors.

Is it better to keep the domain and put up a static page explaining that the blog has been taken down and link to one of my related sites, or is it best to just let the domain expire and forget about it?

Being a packrat, I tend to want to do the former, but I’m thinking this is a good time to declutter my online life as I unclutter my offline world.

I continue asking myself this question: Why do I have so many blogs?

I think the main answer is that the cost of entry is so low that it’s easy to throw up a blog on the spur of the moment and just as easy to lose interest in it somewhere down the line.

I already have a reseller account on HostGator, so I can add a new domain for basically no cost, except for registering the domain. So, there’s little to stop me from testing an idea.

But, I look at those blogs and consider that I am paying over $500 per year just for domain registrations. For that amount, I can get two subscriptions to Site Build It!

I’ve already decided that I’m going to buy a new subscription to SBI to build a new site promoting businesses in Murphy, NC, because only SBI provides all the tools I need to do it right. That means that I’m going to be deleting several sites that I started over the last few years. I hate to do it, because they’re ranked well in the search engines, but I’m sure I can get page one listings on the keywords I want with a new site powered by Site Build It. I know, because I’ve tested it.

So, all of this boils down to my dithering over deciding what to do this year. When it all boils down to the essentials, the only real sites I have that I should keep and maintain would be this blog, Act On Your Dream!, Murphy, NC 28906, and a new SBI site for Murphy.

I’ll probably keep JohnDilbeck.com, but it will be trimmed to a much, much smaller size.

Of course, I’ll continue to maintain my brother’s site, Georgia Drag Racing. There’s not as much to do on that site now that he’s unable to continue building it as he wants. Still, it gets a lot of visitors and there are a lot of people interested in the subject.

I’ll also keep a couple of communities I created on ning.com.

I have a couple of forums that I’ve been trying to build for a couple of years, but they aren’t gaining any traction, so now may be a good time to shut them down, too.

So, in looking at all my sites, blogs, forums, and communities, I can probably drop the number from over 60 to just a half-dozen or so and actually accomplish more with less effort. I don’t know this for sure, but that’s the direction I’m leaning.

When I build a site with Site Build It, I make a commitment to my own success by paying the $300 upfront for an annual subscription. I just don’t have that commitment when I create another free site somewhere.

I often wonder how many other people have gone through these same experiences. Have you?

I’ve read many messages on the members-only SiteSell forum where SBI webmasters tell their stories of floundering around until they find Site Build It and finally concentrate on building a successful business website.

On the other hand, I’ve read many posts on blogs and forums from people who feel that WordPress offers them the best set of features for the lowest cost.

All I know for sure is that I have gone through my testing and learning phase, and I’m ready to implement what I’ve learned.

One of the keys to success is to focus on what you want to do and then put all your effort into manifesting what you imagine. I just don’t believe that can be done when we try to do too much.

I’m really having a hard time making this decision. Part of me wants to simplify everything and focus on affiliate marketing and promoting local businesses. Part of me doesn’t want to lose all the other sites I’ve started. I have to make this decision and implement it, soon.

I welcome your comments, advice, and suggestions. I value the opinions of the people who read this blog.

Who knows? I may have a bunch of domains to sell or give away.

What do you think? Join the Site Build It! or WordPress? twitter storm and share your opinion.

Leave any other comments you’d care to share here.

Act on your dream!

Tags: Site Build It, Squidoo, Twttrstrm, WordPress

Comments

87 Comments on Site Build It! or WordPress? Which is Best? Why?

Brian D. Hawkins on Sat, 17th Jan 2009 1:10 pm

Hi John, I prefer WordPress but Site Build It! has a good reputation too. WordPress has thousands of options when it comes to themes, widgets and plugins. Most Site Build It sites look the same to me. I’d go as far as saying most Site Build It sites look too ‘yesterday’ or amateurish. They remind me of affiliate and AdSence ‘set it and forget it’ sites. I dropped my account there several years ago so there may be a bunch of new things I’m not aware of so I could be off base.

As far as what to do with a dropped domain I would probably use a permanent 301 redirect to recover as much traffic as possible and help correct any links that may exist on other sites. Perhaps you could redirect the traffic to a special landing page with a short explanation and welcoming them to the site they were just redirected to.

It sounds like you are trying to do the same thing as I am. Cutting back on time consuming projects and concentrating on what’s most important and/or profitable. My problem is I think of too many new projects before old ones take off or shut down. Maybe we can put our minds together and figure out how to make a day last longer than 24 hours

Dennis Edell on Sat, 17th Jan 2009 2:05 pm

Ken Evoy himself wrote a rather lengthy “comparison” article on this.

Yea, it rubbed a whole mess of WP fanatics the wrong way. LOL

Dennis Edell´s last blog post..Blogroll Effectiveness – What Do You Think?

John Dilbeck on Sun, 18th Jan 2009 10:25 am

Good morning, Brian.

When it comes to building a blog, I’ve decided that WordPress wins, hands down, for the reasons you mention. It’s powerful and very customizable.

Still, the question remains, is WordPress the best way to build a business website?

I earn more from my static websites than I do from my blogs, and I have the stats to prove that the static sites have traffic much deeper into them than my blogs do. Pages have a longer life and more visitors on the static sites, even the old pages.

I like the simple look of most Site Build It! sites. I have to fight the tendencies that I’ve acquired through blogging to gum up all my pages with sidebars and multiple graphics. I think the simpler pages with only one or two options are easier on the readers and more likely to produce the “Most Wanted Response” for the page.

Some of the SBI sites look amateurish, but they may be the first site that person ever created. I don’t think that’s a fair assessment of most SBI sites, especially since the ability to upload our own HTML was offered some time back.

I hate to admit it, especially after all the sites I’ve created, but I don’t fully understand the importance of a 301 permanent redirect. I’ll have to look into this more.

Yes, I think redirecting to a landing page is a good idea. At least that way the visitor won’t be too confused.

I am absolutely working to simplify my life more and to eliminate non-profitable activities.

I think you hit the nail on the head when you said you think of too many new projects before the older ones come to fruition. I’ve done the same. I can justify it by saying that I was testing various things to see how they work, and that’s true, but it’s not the full story. I, too, come up with more ideas than I can ever implement and then don’t have the time and energy to continue developing them as they demand.

I end up spreading myself too thin rather than focusing and going deeper.

I have to stop that and focus on the two areas that are working for me. By doing that, I won’t need to work with you to make a day longer than 24 hours. Focusing on the important issues should make it possible to do all I need to do in a few hours.

Thanks for your comments, Brian.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Sun, 18th Jan 2009 10:48 am

Good morning, Dennis.

It was Ken’s article about Blog or Build that started me thinking about this issue a few months ago.

Yes, it created a flurry of comments and lots of people disagreed, some rather vehemently.

Initially, I disagreed with him, too. I continued building static sites and blogs. I’ve definitely decided to move my blogs to WordPress. I’ve also decided to create another static site powered by SBI, even though I have the tools, experience, and knowledge to use other tools to build the site.

Still, months later, after having poured as much effort as I could (at the time) into building my business, I’m starting to agree with Ken.

Most of my blogs are ineffective and time-consuming. This one is doing well, but most aren’t. It’s time to apply the Pareto Principle (the 80/20 rule) and cut loose the ones that don’t do what I want.

I’ve identified that about 10% of my sites are producing about 90% of my income and they take the least amount of work, too.

At least, in my case, applying the 80/20 rule is appropriate, and it probably applies to most other people who are marketing on the Internet, too.

In my case, however, I can’t make the clear choice between building a static website or blogging.

For both affiliate marketing and promoting Murphy, NC, it looks like the best approach is to build a static site with Site Build It! and also have a blog powered by WordPress. The two work well together.

For most people, however, I still wonder about the best way to build a business website. I see so many websites that are poorly designed and implemented and get no traffic. No traffic equals a failed website.

Even a site with good traffic fails if it doesn’t persuade the visitors to act on our most wanted response. No conversions equals a failed website.

I know at least a dozen ways to build a static site, but Site Build It! offers the best mix of the tools I need, without adding all the complexity of finding (or writing) and maintaining all the scripts necessary.

I prefer researching a topic and writing about it rather than spending all my time dealing with all the security and maintenance issues related to using scripts to add interactivity to a site.

Both WordPress and Site Build It! offer the tools to add the interactivity I want to a site, but I don’t have to be concerned with all the behind-the-scenes maintenance work on a site powered by SBI.

Thanks for your comment, Dennis.

Act on your dream!

Dennis Edell on Sun, 18th Jan 2009 11:07 am

For those that don’t know, you can build regular looking websites with even more power then HTML with WordPress as well as blogs.

As for the 80/20 rule and slashing dead weight…that should be done on a regular basis no matter what was used to build them originally.

Dennis Edell´s last blog post..As Promised Now You Can Edit Comments Too!

Evyta on Fri, 23rd Jan 2009 9:50 am

wordpress become a CMS today, and it can be more powerful with theme and plugin used in it.

Sire on Sun, 25th Jan 2009 4:03 am

Maybe its because I’m an Aussie, but this is the first time I have ever heard of Site Build It. personally I have too many blogs, websites and forums to bother with a new one, but as to what to do with all you old ones? Well, if they are still making you money, enough to cover domain costs etc, then I would keep them, if nothing else they can also provide links to all your other blogs and sites.

Sire´s last blog post..Sire’s Big Moment A Total Flop

John Dilbeck on Sun, 25th Jan 2009 7:49 am

Good morning, Dennis.

I don’t know how I missed your comment. I guess I’ve been a bad boy, working on other sites and not paying enough attention to this one.

I know it’s possible to build a website that doesn’t look or act like a blog with WordPress, but I haven’t seen any examples. Have you?

I’d enjoy seeing one.

And, I agree with you about slashing dead weight on a regular basis.

The only problem I have experienced is that it becomes increasingly difficult to do as I have more sites online. There comes a point where there just isn’t enough time and energy to do a proper job, and I’m not earning enough to hire someone to do it for me, yet.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Sun, 25th Jan 2009 8:10 am

Good morning, Evyta.

Yes, WordPress can be used as a CMS.

I created a blog a couple of years ago that I used more or less as a database to manage coupons.

Over a couple of months, it evolved into a site with over 180 categories, including all 50 states in the USA, all provinces in Canada, and about 20 other countries.

It had categories for various types of businesses and the months the coupons expired.

I was using this to feed information to 50 Squidoo lenses (one for each of the states in the USA) by syndicating the proper category from the blog to each lens.

At the end of the month, I could manage posts in the category for coupons that expired in the previous month and then delete them.

It was a lot of work setting it up, but it worked well.

Then SFI Marketing Group pulled the rug out from under me when they eliminated the Nice Offers program.

I lost months of work – that never paid me back for all the work I’d put into setting up the system I was building.

Still, I learned a lot about using WordPress in ways that most blogs aren’t used.

It’s a powerful system.

Unfortunately, I spent about a day last week taking down that site: SyndicateYourAd.com.

I’m keeping the domain and may rebuild the blog, or I may just mothball it for now. I haven’t decided. For the moment, I’m using it to link to my three primary blogs.

Still, I was impressed with what could be accomplished with WordPress.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Sun, 25th Jan 2009 8:36 am

Good morning, Sire.

Site Build It! is used by tens of thousands of people around the world to build sites that rank very well in the search engines and most of them are profitable. Some are very profitable.

For example, when I searched on Google for “Australia outback” (without the quotes), the first site on page one of the results links to Outback-Australia-Travel-Secrets.com, and it is powered by Site Build It.

I don’t know what your results will be if you make that search, since there may be differences in what Google returns in the USA and the results you’ll see in Australia.

My sadly-neglected SBI site is AYearFromNow.com – Act On Your Dream!, and I need to make some time to expand that site as I’ve been planning for the last few months.

Even with so little done to it over the last year or more, it remains profitable and I have plans for making it do better over time.

I’ll be purchasing a new SBI subscription to build a site promoting Murphy, NC in the next month or so, to go with my blog and online community I’m working on.

SBI offers some integrated tools that are very hard to emulate using other systems.

You offer some good advice on what to do with some of my older sites. Yes, the ones that are profitable will probably stay, but I’ll have to find the time to update them, fix broken links, remove parts that are incomplete, and so forth. They’ll still be part of my maintenance chores, so they’ll have to do more than just pay for their costs. They’ll have to make at least enough profit to justify spending some time working on them now and then.

I also agree with you that they can work just for linking to my current sites. That’s what I did last week with my SyndicateYourAd.com site. It doesn’t pay it’s way and I removed all monetization from the site, but it has traffic and I’m linking to three of my blogs there, now.

It can be difficult to decide what to do with each of the domains, blogs, forums, and so forth, but I’m moving on with it.

Thanks for your comment, Sire.

Act on your dream!

Dennis Edell on Sun, 25th Jan 2009 11:52 am

I’ve seen a few. next time i’ll try to remember to bring it back here.

Dennis Edell´s last blog post..FINAL CALL: $100 Blog Review Contest Ends The 31st!

Sire on Mon, 26th Jan 2009 6:25 am

I did the same search and it cam up on page one, about the seventh one down. How can you tell that it is a SBI site?

Just as a matter of interest, what do you get when you search for Scenic Adelaide?

John Dilbeck on Mon, 26th Jan 2009 6:42 am

Good morning, Dennis.

Yes, please do. I’d like to see a site built with WordPress that doesn’t look or act like a blog.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Mon, 26th Jan 2009 7:17 am

Good morning, Sire.

There are a few clues when I see a site powered by Site Build It!

A few years ago, it was relatively easy, because there were only a dozen or so templates for sites. That changed when the system was reprogrammed to allow us to design and upload our own HTML. Now, we can design our sites however we want and choose to use, or not use, the standard navigation and RSS tools provided by SBI.

The first clue was the domain name which consists of keywords separated by hyphens.

The second clue was the “What’s an RSS feed?” link near the bottom of the left column.

The third clue was the formatting of the Table of Contents near the bottom of the home page’s right column, which is automatically generated by SBI.

The clincher was the About Me page, where B. tells her story about moving to Australia and building the site. She talks about using SBI and links to a couple of SBI pages with an affiliate link.

(Look at that, I like SBI so much that I’m sending you to a competitor’s page! I don’t mind, however, because I think the site is a very good example of what can be done with SBI by a dedicated site owner.)

After using SBI for several years, it’s easy to spot others, but not nearly as easy as it was a few years ago.

There are a lot of tools that are included in SBI that make it easier to build a site that gets found in the search engines and makes it easier to interact with visitors. Although their appearance can be customized, there is enough similarity that they are easy to spot if you know what you’re looking for.

When I searched for “Scenic Adelaide,” I found Scenic Adelaide on page 1 number 1.

It looks like that must be your site. You have some great photos there. I’m hoping to do something similar for my adopted home town this year.

Act on your dream!

Sire on Tue, 27th Jan 2009 4:02 am

Yeah, I had to throw that Scenic Adelaide one in as I am pretty proud of the site and of the domain name.

Man, that was some about page she put together. This whole SBI thing sounds interesting. Once I get a bit more time I may put one together. Yeah, I know I said the same thing about Squidoo and I have made a start on it, but SBI, well, we shall see.

Sire´s last blog post..Sire’s Big Moment A Total Flop

Mark on Tue, 27th Jan 2009 9:31 am

I was a WordPress fan (not a fanboy mind you, just a person that appreciates simplicity ) for quite a while but now I don’t know anymore. WordPress is cool when you’re making a personal blog or a page, but recently I’ve been thinking about turning my hobby into a profession and I don’t know anymore. Site Build It! has a great track record, but I’m already familiar with WordPress. Is it worth the change ?

Sascha Partnersuche on Thu, 29th Jan 2009 6:07 am

Hi john!
If you have something like 60 blogs all related to the same topics which is business in NC, I think you rather build a website on your own that gathers everything´you write an your blogs.
Than you would optimize it for SEO, and everything. Find a cool domain name and make it more WEB 2.0 and enable users to participate.
Invest in adwords, and try to make it as the NC business site!!
That was my suggestion, debate??? let me know

Lisa on Thu, 29th Jan 2009 8:00 am

So which one would you recommend for someone who is just starting out ?

Colleen on Fri, 30th Jan 2009 1:15 am

Hi John,
I recognized your unique Avatar from Squidoo immediately! It must be the handsomeness!

Wordpress all the way baby! We have several blogs related to real estate and lately we’ve been putting them out on unique class c ip addresses and are using them like micro blogs. Very similar to a Squidoo lens, but on it’s own website.

Anyway, haven’t tried Site Build It, but I’ll rest in “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

~Colleen, Squidoo’s SemperFidelis

Colleen´s last blog post..What Is “Bacn?”

John Dilbeck on Wed, 4th Feb 2009 3:23 pm

Good afternoon, Sire.

I’m sorry for the delay. I’ve been sick and my computer died and I’m just now getting back online with an old computer I haven’t used in over a year. But, at least I’m limping along.

I think you’ve done well with your Scenic Adelaide site. Congrats!

SBI, in my opinion, is the best way for most people to build a site that gets lots of free visitors. I’ll be starting a new site soon.

I’m pulling down most of my blogs and several of my static sites. They’re more trouble than they’re worth and I want to concentrate on sites that produce results and profits.

I wonder how you’ll take to SBI. The main part of the system is the C-T-P-M approach. Build content, which attracts free traffic from the search engines, then PREsell your visitors to persuade them, then monetize the site.

The whole process is driven from Brainstorm It! which helps you identify the main keywords and phrases that people are looking for in your niche. This helps you build a three-tier site plan, and all of it is driven by keyword research, which is something I know you don’t like to do.

If I had to choose between them, I’d take a single well-done SBI site over several dozen Squidoo lenses, but they can work well together.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Wed, 4th Feb 2009 3:33 pm

Good afternoon, Mark

I am a fan of both Site Build It! and WordPress. I think they work well together, but if I had to choose only one approach, I’d go with SBI first.

I have been using WordPress for awhile and can do pretty much what I want with it, but I find that traffic from the search engines declines when I’m not updating a blog regularly, and that doesn’t happen with my SBI site which gets thousands of page views per month even when I haven’t done anything with it for some time. And that’s for a site that really isn’t a good fit for SBI.

I can’t tell you if it is worth the change, honestly. That’s something you’ll have to decide.

All I know is that I am moving away from other ways to build sites and new sites will be powered by SBI, because I like the results I get and the tools that are available.

Right now, I’m planning a new site that will be powered by SBI and I hope to go live with it by spring.

It’s a personal choice, and may not be a good fit for everyone. However, SBI has been proven to work well for tens of thousands of site owners.

Best of luck in turning your hobby into a profession.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Wed, 4th Feb 2009 4:32 pm

Good afternoon, Sascha.

One thing I’m doing is closing the blogs that are not profitable. I just don’t see the point in doing the work, if I’m not earning the income.

One of the beauties of Site Build It! is that it helps us optimize the site for SEO without getting sidetracked into trying to game the search engines, so building an SBI site for businesses in Murphy, NC, makes a lot of sense.

By combining a community on Ning with a WordPress-powered blog, I believe we can get the visitor participation that will build interest and return visitors.

I appreciate your suggestions. Thank you.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Wed, 4th Feb 2009 4:41 pm

Good afternoon, Lisa.

If I were just starting out and wanted to build a profitable business the right way, I’d sure hope someone would steer me to Site Build It.

Most of the other things I’ve tested over the years have been a waste of time, money, and effort. I can recoup the money, but I’ll never get the time I wasted back.

The profitable sites I built using other methods still required more time and effort than it would have required if I’d used SBI, and I’m not sure if they would have been successful if I hadn’t studied Ken Evoy’s ebooks.

After you have some experience, you may choose to branch out to other things, but I heartily recommend SBI, if you want to really learn how to build an online business. I don’t know any other company that offers the level of support, help, training, and encouragement that you’ll get from Site Build It.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Wed, 4th Feb 2009 4:52 pm

Good afternoon, Colleen.

It’s great seeing you here. Welcome.

I don’t know about handsomeness, but my avatar is unique!

I understand your strategy of using several blogs on different IP blocks, and if it works well for you, then it’s a good approach.

Are you syndicating the blogs’ RSS feeds on Squidoo lenses, too?

You already have a lot of experience with WordPress and Squidoo, so you’re already “over the hump” of setting things up and making them productive for you.

There’s a lot to be said for “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” but sometimes I find it is worth the effort to break it and put it back together better, but maybe I’m just playing semantic games, now.

I enjoyed your blog post and the idea of “bacn” email. Now I have a name for all those emails I want to deal with later, but not right now.

Act on your dream!

Dave Ovenden on Fri, 6th Feb 2009 4:45 pm

Hi John,

I’ve just stumbled on your site and must congratulate you on a great job well done!

In terms of the debate you have running here, I find that WordPress is quick to get set up (especially if you use Fantastico) and can easily be customised using themes and plugins. Also, because it’s easy to keep updating the content the search engines seem to index blog sites more quickly than static sites.

I’ve never tried Site Build It but I will check it out now based on reading your recommendation and other comments here.

Thanks and best regards,
Dave Ovenden
Learn The Blogging Tricks of the Trade

Khaled on Mon, 9th Feb 2009 10:33 am

I can understand where you are coming from with the decision. I have quite a number of live sites also and it does get to a point where you cane decide what to do with them, or which one should receive the most time. If they go then the problem is solved as long as yo don’t start building up lots of new sites. I have never heard of site builder, but do use wordpress and dreamweaver for if I require a new site, I like to design and build it all myself. If you believe in the new idea though you should go for it.

John Dilbeck on Tue, 10th Feb 2009 11:09 am

Good morning, Dave.

Welcome to our discussion and thanks for the kind words.

I agree with you that WordPress is easy to set up and has lots of ways to customize it so it works as each of us wants. I’ve been doing that over the last few days as I move my John Dilbeck And Friends blog from the Manila platform to WordPress. Even though I haven’t finished the transition, I’m already liking it better.

I think one of the main reasons search engines index blogs so quickly is because they have RSS feeds and ping the aggregators when we post something new. That’s becoming more widely used.

Site Build It! added that feature a couple of years ago, so that new pages are added to the XML feed and the aggregators are automatically pinged. They call it site blogging.

Squidoo added it to their SquidCasts not too long ago, as well.

I think one of the real differences between Site Build It! and WordPress is that we have to put more thought and planning into how we’re going to organize a static site versus just using a reverse chronological approach with a blog.

I think that’s also the main reason the well-organized static sites have longer traffic patterns, because they’re easier to navigate.

Even with tags, categories, and archives, it is harder to navigate most blogs than it is a well-defined three- or four-tier static site.

Even adding a SiteMap, as I have on this blog, only makes it moderately more easy to navigate.

I’ll be the first to admit that Site Build It! isn’t for everyone, and I’ll say the same for blogging with WordPress. It’s all about finding the right tools for doing what we want most effectively – at least from my point of view.

I’m interested in your opinion of SBI after you have the opportunity to check it out.

I appreciate your comments.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Tue, 10th Feb 2009 11:46 am

Good morning, Kahled.

Welcome to our discussion.

You make a very good point when you say that dropping some sites can solve the problem of deciding what to do with them – as long as we don’t start a bunch of new sites.

I think that’s one of the keys to succeeding.

Over time, as we identify what works best for us and fits our personality, then we can find more success by focusing on that and doing our best to avoid other distractions.

After spending about three years or so experimenting with different ways to build sites, I’m ready to focus on two main areas: (1) affiliate marketing and (2) local business promotions combined with marketing consulting.

I’m working hard to stop doing anything that doesn’t pay more than $250 per year, and I’m focusing on the ones that pay $250 or more per month.

With several revenue streams, each of which pays at least a few hundred dollars per month, it becomes possible to move from having a hobby to building a business.

Over the last few years, I’ve worked hard at promoting some things that, after expenses, paid me an embarrassingly small amount.

But, we live and learn.

There’s just no point in spending the same amount of time and effort to do something that pays a few dollars when I can use the same amount of time and energy to generate thousands of dollars with a proven, better service or product.

So, even though it bothers me that someone else will probably grab one of my domains when I let it expire and I’ll still be sending visitors there based on previous promotions, I’m trying not to let that bother me as much as it has in the past.

In truth, they may do better than I did with a domain, but that shouldn’t bother me if I was unable to make it profitable enough to keep it.

Site Build It! is much more than a sitebuilder. There are many sitebuilders out there that make it easy to put up a site, but don’t allow the flexibility to do what you like: to design and build it yourself.

Site Build It! has an easy-to-use sitebuilder for beginning webmasters, but anyone who wants to can use the HTML editor of their choice to build their site and then upload those pages to SBI, and still have use of almost all of the tools that SBI offers, including a few that aren’t available with the sitebuilder.

I use a programmable database program called Radio Userland to manage and build my large static sites (a couple of which have over 1,000 pages) and I’ve been wanting to use it to manage my Site Build It! site, too.

The problem was that the code it generated for a page was not compatible with what I needed to upload to work with Site Build It. So, last year, I finally managed to find the time to reprogram the static sites generator code in Radio Userland so that I could build a site to work with either standard hosting or Site Build It.

Once that was done, it took only a few days to rewrite the source code for most pages of my Act On Your Dream! site, which is powered by SBI.

Now, I can use the same tools for creating any of my static sites, and all I have to do is set a few parameters when setting up a new site. In other words, I just set a few switches in the database which tells the program if I’ll be using that site with SBI or standard hosting. Once that’s done, I don’t have to think about the technical stuff and I can concentrate on writing the pages and let the program parse everything through a template to produce the proper HTML code for that particular site.

I’m looking forward to continuing to build my current SBI site and to create the new site, also powered by SBI, that I’ll be building for promoting businesses in Murphy, NC.

Most people don’t approach these things the way I do, and that’s probably a good thing.

Most SBI subscribers choose to use tools like Dreamweaver or other HTML editors such as Taco or NVU. Since I can dream in HTML code, I prefer using a text editor such as BBedit or TextWrangler – but my RU database program gives me a lot more power.

(I’m a Mac user and don’t know what the equivalent tools would be for folks who use PCs.)

So, SBI users who want to focus on their business and not on the mechanics of building a site can do so. For them, the simple sitebuilder may be all they ever need. There are many SBI sites built that way that get many thousands of visitors every month and rank in the top 1% of all sites on the Web.

For others of us, who know more and want to add additional features to our sites, we have the flexibility to do things the way we prefer – as long as we stay within the framework of tools that SBI provides.

(Looking at it from another point of view, however, we may be working against ourselves by making things more difficult than they have to be.)

It’s not as simple a decision as it may appear to be at first glance.

Sorry to get so long-winded, but I try to look at these things from several angles. That’s why I’m finding it impossible to choose between SBI and WordPress. I like what each can do and if someone finds the right tool for what he or she wants to do with a site, then I think either can be effective.

Still, I keep coming back to the conclusion that every site needs a blog, and every blog will do better with an associated static site.

But, that’s just my opinion.

I’m enjoying this discussion.

Anyone else have any thoughts about this?

Act on your dream!

Bill Masson (WWAH) on Wed, 11th Feb 2009 4:00 pm

Hi,JD
This has been an intriguing blog post, and its been an absolute pleasure listening to all your readers comments. I am an avid WP user but only operate 6 blogs and a couple of sites. I have seen site build it many times and have often though about subscribing, but then i just turn the page and get back to my wp blogs. Question! do you do all the hard graft yourself or do you outsource any of your daily tasks.

Bill Masson (WWAH)´s last blog post..Top SEO Tools

John Dilbeck on Thu, 12th Feb 2009 10:26 am

Good morning, Bill.

Welcome to our discussion.

Sometimes I think blogging is an addictive activity, but I really do enjoy doing it. It’s even nicer when people read what we write and join the discussions/debates.

I’ve built sites at least a dozen different ways, and all of them have had things I liked and things I really did not like.

Now, however, I’m trying to concentrate more on business than experimenting.

Yes, I do everything myself. So far, I have not outsourced any of my daily tasks, but may do so for some of them in the future. I really like doing all of this.

Thanks for your comments.

Act on your dream!

EP on Thu, 5th Mar 2009 6:32 pm

I like the SBI approach because it seems to be working for a lot of people.

I hate the block by block building. so my question is!!

If you upload your own html pages built with dreamweaver to SBI server would that help you in anyway?

if you are uploading your own pages – why do you need SBI?

John Dilbeck on Sat, 7th Mar 2009 1:38 pm

Good afternoon, EP.

Welcome to our discussions.

I agree; the SBI approach works for a lot of people.

When I first started using the blockbuilder, I had many blocks, even though I already knew how to write in HTML. I went through the exercise to learn all I could from SBI and Ken Evoy on how to build not just a web page, but an effective web page that provided good information and could be found in the search engines.

Over time, I used fewer blocks, and eventually created all the page content in a text editor and then just copied and pasted it into a single text block.

By that time, I decided that I’d learned all I could from the blockbuilder and started uploading my own HTML.

While I don’t use DreamWeaver, I do have a system that creates stand-alone web pages, so it is functionally equivalent to using DreamWeaver or one of the other HTML editors.

They main reason I switched to uploading my own pages was so I could make use of server side includes (SSI), which currently are not available to people who use the blockbuilder.

If SSI were available for pages built with blockbuilder, I’d continue using it. I’m still debating this issue with myself concerning the new site I’ll be building next month.

(In my case, I use a programmable database to create pages I upload to my SBI site. That keeps all the information in one place and makes it very easy to rebuild pages or sections of the site. It offers functionality far beyond what DreamWeaver offers, so that was another reason for switching to uploading my own HTML pages.)

Why do you need SBI if you upload your own pages?

You still have all the other tools that SBI provides, and it does a lot of work behind the scenes helping to get your pages in the search engines, creating sitemaps, an RSS feed, handling newsletter functions, building forms, and doing all the other things that standard hosting doesn’t provide.

Plus, you have all the tools that are included with Brainstorm It, all the helpful tips and advice, and access to the Sitesell forums.

I’m not sure why I would not want SBI.

Do you need it? I can’t answer that question. I think each of us needs to decide that for ourselves.

Thanks for your comments.

Act on your dream!

Odzyskiwanie Danych on Mon, 9th Mar 2009 3:53 am

Site Biuld it! is very intuitive and has a lot of features but I just don’t think that it’s better than WP in any way. WP is more advanced and it’s constantly developed by developers as well as users (plugins and hacks).

Tush on Fri, 13th Mar 2009 8:45 pm

I have no single doubt that for a newbie who needs a profitable business, site build it is the best:-) I am not sure about about pros.

As for the same look and feel tempelates, that does not bother me. I believe most visitors if the are like me, they are more interested in content and a site which is easy to navigate. Just my two cents
Tush
http://www.AnnetteTush.com

Tush´s last blog post..A Network Marketing Web site – 8 Reasons Why Every Entrepreneur must have one.

John Dilbeck on Fri, 13th Mar 2009 9:18 pm

Good evening, Odzyskiwanie.

Yes, WordPress is constantly being updated and lots of developers provide ways to modify it using plugins, but I think that just adds to the complexity.

I spend a lot more time managing my WordPress sites than I ever have on my SBI site. It just sits there and plugs away, day after day, even when it has been sadly neglected by me for weeks.

I’d hate to see what would happen to one of my WordPress blogs if I did nothing with it for a few months.

In that sense, I believe Site Build It! to be superior.

However, as you say, you can do things with a WordPress blog that can’t be done with SBI, if that’s what you want to do.

I use both of them, but still think SBI is a better solution for someone who really wants to learn how to develop a site that really succeeds.

If I had to choose only one, I’d choose SBI. Fortunately, I don’t have to make that choice.

Act on your dream!

Bill Masson on Fri, 13th Mar 2009 10:07 pm

Hi JD,
You know I have to agree with you on the ease of use for SBI, I am getting to that pissed off stage with W.P. I have around 8 W.P blogs and its a constant pain having to upgrade plugins and deal with the spammers. Now everytime that i launch a new site with W.P i keep the plugins to the absolute minimum.

There must be a plugin out there that automates this process without having to log into W.P admin.

Cheers for the natter

Bill Masson´s last blog post..Sqip Live Luanch is Imminent

John Dilbeck on Fri, 13th Mar 2009 11:15 pm

Good evening, Tush.

Welcome to our discussion and thanks for your comment.

I agree that SBI is by far the best for newbies who will take the time and learn how to build a successful site. SBI teaches much more than just how to build a website.

As for pros, it depends upon what they really know and what they think they know.

I know quite a few professional webmasters who know how to build beautiful sites, but many of them don’t know how to get visitors and persuade people to purchase what they’re selling.

The two skills are quite different.

I know that I’ve learned a lot in the last couple of years and I’m a bit ashamed of a couple of my long-term sites that need huge makeovers as soon as I can find the time and energy. They get visitors and do okay, but I know I can make them much better in terms of calls to action, direct response options, and similar marketing things that aren’t part of the webmaster skill set.

I agree about the templates. I’m not impressed by a site’s appearance. I regularly browse the web with graphics, javascript, and java turned off so I can get more done faster. When I have more time, or when I want to see the site as it’s meant to be displayed, I turn graphics and javascript back on.

Ken Evoy recently announced that Sitesell is going to be offering new templates, including new 3-column layouts and they’ll be doing more with CSS, too.

Still, I like the basic 2-column layouts and don’t mind if others have the same appearance as mine.

I agree. good content and easy navigation is much more important to me than appearance.

Even more important is being found on page 1 of Google’s search results for the keyword phrases I’m targeting.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Fri, 13th Mar 2009 11:21 pm

Good evening, Bill.

I know what you mean about constantly updating blogs and dealing with spam.

I also find that I’m using fewer plugins as time goes by.

At least, Askimet makes it much easier to deal with spam, and the automatic upgrade features of the newest versions of WordPerfect make it easier to upgrade both the main code and the plugins we want to use. They don’t always work, but it’s easier than it was a couple of versions ago.

“There must be a plugin out there that automates this process without having to log into W.P admin.”

I sure don’t know of one.

Act on your dream!

ipodtouch on Sat, 11th Apr 2009 12:14 pm

I like word because its flexible. there are tons of theme and plugin. and the most important reason it’s free

John Dilbeck on Wed, 22nd Apr 2009 8:01 am

Good morning, I.

I agree that WordPress is flexible and there are many themes and plugins.

Still, the question remains, “Is it the best way to build an online business?”

I don’t think free is an important part of the equation.

I’m always looking for the best tools for building sites, and I’m sure that has set me back as I’ve built numerous sites just to test them. Now, I’m going through the process of deleting many of them.

I’m finding that, on some of the free sites, there is no way to delete what I wrote.

But, back to a self-hosted WordPress site versus a site powered by Site Build It!…

I spend several hundred dollars per month paying for tools that help me earn profits.

I’m still finding that static sites provide better traffic to the sites over time as compared to blogs and my static sites also produce the most profit.

This is an interesting observation since I’ve spent most of my time this year blogging, and have done little to update my static sites.

If I had to make the decision based entirely on profit, I’d have to seriously think about closing all my blogs and working more on updating my standard sites.

For the last two or three weeks, I’ve put a lot of work into designing a new site that will be powered by Site Build It! and that has taken me away from my normal online activities, such as blogging.

This sort of diversion of my efforts is barely noticeable on my static sites, but people can see quickly that I haven’t posted to this blog in awhile. I’ve even had people emailing me asking what’s wrong.

I enjoy blogging and I believe a self-hosted WordPress blog is the best way to go if you want to blog.

I’m not so sure that it’s the best way to build a business, however.

Anyone else have any thoughts on this?

Act on your dream!

Thomas on Mon, 4th May 2009 6:15 pm

My vote is for WordPress. This is because wordpress is so easy to use from a beginners standpoint. Not to mention there is so much information out there regarding wordpress problems, shortcuts, and widgets. Im waiting for the plug-in that allows you to create posts while your asleep.

John Dilbeck on Wed, 20th May 2009 5:42 pm

Good afternoon, Thomas.

I agree that WordPress has a lot going for it. After all, that’s why I’m using it to power this blog.

I don’t think either solution, WordPress or Site Build It!, is right for everyone, however. We all have to weigh what’s important to us and then choose the right tools to do the job.

I don’t know of a plug-in to help us create posts while we sleep, but I think there have been times when I was writing in my sleep.

Act on your dream!

Hélène Amour on Thu, 11th Jun 2009 7:56 am

I think WordPress is better.
Just I began with Word Press and I found really easy and had no problem with contraly with Build it.

Dorris Stellenangebote on Fri, 12th Jun 2009 10:58 am

In each instance why wordpress is clearly preferred, the reasons are mentioned several times. Why do some still on Site Build It betsehenist funny.

John Dilbeck on Fri, 12th Jun 2009 2:40 pm

Good afternoon, Dorris.

Welcome to our discussion.

Yes, the people who prefer WordPress are clear in stating why they like it.

However, most – or at least many – of them know nothing about Site Build It, so do your think it’s a fair comparison?

Most of the people finding this thread are bloggers, so they already have a clear preference.

I’d hoped that more people who have used both for several years would find us and give their opinions.

The jury’s still out, but I’m leaning more and more towards Site Build It! for my future sites.

Thanks, again.

Act on your dream!

Tush on Fri, 12th Jun 2009 3:12 pm

Hi all,

Have you read this New York Times with confessions and rantings of bloggers in general? I don’t know much about blogging but this article about “blogs falling in an empty forest” is interesting http://budurl.com/556l

Tush
[rq=6660,0,blog][/rq]Renegade Professional Training By Ann Sieg And Mike Klingler

John Dilbeck on Sat, 13th Jun 2009 6:35 pm

Good afternoon, Tush.

Welcome to our discussions.

Yes, I read the NY Times article and that sparked another blog post on this site…

Why do blogs have a higher failure rate than restaurants?

I see that you’re powering your network marketing site with SBI.

Would you like to share why you chose SBI over the other options?

Act on your dream!

paoletto tariffe on Wed, 17th Jun 2009 3:05 am

i don´t know very good Built it but i know good word press…..i find that w.press is the best way to make a good site ( blog) for free
It have a lot of fuction and plugin and wenn you are good can you built a really web siteand not a simple blog.
built it hat a good reputation but i think word press is the nummer one.

John Dilbeck on Fri, 19th Jun 2009 7:18 am

Good morning, Paoletto.

Welcome to our discussions. Thanks for your comments. That’s one more in favor of WordPress.

Act on your dream!

Tush on Sat, 20th Jun 2009 5:28 am

JD,

I chose SBI because I was a complete newbie. I understand that word press is easy to put up BUT, what on earth was I supposed to write about?

I had no clue what terms like key words, autoresponders, SEO, capture pages meant. All I needed was some one to hold my hand showing me exactly what to do. That is what SBI was… and I am glad I started with it. The education that I have aquired from there is worth thousands of dollars.

I believe SBI is not about building a website. I think it should be referred to as “an online resource with a step by step guide on how to build a profitable business with all the tools in one place”.

This is what I see from my team members who have word press blogs. They keep coming to me asking what to do especially in regards to choosing their niche, researching tools, etc. The main challenge is to update their blogs on a regular basis.

True, it took me more time to set up my site than it took them to set up their blog, but even if I don’t do anything to my site for some time, no one complains:-)

Soon, I am going to build a word press blog to boost my website. I will come back here to update you.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Tush
.-= Tush´s last blog ..THE BEST MLM COMPANY =-.

John Dilbeck on Mon, 22nd Jun 2009 7:51 am

Good morning, Tush.

Now we’re entering territory where WordPress cannot hope to compete.

I agree with you. The education and structured learning process that is included with Site Build It! is like nothing else on the planet.

I’ve been looking for years and have found nothing that compares with it.

I know all the technical stuff, and I’ve been building websites for years, but I still learned a lot by following the SBI process and participating (mostly reading) in the SBI forums.

One of the things I love about SBI is that they have a team constantly improving the product and working behind the scenes upgrading everything. That means I – and you – don’t have to do anything to update the software.

All we have to do is concentrate on writing our content, and updating it when necessary.

That’s why I’ll be buying another Site Build It! subscription this week – to build another website that earns real revenue.

Thanks for your comments.

Act on your dream!

Nicole ubezpieczenia komunikacyjne on Mon, 29th Jun 2009 5:52 am

I’ve been using wordpress for quite a long time now, but I’ve recently tried Site Build It! and I must say that I’m very satisfied. I really like this learning process that is included. I feel that I’ve learned quite a few new things. In other words I would really recommend it.

John Dilbeck on Mon, 29th Jun 2009 10:28 am

Good morning, Nicole.

I agree with you about the entire learning/educational process that is such a big part of Site Build It!

It’s much more than just a way to build a website.

That’s one more in favor of SBI.

Thanks for your comment.

Act on your dream!

Hundefutter Joe on Wed, 1st Jul 2009 6:32 pm

I am totally a fan of wordpress and use it on several blogs and also as a small cms. I like the plugins, I like the way to optimize and I like the to set it up. The only thing I really hate, is that it is so hackable…
.-= Hundefutter Joe´s last blog ..Hill’s Canine Adult Hundefutter =-.

John Dilbeck on Sun, 5th Jul 2009 1:43 pm

Good afternoon, Joe.

That’s another one in favor of WordPress.

I think that your last comment about it being so hackable is a very important consideration. I’ve lost several websites over the years that were hacked so often that it became more trouble to rebuild them than it was worth.

None were powered by WordPress, but the potential still exists.

Thanks for your comments.

Act on your dream!

LuvToTravel68 on Sat, 11th Jul 2009 10:29 am

Hi,
I’ve tried both word press and Site Build It. I’ve had a mixed experience with Site Build It and haven’t been able to get a satisfactory solution. The technical staff don’t have answers for some technical questions. If users own a mac, Site Build It doesn’t work well.

I spent months trying to get my site up but ran into technical glitches and couldn’t get answers. If you need to customize your site and use non-html code, it’s hard to do. By the time you get everything sorted, it’s time to renew the membership. It was a bit frustrating.

Word press is something that a user can control. Although it too isn’t targeted at macs, at least it’s possible to copy and paste the code and tweak it for your own needs. Lots of the functionality is lost, but it’s more user-friendly for mac owners.

I want to say there are some strong points about Site Build It. It teaches people how to build sites that are effective and can be found. It teaches people how to tweak content and make money from this content. And, there are some tools that help the user do this (problem is that they aren’t always available for use. I spent days trying to access some of the tools and didn’t have any luck).

I’ve decided to try this on my own using Word Press. After several years of subscription to Site Sell, I couldn’t get my site completed because of technical glitches. It’s be interesting to see if I can make it on my own without the assistance of Site Sell.

I’ll need to learn more about the “hacking” thing but will be watching this discussion to see how things unfold.

My new site is at: iTravel Costa Rica. I just launched it and am looking for feedback. So, please feel free to drop me a line.

John Dilbeck on Sat, 11th Jul 2009 11:27 am

Good morning, LTT.

Welcome to our discussions.

(Please don’t put javascript in your comments. I removed the tracking code and deactivated the link to your website. You already get a do-follow link to your site from your name.)

It seems that you and I have had different experiences with Site Build It. That’s okay. Each of us is different and may experience different things.

I bring it up because I’m a Mac user and would never again consider using Windows. I haven’t touched a Windows computer since version 3.1 and that was only because I taught on them at the college and administered a few when I was a systems administrator.

(Well, that’s not strictly true, I did set up a database connection for a doctor friend using Windows 98 in an emulator on his Mac to connect to the hospital’s database. But, that was the only exception I can remember. I mainly did it to prove to the hospital IT director that it was not impossible, after all, to connect a Mac to their database and use it on their network. It still felt a little icky, even though I got it to work just fine.)

I’ve been using SBI for years and have never had any trouble accessing everything the system offers.

I’m currently bringing up a new site and I’ve been working practically around the clock and have had no trouble with using my Mac with SBI.

I don’t know why you had the trouble you did, but it was unfortunate.

Even the founder of the company that created and owns Site Build It, Ken Evoy, uses a Mac.

So, I’m going to disagree that Mac users are at a disadvantage with Site Build It!, but I’m not trying to say that you did not have the troubles you experienced and described.

I also don’t see any lost functionality when using WordPress with a Mac. I’ve created and managed many blogs powered by WordPress and I’ve only used a Mac to do it. I never encountered any problems.

Apparently my experiences and yours are different.

Again, I’m not discounting what you say about your experiences, just saying that I’ve never experienced them myself.

I’m sorry you’ve had problems with SBI and WordPress using your Mac. It’s unfortunate.

Good for you, however, for persevering.

Best of luck with your new travel site!

Act on your dream!

LuvToTravel68 on Sat, 11th Jul 2009 1:06 pm

Sorry about the javascript. I simply copied and pasted from above code submissions, as it’s hard to know what to do on the various blogs.

Glad that things worked out for you. Who knows why the site services works for some while not for others. I suspect for the Word Press, it’s an issue of laziness on my part. As for Site Sell, the tech simply created an endless loop with no resolution… anyway… glad it works for you.

Probably just bad luck for me.

John Dilbeck on Sun, 12th Jul 2009 10:27 am

Good morning, LTT.

It really is unfortunate that you had such an experience.

Do you still have your SBI subscription? There should be a special link on every email from support that lets you escalate the situation and bring it to Ken’s attention.

Sometimes I’m amazed that any of this works for any of us, but I’m always a bit dismayed to hear that someone did not get what they expected from any service – especially from Sitesell.

Hopefully you’re luck will turn around!

Act on your dream!

peter on Tue, 21st Jul 2009 8:46 am

i prefear without doubt word press…..i did my blog/web seit with word press and i think that it is functional and easy to use.
the best way to make a pretty good blog

John Dilbeck on Sat, 25th Jul 2009 11:51 am

Good morning, Peter.

Welcome to our discussion.

That’s one more in favor of WordPress.

I appreciate your comment.

Act on your dream!

Alejandro on Mon, 27th Jul 2009 3:58 am

It is always interesting to have a blog or website to promote a business. It helps you to attract people. You have to make it gripping in order to have as many visitors as possible.

cheers
.-= Alejandro´s last blog ..Es hora de tomarse un descanso =-.

Denise on Thu, 24th Sep 2009 1:59 pm

I say build .. WP is too confusing with too many themes and plugins. I can’t keep up with them all. Xsite Pro is worth mention.

John Dilbeck on Thu, 24th Sep 2009 4:39 pm

Good afternoon, Denise.

Welcome to our discussions.

You’re not the first person to tell me that you think WordPress is too confusing, and I agree with you about all the themes and plugins.

While the wide variety of choices does offer many customization options, it is impossible to keep up with all of them.

I have no experience with Xsite Pro.

Act on your dream!

Bloggerin on Mon, 5th Oct 2009 4:42 am

Hi!
I just created my firts blog with word press .Word press really satisfies me. There are a lot of different costumization options and it works very solidly.
.-= Bloggerin´s last blog ..Typen- und Regionalklassen neu eingestuft =-.

Christian Flirten on Mon, 5th Oct 2009 4:58 am

I build my blog with wordpress (look at my link). I dont know why, but wordpress become very good positions in the search engine rankings. But i use this blog only for news. For text content i use my own logic to use my internal logics and frameworks!
.-= Christian Flirten´s last blog ..Webseite – Sie sucht Ihn =-.

John Dilbeck on Mon, 5th Oct 2009 9:06 am

Good morning, Bloggerin.

Congratulations on creating your first blog. I hope you will be successful with it.

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Mon, 5th Oct 2009 9:12 am

Good morning, Christian.

Welcome to our discussions.

I agree that a blog, whether powered by WordPress or something else, can achieve good positions in the search engines quite quickly, but I’ve also seen those rankings degrade over time.

On the other hand, a well-designed website tends to grow in the rankings.

Perhaps this is just the nature of some of my sites and others will see different results.

I agree with your strategy. If you already have a website, I think using a blog for posting news and for having discussions via comments can be beneficial. Especially, if you link to more information on your website.

Act on your dream!

Nils Partnersuche on Sat, 17th Oct 2009 7:03 pm

Hi John,

I didn’t know “Site Build It!” before reading your article. I use wordpress (wp mu, buddypress) for years and think that you can make nearly everything with wordpress (despite cooking coffee). )

Or is it worth it taking a look at “Site Build It”?

Greetings

N.P.
.-= Nils Partnersuche´s last blog ..Partner finden =-.

John Dilbeck on Sun, 18th Oct 2009 6:54 am

Good morning, Nils.

Welcome to our discussion and thanks for your comment.

If any website builder starts making me coffee, I’m going to have to take a close look!

Honestly, I can’t tell you whether it is worth it for you to take a look at SBI.

Why?

Because it depends upon what you’re planning to do with your site.

While I prefer SBI for building static sites and all my new static sites will be powered by SBI, it doesn’t provide all things for all people.

Each of us has to define what we want our sites to do and then choose the appropriate tools for the job.

I do know that SBI will get much better for some people next week when they introduce SBI 2.0.

I don’t think it would hurt to look at SBI, but it may not be the best choice for your individual needs.

Act on your dream!

Gidon on Mon, 26th Oct 2009 9:26 am

hi JD,

I am so glad I found this post, and especially since this comment thread is still alive, and especially since you converse with everyone who weighs in!

I found this post googling SBI vs Ning.

I am an SBI “true believer”, even though to my great embarrassment I do not own any SBI sites currently. The excuse that I have formulated is that the theme I love doesn’t succeed with Brainstormer keyword research tool. (if I will get over that, I am sure I’ll find other excuses:-)

Anyway, my dream is to build a social network in a specific niche, and while I was thinking for a long time to do it with WP, I have recently seen a few ning sites and it seems that Ning designed their template by looking into my brain!

Now, it seems that most of the mentions of Ning in the SBI forums relates to Ning as a way to steer traffic to your SBI site. From an initial peek, I think that the Ning layout and available features are exactly what I want, so much so that if I were to build a 3-tier SBI site, it would be to feed traffic to my Ning network.

Anyway, I guess my question is: are there successful Ning sites out there that got that way without SBI, or is incorporating a Ning within my SBI the best way to go?

PS how did you know the last blog post I made? That’s a COOL plugin!:-)
.-= Gidon´s last blog ..How much money should you try to make? =-.

John Dilbeck on Wed, 28th Oct 2009 6:01 am

Good morning, Gidon.

Welcome to our discussion.

Have you tried Brainstorm It! since version 3 was introduced? There are some real improvements in speed and results. Version 3.1 was introduced just last week and it makes it easy to filter results and save tasks. I like both improvements.

I know what you mean about finding excuses.

However, I’m not sure what I would do without having access to the SBI keyword research tools.

One of the important things we must do is to evaluate and choose the proper tools for what we want to accomplish.

SBI, WordPress, and Ning are very different tools and I use all of them on a regular basis.

I think all three of them can work very well together and can drive traffic in multiple ways.

For example, my latest SBI site is at Murphy Gold.

I have multiple WordPress blogs that work with that site, including Murphy, NC Coupons and Murphy, NC 28906. I have a couple of others, but they are not as important as those two.

Additionally, I have a Ning community at Murphy Connections for the social networking aspects.

Plus, I have several Squidoo lenses and a HubPages page that syndicate the RSS feeds from several of these sites.

All together, they work to build traffic to each other. I believe that removing any of them would hamper growth, interaction, and interest.

You asked about successful communities on Ning that don’t depend upon SBI and I’m sure there are many. I don’t have an SBI site driving traffic to my Squidoo Marketing community, yet it continues to grow and be very active.

I’m a member of a couple of Ning communities that I know have no connection to SBI sites.

As I said earlier, we have to choose the best tools for a particular job and all are different.

I do like using blogs, Ning, and SBI sites to cross-promote each other and then syndicate the RSS feeds as widely as I can.

Does that answer your question?

The plugin that recognized your last blog post is called CommentLuv and you can learn more about it at ComLuv.com .

Act on your dream!

John Dilbeck on Sat, 28th Nov 2009 8:58 pm

Good evening.

Some of you have said that you don’t like the look and feel of SBI sites.

Sitesell has just held a contest for people to develop both 2- and 3-column CSS-driven website designs. There were over 450 contributions to the contest, and over 100 new designs will be added to the Look & Feel selector in the very near future.

These designs can be used by both people who prefer to use the blockbuilder and by those who prefer to upload their own pages.

Those of us who prefer the blockbuilder will be able to switch easily between two and three columns, if we want. I still prefer the 2-column look for my static sites.

They are in the final voting stage of the contest to see who wins the top prizes, and first prize is $5,000. Not bad.

For anyone who felt that it was just too expensive to come up with the $299 annual subscription price, Ken Evoy has just announced that SBI version 2.0 is now available – for a limited time – for a monthly subscription price of $29.99.

He still believes that people who pay the annual price are more motivated, but is giving this a try. He’s calling it the “recession buster” special.

When your SBI-powered online business starts making money, you can switch to the less-expensive annual subscription, if you want.

What do you think of those developments?

Act on your dream!

Beth on Sat, 5th Dec 2009 3:29 pm

After a long and winding road which included creating MANY blogs using WP, I too am headed back to SBI! I was huntin’ the web to read up on other people’s opinions on WP and SBI and found your awesome site and have enjoyed reading the discussion here.

My two cents….Yes, WP is great for many reasons – I love the flexibility, Plug-ins are great. If I choose to do some coding then I can – but I could also put it all up with point and click.

My problem with WP is doing everything I need to do to drive traffic to the site – it takes up a lot of time. So much so that I have at times had to choose between spending time adding more posts or driving traffic.

And…here is my BIG issue with WP….I had a decent WP site/blog up, decent # of daily visitors, page rank increasing – built it up over a year or so. THEN I did an “automatic WP update” using an OUTDATED and NO LONGER SUPPORTED Plug-in (WHOOPS!) !! One click of the mouse and everything is all messed up. I’m somewhat techie – but not techie enough to fix this confusing SQL problem I now have.

Anyways….IF I had done this site on SBI it would have been – #1 organized better, #2 saved me a lot of time with driving traffic, #3 SBI takes care of the technical end so I wouldn’t have messed things up!

Plus add in their Web 2.0 stuff – Visitor’s building unique content!!! For me it is a no-brainer…..SBI ALL THE WAY!

From now on, I’ll only be using WP to perhaps create a blog to drive traffic TO my SBI site – but if I remember correctly, didn’t SBI allow you to set up a “blog” portion of your site within SBI ??

I’m waiting for their Christmas special and jumpin’ on it
.-= Beth´s last blog ..Re-Discovering SBI =-.

John Dilbeck on Tue, 8th Dec 2009 9:38 am

Good morning, Beth.

Welcome to our discussions.

I’ve never left SBI and have two sites powered by it, including my newest that went live in July.

I’ve come to the same conclusion that you have and I’ll be spending much more time on my SBI sites and less on my blogs. I want to get the most “bang for my buck,” so to speak.

I’m a very technical person, but I don’t enjoy doing it for no reason. I’m tired of the constant need to update my WP blogs and I’m tired of solving problems instead of adding more content and making more money.

I’ve never had that problem with SBI. They are continually adding new features and I don’t have to do anything to take advantage of them, other than to perhaps modify a page or add new ones.

SBI offers something called Blog It!, but it’s not really blogging. What it does, if you want, is create an RSS feed and build a “blog” page for you showing your latest updates to the site. This RSS feed can be syndicated like a blog and you can have updated pages tweeted for you.

The RSS feed is organized in reverse chronological order, like a blog, but the links point to your pages that are organized using the three-tier structure taught in the Action Guide.

You can post “bloglets” to the feed, but they don’t build pages and will scroll off the feed as you modify more pages.

What I love about blogs is the comments and discussions. Now that Content 2.0 is included in the price of SBI, I’m going to be adding more C2 invitations for commenting on new pages I add and that will be similar to blogging, but not the same.

Actually, I probably won’t close my blogs, but I won’t be investing the time and effort into them that I have in the past.

Act on your dream!

Sabine Unfallversicherung on Mon, 18th Jan 2010 10:40 am

good evening,

i think this is a very interesting discussion!
I prefer wordpress, because it’s easy, useful and
you can do nearly everthing with it…

greetings

John Dilbeck on Mon, 18th Jan 2010 4:01 pm

Good afternoon, Sabine.

Welcome to our discussion and thanks for the kind words.

That’s another vote for WordPress!

Act on your dream!

Hundefutter on Fri, 22nd Jan 2010 3:58 pm

Wordpress is actually the best php script on the world. Above all I prefer it because of the simplicity which is provided.
.-= Hundefutter´s last blog ..Knochen für den Hund? =-.

John Dilbeck on Fri, 22nd Jan 2010 5:13 pm

Good afternoon, Hundefutter.

WordPress certainly qualifies as one of the top PHP scripts in the world, but I’m not so sure of how simple it is. There are a lot of things to learn in order to effectively put WordPress to use.

Still, that sounds like another vote for WordPress.

Act on your dream!

Larry Rivera on Wed, 3rd Feb 2010 3:12 pm

I would have to say that wordpress is the standard to live up to if you are online marketing.
.-= Larry Rivera´s last blog ..How To Get Free MLM Leads =-.

John Dilbeck on Thu, 4th Feb 2010 4:06 pm

Good afternoon, Larry.

I think it’s interesting that you say that WordPress is the standard to live up to.

Is that really true? Where can we find stats to back that up?

I’ll agree that WordPress is popular, but I’ll also state that most online marketers who use blogs as their primary business presence probably earn less than $100 per month.

Does that make it the best way to build an online business?

I have a number of static sites and a number of blogs (most of which are powered by WordPress on my own domains).

When I look at my income stats, it’s clear that I’m earning the vast majority of my income from the static sites (over 80%). Even if I look at only the top three static sites vs the top three blogs, that 80% holds true.

The static sites earn more with less work than the blogs do.

At least, that’s my experience.

Act on your dream!

James Freundschaft on Wed, 3rd Mar 2010 12:25 pm

Hey JD,
I agree with you on how difficult it is to decide what to spend your time and money on. I think you should not try to handle very many blogs at the same time but focus on the ones that are most interesting to you. Hopefully these are also the ones with the most potential in regard to making profit. Although from reading your text I can’t really tell how importatn money is to you.

Acting on my dream

James Freundschaft

Glen on Thu, 14th Jul 2011 3:15 am

I have been working with WordPress generated sites as well as our very own site builder and they’re working pretty well too. Just like SBI, it has a good interface which is very user friendly.

John Dilbeck on Thu, 14th Jul 2011 11:23 am

Good morning, James.

Acquiring money is not my primary motivation. That’s true. Still, I have to earn enough to live on and do the things I want to do, so profit is important.

You’re absolutely right about not trying to do too many blogs (or too many of anything). Focus on what works best is a strategy I’ve relearned. (grin)

I refer to the two approaches as “shallow and wide” vs “deep and narrow.” I believe the latter strategy is best.

I’ve tested both approaches for a number of years.

Thanks for your comment.

I love it when someone acts on his dream! (grin)

John Dilbeck on Thu, 14th Jul 2011 11:26 am

Good morning, Glen.

I’m not as focused on how a site is built as I am on the quality of the information, the ease of navigation, and being able to find what I want quickly.

Quality can be found on all types of sites.

I believe that tier-structured websites are better at the last two.

Thanks for your comment.

Nate on Tue, 18th Oct 2011 9:59 pm

I agree that SBI is by far the best for newbies who will take the time and learn how to build a successful site. SBI teaches much more than just how to build a website. I think you should not try to handle very many blogs at the same time but focus on the ones that are most interesting to you. Hopefully these are also the ones with the most potential in regard to making profit. Although from reading your text.

Ron on Wed, 14th Dec 2011 3:29 am

I just started my first website about half a year ago and WordPress is awesome! I highly recommend someone who is new to use WordPress. It doesn’t take a genius to run one.

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