Are You REALLY Ready For WordPress?
I have debated if I should write this post or not for a while… Not only because I offer a product (W2.0W) that is based entirely on WordPress and uses its power but also because I had to actually think about this one, get my own bearings together…
WordPress is GREAT! In my personal opinion it is The Best Web Publishing platform for the masses! …but IS WordPress Right For YOU? Or Better yet, are YOU REALLY ready for the raw power WordPress provides? Let’s see if we can sort this out…
I think it is important to first establish what prompted this post. As I’m sure you know behind each story there are some underlying reasons and this one is not any different…
I’m a regular reader of Andy Beard’s Niche Marketing blog as I find it to be a source of great info and many times a food for thought, just like it was in this case. In the beginning of May Andy has published a series of posts that addressed a new sales page by Ken Evoy (for whom I have greatest respect). What was different this time is that Ken have chosen to take apart a popular belief that blogging is for everyone and use that angle to offer his own service.
I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed at first but the more I read the page – more points I have agreed on with Ken. And yes, I’m a long time affiliate with SBI and all links from this page – ARE my affiliate links. But this post is not about promoting his program but rather discuss the question of the day – Is WordPress Really for everyone?
This question will be looked at from one, very specific perspective:
- You are evaluating WordPress VS Site Build It
If you begin to look at the question from this perspective – everything begins to fall into its own appropriate place. And it is actually defined in my opinion by 2 different things:
- Your Needs
- Your Abilities
And it is very important to honestly and properly evaluate the need versus abilities in order to make a determination if WordPress is for you.
Your Needs
While there can be quite a few definitions to this one I will separate them into 2 Distinct “needs”. And that is based on my experience with multitude of customers and readers requesting support through this blog…
- Business site that will serve as an Internet Presence and produce results and yet, requires little maintenance outside of the original research and content creation, except for new additions.
- Same as above but maintenance is not an issue and have a desire to explore new additions and enhancements to the site. Research and content are not an issue as long as there is a simple way to do it.
And now for the reasons I have provided outline…
Your Abilities
Content of this post assumes you are willing to do the work yourself to push your online presence and i will not even discuss outright purchase of everything you need – basically have someone else to do the job, but rather concentrate on Do-It-Yourself category of people. That distinction is very important…
- You need web site, limited technical knowledge and need a product that will simply work for you without been involved into details. Willing to work with limited options for the simplicity sake.
- You need web site, have some or a lot of technical knowledge or ABLE to learn and willing to work on your site to make sure it does EXACTLY what you envision. Don’t want limitations as long as extending functionalities is simple. You are willing to make things work but they HAVE to work just like you need them to.
Choosing What Is Right… For You!
All of the above was leading to this point – How Do You Identify what is right for YOU? Because neither stand-alone WordPress blog or the Site Build It solution will fit everyone needs. No matter how much anyone would like to market their product as answer to all – it is not.
- WordPress – very expendable, customizable and allows you to turn your vision into published content. But it does have its limitations. If you decided to go with standalone WordPress blog as a “blog” or a complete CMS you need to be prepared to deal with constant upgrade cycles that so many curse and working through plugins and theme installation and customization. Best suited for people who are willing to WORK to get their vision and requiring their Internet Presence to be EXACTLY how they want it to be and with no limitations. Technical knowledge or ability to learn is a must.
- Site Build It – complete solution that will guide you though research, content creation and optimization and then publishing on the web. Has many success stories with proven results and allows completely non-technical people create great looking and profitable sites. Best suited for people willing to deal with limitations and higher then average hosting costs in exchange for complete solution (sidenote: costs are more then justified when considering the value all the tools provide) . Great way to get started and learn process of creation of sites for profit as you work through your SBI site. Also perhaps most fitting for small business owners who don’t mind to put some work into creating web presence but need the simplicity of doing it and confidence that it will simply work without them needing to spend time to learn all underlying technology!
Now, recommendations above are very obviously one-sided. Sorry but I do come with baggage of technical knowledge and love learning how things work on my own and then implementing them as I see fit. Unfortunately SBI has limitations which don’t permit those options and while I have been an affiliate for a few years – I never own the site myself. I hate been limited!
I strongly beleive that it has a great value for many people but I recommend that you first evaluate if you are really READY for WordPress or not and if Not… Site Build It could be a great option.
More Options Print This Page! Subscribe With RSS Reader Subscribe by EmailFiled under Blogging |
Related posts: |
About The Blog Author
Alex Sysoef is an IT Consultant, Internet Marketer and ProBlogger who shares his passion and knowledge of WordPress, SEO, Social Media and traffic strategies on his blog WordPress Howto Spotter. Connect on Twitter or Facebook
Great post on wordpress. It is really interesting how powerful a tool wordpress can be. There is a difference between a blog and a cms site, but wordpress can handle them both if you are prepared for the work load.
Hi Alex,
I just happened to spot your article in one of my feeds. I rarely stop to post anywhere. But I had to!…
Yours is likely the best-balanced and serious consideration, by a blogger, of what our new page (the one you refer to above). is all about. It’s amazing how much knee-jerk negativity there has been, clearly by some who’ve not even read it.
Yes, it’s a sales page, but it’s really more the result of some serious thinking on blogging. And it HAS caused many people to think what they REALLY want out of a Web presence a little more clearly.
SBI! is not for everyone. Nor is blogging. Bloggers don’t seem to realize that most small business people can’t do what they do, NOR does it fit their business model. SBI! does a better job for the “average business person” who wants all the tools necessary to build a profitable online business.
On the other hand, I read more blogs in a day than non-blogs in a week. THAT’s because of the nature of my business needs. But we make a big mistake when we assume the rest of the world is like us.
The average plumber, or stay-at-home mom who wants to start a truly successful online business, or real estate agent, or retired person, or travel agent… they will build a longer-lasting, more profitable (less limited in monetization options) business with SBI!.
Blogging is superb if you have an audience who needs up to date info or who wants to read your brilliant thought of the day. But you have to keep on doing it, unless you blog like Steve Pavlina does. Steve is much more like an SBIer who builds a serious Theme-Based Content Site with serious, meaty articles organized into tiers (categories) — but that turns blogging back into “regular” sitebuilding.
And that brings us back to the problem that the average person just can’t overcome all the barriers to build a successful business. They can with SBI!.
Power users use it, too, of course. Because they realize the efficiencies they gain with SBI!. But what excites me the most is how we enable the non-tech to succeed. No one else does that online.
Thanks very much for the best single review. Not because it’s favorable, but because it’s received serious consideration and a balanced review. (I have no idea how popular your blog is and it doesn’t matter if anyone else reads this or not — just wanted to drop you that note).
All the best,
Ken
@ Scott, I agree
hence the point made – it will as you want it but it does require some desire and abilities ….
@Ken – thanks fro taking the time to comment. While the review is favorable and contains affiliate links, it was meant to be an answer to myself as well as my readers and customers.
Your sales letter is provocative (at least for the thoughts) and I didn’t come to positive view of it right away
It is only my experience as webmaster as well as product owner who provides support to multiple bloggers forces me to agree on many points you take.
I still stick to my own view – WordPress is the Greatest, if you are willing to work it and make it yours – but if not, SBI would be my second choice. Just your keyword research tool covers the expenses of owning it.
Alex great points, i also love wordpress as a CMS, but i struggle with it as well.
It needs a better menu system when you have a large number of pages and subpages, I have tried a few plugins, they ok, but not easy to use.WP it needs this built in or better support if want to really grow into the CMS market, and compete with SBI, joomla and others.
Did he just comment that blogs have limited monetization options?? Or did I hopefully read that wrong…
Dennis Edells last blog post..New Category – FREE Marketing Membership Sites
Alex,
I would like to share some thoughts on this post.
I have to agree that blogging is the greatest thing that has happened in the internet community-building.
But, as is well known, success through blogging, especially, business success, requires one hell of a lot of hard work.
Blogs are like small kids. They crave for attention all the time.
Actually, in Jan2006, I stepped into the internet business world with a website using SBI. Today, I have some 7 or 8 sites (including blogs) but I have found that the SBI site really is not at all demanding.
I did not give due attention to the SBI site for almost 18 months but still my SBI site has grown to give me around 300-400 visitors per day. Since last two months, I have again started giving it the attention it deserves.
For conventional small business people, I feel SBI is the best bet as I doubt they will be able to handle the pressures of business blogging.
As an affiliate, I promote both SBI as well as Web 2.0 related products. I will have to tell you that I have seen good success promoting SBI.
Cheers
Raj
Thanks Raj,
Input from the people who have experienced both sides of the fence (so to speak) is invaluable. I have to agree that SBI might be a better fit for conventional business but if they want to take advantage of social media, Web 2.0 to connect to their customers on personal level, establish more trust … I feel that SBI can’t deliver it to same extent as WordPress.
Sorry Ken
I still stick to my original thought – SBI is great but in its own space, it can replace the blogging but blogging can greatly enhance and in right hands replace SBI site. But it has to be in the RIGHT HANDS.
Firstly, congratulations on getting a lengthy reply from the great Ken Evoy, that, in itself, is a coup!
While I think that you, Ken & Raj all have very valid points, I feel that none of you mentioned SBI’s real ace, which is that it provides a 12 month internet marketing education for $300, all costs included + (and it’s a big plus), a really enthusiastic community that you can learn from.
Best of all, with a slow exponential earning, your $300 may well be reimbursed by the end of those 12 months…and your site may even be in the black!
My heart aches when I see the big ticket “web education” products currently being rolled out for $1000-$5000, which aren’t worth a fraction of what SBI can provide (if you do the work).
Mind you, after a successful year with SBI, many folks would want to branch out and spread their wings with better looking and less clunky technology but for a first site, SBI is incredible. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Andrew Goulding
Andrew Gouldings last blog post..Xango Glimpse Skin Care: A Second Teaser With Beverly Hollister
Andrew,
First of all – thanks! I was quite surprised that ken took the time and do greatly appreciate it as I have outmost respect for his work even though I don’t agree with all he is saying.
I think you mention very valid points and I agree that for great many it can be educational, if the person is willing to take that year. Problem is, and I mean it is a big problem – too many have unrealistic expectations.
Hi Alex,
Ken Evoy again. A couple of comments…
1) Quite the contrary re “expectations.” Please see our mascot…
http://tortoise.sitesell.com/
We work hard to make expectations reasonable in more ways than our mascot. That said, some may start that way, but I’d say that “regular” hosting and “would be bloggers” start with FAR MORE unreasonable expectations. Alex, read our “How I Found SBI!” thread in the forums and you’ll see what I mean. SBI! owners are serious, motivated and know what they are starting… a real business. The Get-Rich-Quick folks refund within a month and are gone — it’s a great weeding out process.
I feel sorry for most people who struggle with regular hosting and blogging before finally giving up. Those were not THEIR expectations.
2) Re SBI! being “clunky” — I don’t see why. You can build a site using your own HTML editor, Flash, etc., that is as sharp and active as any “regular” site. Our Web site “sitebuilder” ITSELF is intentionally “clunky like a training wheel bike” is — because people need real training in order to build a site that “works” for both humans and engines. You don’t need to keep using it, of course. You can use any HTML editor with SBI!.
And meanwhile, my 19 year-old daughter is very proud of her “clunky” site. It makes more money with her part-time SBI! site than most Web pros do online.
I saw a hilarious thread the other day where “experts” were talking about “moving up” to WordPress, etc. One SBI! owner raved about SBI! and never came back. His site, by the way, was far from clunky. Then I checked the Alexa, Quantcast and Compete traffic numbers of all who had posted, including the most “authoritative-sounding” experts. The SBI! owner had the best numbers in the entire thread… by far. And this person was just an average person who had started SBI! 2 years earlier with SBI! (and yes, had quit the day job).
Most folks spin their wheels and lose money on the Web. THAT’s the sad part of all this.
3) “Graduation” — you can “graduate” from SBI! if you like. But I’m not sure what you want to graduate to. If you’re not completely familiar with all that SBI! does, take a look at tools.sitesell.com. Unless you want to start your own “next big thing” with your own custom programming, etc., etc., there’s nothing you can’t do with SBI! that you can do with regular hosting. Especially now that you can add anything you like onto your successful SBI! site using Infin It!. Yes, we encourage folks to use that module to plug in modules like forums, etc., from REGULAR hosting.
We don’t reinvent wheels, we use them. So for folks who want or need more… AFTER they have built a site with good traffic and IF they need more, they can do ANYTHING with Infin It!. And more to that…
4) “Web 2.0″ — We don’t consider SBI! sites to be islands. They are more and more advanced. Certainly Content 2.0, which is SBI!’s Web 2.0) is way ahead of blogging. Read the threads by SBIers who create Content 2.0 environments — what they achieve is staggering.
There is inadequate knowledge and understanding of all that SBI! is and does.
For example, Alex, your site comes up on one of my feeds for SBI! for sitesell or whatever, every now and then. So do SBI! sites — they are all RSS-fed. And their Content 2.0 participation by users augments that even more.
Then they can add third party Web 2.0 projects like Ning.com and since they get thousands of visitors per day by that time, Ning takes off for them, instead of doing what it does for most of users… sit idly with their friends passing by to say hi every now and then (50% of Ning’s traffic comes from 50 Ning sites out of 300,000).
Sorry… I think there’s a lot you don’t know. SBI! does more than cover the basics better than any other product, enabling folks to actually succeed at building BUSINESSES. It enables even the most sophisticated to take advantage of all it has to offer, and all you can do with it and add to it, that you’d rarely feel the need to graduate.
And if you do feel the need, say “thanks” and send us someone. We’ve changed SO many lives along the way, as you’ll read just about every day in the forums. People actually quit their day jobs, travel the world, etc. Elad’s story moves me profoundly…
http://www.my-sbi-adventure.com/
Is the above site a little clunky? I guess so. But that’s his choice.
Does he care?
No. He left his cubicle long ago.
All the best,
Ken
Ken Evoys last blog post..Powerful Practical PREselling Launches!:5 Pillar Affiliate Report #323
Ken,
Once again thank you for taking the time to comment!
I have admitted I don’t know a LOT about SBI!, simply because I never owned it.
I agree that you Business Model offers a superb value and “clunky” was not my comment. I think of it more like a standard web layout that offers simplicity combined with functionality. As long as it performs (and your owners numbers are proof of that) – it works.
I also am not familiar with everything your system has to offer and do not make claims that I know it. I simply state that what you offer, supported by the detailed information that accompanies it – will be educational, as long as people willing to take that time to learn. Which brings us to …
“Expectations” – in my comment this was mentioning not specifically SBI owners expectations but great many people who start working online. People expect to see returns fast while your system is built on stability and consistency, which is the best way for long term. Unfortunately I see it time and time again where people look for a quick hit wonders, a system that will make them rich right away and personally – I haven’t found one that works like that.
And reminder to myself – be more clear in my comments
Once again, Ken. My post or comments are NOT meant to bash your system as compared to WordPress but to stress importance of evaluating personal needs before making decision what is right for you! I still would recommend your system to 5 out of 10 people… BUT
I still stick with WordPress
which is personal decision based on how I use it and what I expect from it.
Ken is a proud parent, indeed…and obviously won’t have a word said against his baby, even if couched in the most complimentary terms.
Frankly, I dearly wish I had become an SBI member myself, back in 2004, when I first got interested in commercial uses of the web…I’d have saved myself a bundle and would still recommend SBI to anybody.
However, over the years, I’ve see a number of posts at different forums by ex-SBI users who used terms stronger than “clunky” to describe SBI…and that they eventually moved on to other web builders, after gaining a great education from SBI. Just reporting from the trenches.
Andrew Goulding
andrew gouldings last blog post..Xango 3SIXTY5: The Video
Andrew, please don’t dismiss my replies as those of a “proud parent.” I’m indeed fiercely proud, but that does not make my comments less valid nor am I not closed to useful, constructive criticism. We use customer feedback like crazy to constantly improve SBI!.
Hey, Alex, when I first replied to this, it was because you had given a measured review to blogorbuild.sitesell.com … thoughtful comments. I just liked the way your write.
And I see that is YOU all the way through. You continue to do that, not only in this thread, but throughout an excellent blog.
And I agree… blogging is perfect for you. Please understand that I’m not trying to convince YOU that you should be using SBI!, no way — that would do you a disservice. You have found your perfect milieu.
My main point in blogorbuild is that blogging is the wrong way for most small business people. The blogosphere has this HUGE disconnect from the real world, the place where regular business gets conducted every day.
And while bloggers have wailed about that Web page in some threads, none have bothered to actually, intellectually, systematically dismantle the reasons that I present. They just utter emotions, rather than reasoned debate. And you, Alex, present a balanced, thoughtful review. I admired the thinking that went into your post.
I was talking to one blogging pro the other day who said…
“Ken, you’re right, of course. There’s really only a few of us who make money. But who’s going to really admit that?”
Just to be clear, Alex, my reply above, part of it was to you and part was to other people who had repeated some of the myths of SBI!. And speaking of myths and “graduating”…
Andrew, we know some folks can’t take what SBI! requires you to do… “work differently.” We know they feel so strongly that they don’t have the total flexibility to work exactly the way they used to. That’s the price of success.
SBI! is a step by step process. You have the flexibility you need to succeed and just the stories in our forums this morning and yesterday in the forums would make you wonder what there is to graduate to.
What more is there than leading a life of passion, of freedom, on your own terms, without fighting all the tech barriers along the way?
Some folks DO want to do different types of sites. Like I said, if you want to create snipshot.com, you don’t com to SBI!. If you can’t get past the fact that you work differently, well that’s OK. I don’t want you to be unhappy in your work, but I’d suggest you reassess priorities.
And if you feel you’ve learned well from SBI! and can do the next one without SBI!, too, that’s great, too. But there are tons of power users who say, “Sure, I could do it without SBI! now. But why in the world would I want to? All the tools and time saved with SBI! and the value of the replacement tools I’d need?”
So there are two sides to every story, and who knows why people really write what they write? All I know is…
Andrew, there are tons of folks who build huge sites and successes, who feel no need to move them elsewhere. That may have been the case before we released a variety of compatibility modules and Infin It!, but unless you have very special needs (and those folks are not our target market), most small business people will never need to “graduate.”
Meanwhile, they are living lives they had only dreamed of before.
THAT’s what excites me, every day. And I think it’s the big picture that so many people miss.. or don’t believe.
All the best,
Ken
P.S. Alex, this is a great blog. You have an active group of commenters and your present regular, frequent fresh thinking. A great example of blogging the way it should be done.
Dear Ken & Alex,
With no attempt at SPAM meant, I was wondering if Ken would like to take a peek at my Site Build It http://www.andrewgoulding.info/site-build-it.html review.
It’s not substantially different from any of the comments I’ve made here but a few words from Ken (with a LIVE link to this blog, of course) would be pretty cool.
ADG
PS. The whole site should be revamped/SILOd via XSitePRO 2 soon and can then be promoted properly.
Andrew Gouldings last blog post..Xango 3SIXTY5: The Video