New Business - Wordpress blog or website? Advice please!!

[ollyw]

Hi guys

I'm helping my mother setup her business creating cakes (wedding, christening, birthday - you name it), and one of the things I'd like to do asap is get the website up and running to post photos of some of the work she's capable of doing.

However, I wondered if anyone could give me some advice on how best to setup the website? Basically, I know so many web pages I visit these days are wordpress blogs, and so i wondered whether anyone had experience of both, and whether you felt one was a more appropriate fit than the other?

In terms of functionality, really the website will just need to be a marketing base to showcase photos, contact details etc, so don't envisage it needing to accept payment or similar.

Any advice greatly appreciated - many thanks in advance guys.

Olly

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[britnidanielle]

Wordpress is simply the backend. You can set up your mom's site in WP, but it doesn't have to look like a "blog"...it can look like a business site that showcases her work + give people a place to take orders. It also makes it SUPER easy to change + update the site verses a static website you simply build.

Whatever you do...please don't get a cheesy Wix site or something like that.

 

[stranger]

wordpress is easy to manage. You can build a blog or website with wordpress. If you're gonna get folks' comments, go for a blog.

 

[ollyw]

guys thats awesome feedback, thanks very much. I did a bit of searching in parallel, and quite a few people talk about how you can get different wordpress themes to move it more away from a traditional blog to a more traditional website feel, so sounds like that may be the best approach.

If anyone has any experience.tips, feel free to share.

Thanks all - really helpful and much appreciated.

Olly

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[britnidanielle]

If anyone has any experience.tips, feel free to share.

Check out Smashing Magazine's free WP themes. They have themes for nearly every category. You can use them as a jumping off point to create a "static" website.

 

[stranger]

guys thats awesome feedback, thanks very much. I did a bit of searching in parallel, and quite a few people talk about how you can get different wordpress themes to move it more away from a traditional blog to a more traditional website feel, so sounds like that may be the best approach.

If anyone has any experience.tips, feel free to share.

Thanks all - really helpful and much appreciated.

Olly

Pick up one +123 Free Clean and Simple WordPress Themes | Ginva
and save your money.

 

[FastNAwesome]

Hi Olly,

Yes, wordpress sounds like a good choice because it fits your current needs:

- can be setup very quickly
- can be simple to use once you get used to it (my Mom has a wordpress site too)
- can be made to look like a website of any kind, not necessarily a blog

When choosing a theme, I'd also recommend that you look for look for a "responsive" one.

Responsive themes automatically adjust to mobiles and tablets, so you have a mobile friendly site without any extra work, pretty neat thing.

There's a huge number of free and paid themes, so you'll for sure find something that suits your needs.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[GuestUser152]

Themeforest.

All submissions for themes follow strict standards and go under reviews. Themes are cheap, (less than $100). They have some really beautiful themes, and I think you'll find just what your looking for. Oh and sense they're Wordpress it's a breeze to install, and you won't have to use FTP or anything like a normal website.

 

[ollyw]

Hi guys

Another related question if I may. I'd like (until my mother formally sets up the business) to start building the wordpress page with a portfolio of photos of previous cakes etc, and put more info on her services. However, whilst i know that once you buy/commit to hosting space, you can install wordpress, I was wondering if there was a way i could almost get access to wordpress (Without committing) to in effect start to mock up/design/draft the pages?

That way when she's finally ready to launch, i can simply then pick my hosting company, and get the wordpress blog live.

Is this possible at all?

Thanks

Olly

 

[campbellronald7]

Wordpress is easy and simple, that way your mom can also handle the website on her own.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[mayana]

Hi guys

Another related question if I may. I'd like (until my mother formally sets up the business) to start building the wordpress page with a portfolio of photos of previous cakes etc, and put more info on her services. However, whilst i know that once you buy/commit to hosting space, you can install wordpress, I was wondering if there was a way i could almost get access to wordpress (Without committing) to in effect start to mock up/design/draft the pages?

That way when she's finally ready to launch, i can simply then pick my hosting company, and get the wordpress blog live.

Is this possible at all?

Thanks

Olly

I agree with everyone who has suggested Wordpress. There are a lot of portfolio themes that will allow you to display your mom's different cakes, etc.

An easy way to play around with Wordpress would be to create a blog on wordpress.com. The backend is very similar to what you will find when you are hosting your own Wordpress site. You won't have all of the options, but you can at least get a feel for what you will be able to do.

I wouldn't build the site on here, but just play around with it a little bit. That said, hosting isn't that expensive, so I would just make the leap.

You can do a lot with Wordpress sites, and it will be a great way for your mom to be able to update her own website. It's very easy to maintain.