Blogging question

dlscott56 · October 10, 2013

Ok, I followed the instructions and created a folder named 'blog'. Then created a page in that directory. It sounded as though each blog entry was to be a new page in this directory? Is that correct? Except that navigating to the blog just displays all of the pages contained in the blog folder and each one has to be selected. Not very blog like.

Can you tell me how to create a more continuous flow of blog posts? Or do I really just create one page and keep adding to it? I think I missed something.

Thanks in advance for your help.

denisegoldberg · October 10, 2013

You didn't miss anything.

You can continue adding to a single blog page but I suspect that will become tedious. It also removes the ease of navigating to different blog entries. Of you can have a blog folder that contains a number of pages, each representing an entry in the blog.

You can see an example of creating a page for each blog entry on Michael Bonocore's site - http://www.michaelbonocore.com/Blog.

If that doesn't meet your needs you can still host your blog at a blogging site. If you look at my site you'll see that is what I did.

--- Denise

Hikin' Mike · October 10, 2013

If you want a blog, I suggest using a tool for blogging...Blogger, Wordpress etc.

denisegoldberg · October 10, 2013

Hikin' Mike wrote: »

If you want a blog, I suggest using a tool for blogging...Blogger, Wordpress etc.

I agree with you.

I think if an individual is going to post very occasionally then using pages within smug works. I can't tell you how many sites I've looked at where the site owner was apparently told that blogging is a good thing, has posted one or two blog entries and hasn't touched it for years. I've always wondered why the link to the out-of-date never-updated blog wasn't removed from the smug site. That behavior often makes me not bother to look at the photos either... For that type of blogging (or non-blogging) using pages within smug works.

I can't imagine switching my blog to pages in smug - it loses all of the structure of a blog and loses the ability for me to tie entries together into topics, and...

In addition, inbound links from a blog should help SEO. While text on a page in smug helps, it's not an inbound link.

--- Denise

Hikin' Mike · October 10, 2013

The only bad thing about using the "free" blogs like Blogger, is this isn't part of your domain so I don't think the SEO isn't going to help. Using a sub-domain with your blog would be better for SEO. At least that's my understanding.

dlscott56 · October 10, 2013

Ok, thanks. Disappointed. Thought for a second there I was going to get rid of my WordPress blog and go for one-stop-shopping. It really would be nice to have everything integrated together. Thanks for the help.

denisegoldberg · October 10, 2013

Hikin' Mike wrote: »

The only bad thing about using the "free" blogs like Blogger, is this isn't part of your domain so I don't think the SEO isn't going to help. Using a sub-domain with your blog would be better for SEO. At least that's my understanding.

I believe that inbound links to your site are important - they don't need to come from a subdomain. I guess it's a toss-up - have your blog contribute to SEO within your domain or have it contribute by linking in to your domain. Either way it's doing good for you.

And you can set up blogger to use a subdomain.

--- Denise

Hikin' Mike · October 10, 2013

denisegoldberg wrote: »

I believe that inbound links to your site are important - they don't need to come from a subdomain. I guess it's a toss-up - have your blog contribute to SEO within your domain or have it contribute by linking in to your domain. Either way it's doing good for you.

And you can set up blogger to use a subdomain.

--- Denise

In the case of your blog, all of the entries are a sub-domain of Blogspot, not your domain. If you link back to your Smugmug site each time you post new content, that should be fine. I assume your links are the photos from your SM site?

In my case, my Smugmug site is my sub-domain. My "other site" is my domain and my blog is a directory/folder.

W.W. Webster · October 11, 2013

I just don't get the idea of creating a new custom page every time you want to make a new blog entry. Presuming your blog is a photo-related blog, why not create and customise (as you see fit) a SmugMug gallery for your blog and post your images and related commentary there? That's what I've been doing for the past six years with nearly 2,000 images posted to date, and I if I had my time over again, I certainly wouldn't want to do it any other way.

IMHO this approach is also far superior to subscribing to, and integrating, another third party-hosted service (Blogger, Wordpress, etc) with your SmugMug site, which requires significant effort to achieve and maintain a consistent look and feel and navigation so your use of duplicate platforms is transparent to your visitors. Why have two sites if you can achieve your objectives with just the one you are already paying for - SmugMug. This is not to say a third party service cannot be used successfully, but why?

Hikin' Mike · October 11, 2013

W.W. Webster wrote: »

I just don't get the idea of creating a new custom page every time you want to make a new blog entry. Presuming your blog is a photo-related blog, why not create and customise (as you see fit) a SmugMug gallery for your blog and post your images and related commentary there? That's what I've been doing for the past six years with nearly 2,000 images posted to date, and I if I had my time over again, I certainly wouldn't want to do it any other way.

IMHO this approach is also far superior to subscribing to, and integrating, another third party-hosted service (Blogger, Wordpress, etc) with your SmugMug site, which requires significant effort to achieve and maintain a consistent look and feel and navigation so your use of duplicate platforms is transparent to your visitors. Why have two sites if you can achieve your objectives with just the one you are already paying for - SmugMug. This is not to say a third party service cannot be used successfully, but why?

If you decide to stop using Smugmug. Your blog is gone. Using a third-party, you can keep all entries when you switch. To that degree you can also import your third-party blog to a different blog platform, like switching from Blogger to Wordpress or visa-versa.

W.W. Webster · October 11, 2013

Hikin' Mike wrote: »

If you decide to stop using Smugmug. Your blog is gone.

If you decide to stop using Smugmug, all of your galleries are gone! That's typically many times more images, captions and keywording than you might have in your blog!

Hikin' Mike · October 11, 2013

W.W. Webster wrote: »

If you decide to stop using Smugmug, all of your galleries are gone! That's typically many times more images, captions and keywording than you might have in your blog!

True, but in my case I don't post images from my Smugmug site to my blog. I use my other site (Wordpress) to post images to the blog.

I still think using a third-party blog is the way to go. That's what they're designed for.

W.W. Webster · October 11, 2013

There's no one right answer for everyone. I was simply recounting my experience!

Hikin' Mike · October 11, 2013

W.W. Webster wrote: »

There's no one right answer for everyone. I was simply recounting my experience!

Agreed.

denisegoldberg · October 11, 2013

Hikin' Mike wrote: »

In the case of your blog, all of the entries are a sub-domain of Blogspot, not your domain. If you link back to your Smugmug site each time you post new content, that should be fine. I assume your links are the photos from your SM site?

In my case, my Smugmug site is my sub-domain. My "other site" is my domain and my blog is a directory/folder.

I'm aware of that.

Yes, my photos are embedded from smug and they link back to my smugmug site.

--- Denise

dlscott56 · October 11, 2013

denisegoldberg wrote: »

I agree with you.

I think if an individual is going to post very occasionally then using pages within smug works. I can't tell you how many sites I've looked at where the site owner was apparently told that blogging is a good thing, has posted one or two blog entries and hasn't touched it for years. I've always wondered why the link to the out-of-date never-updated blog wasn't removed from the smug site. That behavior often makes me not bother to look at the photos either... For that type of blogging (or non-blogging) using pages within smug works.

--- Denise

I'm currently only using SmugMug for client proof galleries and purchasing as well as to hold my personal photos. The rest is done through WordPress on my main website. The only time clients are on SmugMug right now is after their proof images are ready. I send them a link and password to their gallery and they can view/purchase from there. After reading everything here I think I'll keep it that way.

By the way, to your point about updating blogs, I couldn't agree more. My blog is nothing amazing to read. It's purpose is not to attract blog followers. It's only there to let potential clients know that I am actively working and getting jobs. I recently did a job for a publisher of Enterprise Executive magazine. The publisher is in Texas. I asked how they came to ask me to do the work. The first thing this publisher does when they are looking for a photographer in an area is to go to the PPA website and find all the listings in the specific area. They don't want to pay extra for lots of travel time. Next thing they do is visit the website of each one on the list to see if they like their work. Lastly they take their short list and go through the websites to determine who is actively working. So, my monthly postings on my blog got me the final decision.

denisegoldberg · October 11, 2013

dlscott56 wrote: »

By the way, to your point about updating blogs, I couldn't agree more. My blog is nothing amazing to read. It's purpose is not to attract blog followers. It's only there to let potential clients know that I am actively working and getting jobs.

And it works! You post often enough that your blog looks alive.

--- Denise

sml · December 25, 2013

Interesting discussion for me to follow....!
I'd like to start a WordPress blog and tie it in with my SmugMug site. Seems to make the most sense in light of this conversation.
Is there someplace where I can find the specific detailed steps to get that kind of thing set up. I mean BASIC stuff! Like...suggestions for the type of WordPress site, whether or not one needs a separate domain (such as GoDaddy) and how to set that up, etc. And can I get it setup so that people can access feeds from the blog, etc.
Uh....in case you can't tell, I know NOTHING about where to start and need a suggestion for where to look and learn.
Thanks. I appreciate it.

Hikin' Mike · December 25, 2013

sml wrote: »

Interesting discussion for me to follow....!
I'd like to start a WordPress blog and tie it in with my SmugMug site. Seems to make the most sense in light of this conversation.
Is there someplace where I can find the specific detailed steps to get that kind of thing set up. I mean BASIC stuff! Like...suggestions for the type of WordPress site, whether or not one needs a separate domain (such as GoDaddy) and how to set that up, etc. And can I get it setup so that people can access feeds from the blog, etc.
Uh....in case you can't tell, I know NOTHING about where to start and need a suggestion for where to look and learn.
Thanks. I appreciate it.

You have more control with the self-hosted version of Wordpress than the "free" version. Both are free but the self-hosted needs a domain. You can create a sub-domain like 'blog.yourdomain.com' and upload WP there.

sml · December 26, 2013

Hikin' Mike wrote: »

You have more control with the self-hosted version of Wordpress than the "free" version. Both are free but the self-hosted needs a domain. You can create a sub-domain like 'blog.yourdomain.com' and upload WP there.

Thanks....
So, I take it it's a good idea to get a domain name from GoDaddy or somewhere similar? Or use the SmugMug domain in some way?

Hikin' Mike · December 26, 2013

sml wrote: »

Thanks....
So, I take it it's a good idea to get a domain name from GoDaddy or somewhere similar? Or use the SmugMug domain in some way?

Smugmug doesn't offer domains. You need to purchase a domain from a place like GoDaddy. I've been using ICDSoft.com for over 10 years for both of my websites and I recommend them to anybody.

If you already have a domain, then all you have to do is create a subdomain from your cPanel.

Hikin' Mike · December 26, 2013

One more thing. My Smugmug site is pointed to one of my subdomains (mike.imagesinthebackcountry.com) and my regular site and blog are on my root domain (www.imagesinthebackcountry.com).

sml · December 26, 2013

Hikin' Mike wrote: »

Smugmug doesn't offer domains. You need to purchase a domain from a place like GoDaddy. I've been using ICDSoft.com for over 10 years for both of my websites and I recommend them to anybody.

If you already have a domain, then all you have to do is create a subdomain from your cPanel.

Thanks, Mike. How does one decide between different services. What features should I be looking at? What is the appeal of ICDSoft.com? (I looked at their site....)
And, when I go to "get" a WordPress site, do you have any suggestions of what to look for...where to start, etc.?

(I don't know what a subdomain or cPanel are! hahaha!! I'm gonna have to watch a tutorial or two, it seems!)

Hikin' Mike · December 26, 2013

sml wrote: »

Thanks, Mike. How does one decide between different services. What features should I be looking at? What is the appeal of ICDSoft.com? (I looked at their site....)
And, when I go to "get" a WordPress site, do you have any suggestions of what to look for...where to start, etc.?

(I don't know what a subdomain or cPanel are! hahaha!! I'm gonna have to watch a tutorial or two, it seems!)

Having more than one e-mail address on a domain is a plus. I created several for my, my wife and kids. Not a big deal, but it's a nice feature. Having the ability to create several subdomains, without an extra charge, is another plus. I created two subdomains on my other site (www.thebackcountry.org) for both of my kids.

As far as Wordpress suggestions, it depends on what you want to do. There are lots of free themes out there, even for photography. I'm using a free theme, but I also have some HTML/CSS experience.

sml · December 27, 2013

VERY simplistic question, I know! hahaha
But, I've looked into the domain suppliers. And I went to WordPress.com and saw some photo styled blog themes. Do I just buy or get a theme, sign up for the domain, link to SmugMug, and start blogging? I'm sure not....but I don't know precisely what I should do. Can you steer me to any reliable webinars, tutorials, etc.
I am already signed up for KelbyTraining and I see they have a few WordPress tutorials, but I don't see any mention of integrating with SmugMug, for example.

Hikin' Mike · December 27, 2013

sml wrote: »

VERY simplistic question, I know! hahaha
But, I've looked into the domain suppliers. And I went to WordPress.com and saw some photo styled blog themes. Do I just buy or get a theme, sign up for the domain, link to SmugMug, and start blogging? I'm sure not....but I don't know precisely what I should do. Can you steer me to any reliable webinars, tutorials, etc.
I am already signed up for KelbyTraining and I see they have a few WordPress tutorials, but I don't see any mention of integrating with SmugMug, for example.

First you need to buy a domain with the ability to create a sub-domain. Pretty sure most plans allow that, even GoDaddy.

You can either point your domain (www.YouSmugmugSiteHere.com) to Smugmug and create a sub-domain (blog.YouSmugmugSiteHere.com) and install Wordpress there. Or you can create a sub-domain like (photos.YouSmugmugSiteHere.com) and point that to your Smugmug site and install Wordpress to your domain (www.YouSmugmugSiteHere.com). FWIW, that's what I did.

Either way, it's an easy thing to add a link to your blog to your Smugmug site.

As far as free themes....lots of options. I helped a photographer-friend with his Wordpress site, but in the end he went with another option. Here is a free photography theme: http://wordpress.org/themes/portfolio-press. The developer has a paid version, but for what you do (just a blog) the free version is fine.

sml · December 28, 2013

Hikin' Mike wrote: »

First you need to buy a domain with the ability to create a sub-domain. Pretty sure most plans allow that, even GoDaddy.

You can either point your domain (www.YouSmugmugSiteHere.com) to Smugmug and create a sub-domain (blog.YouSmugmugSiteHere.com) and install Wordpress there. Or you can create a sub-domain like (photos.YouSmugmugSiteHere.com) and point that to your Smugmug site and install Wordpress to your domain (www.YouSmugmugSiteHere.com). FWIW, that's what I did.

Either way, it's an easy thing to add a link to your blog to your Smugmug site.

As far as free themes....lots of options. I helped a photographer-friend with his Wordpress site, but in the end he went with another option. Here is a free photography theme: http://wordpress.org/themes/portfolio-press. The developer has a paid version, but for what you do (just a blog) the free version is fine.

Thanks! A HUGE help. I appreciate it.
Enough for me to get started!

One more quick question--if and when I start with a blog theme, if I change themes at some point, would the existing content migrate?

Hikin' Mike · December 28, 2013

sml wrote: »

Thanks! A HUGE help. I appreciate it.
Enough for me to get started!

One more quick question--if and when I start with a blog theme, if I change themes at some point, would the existing content migrate?

Yes. All of the content will still be there.

Blogging question

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