Blogger vs WordPress Blog

WordPress is a very popular platform. Using Azure plus Web Apps plus the Azure Marketplace you can easily spin up a WordPress site without having to touch any code. The provisioning process takes care of code installation, Web App initialization, and even creating a MySQL database for you.

For one of my engagements I was asked to come up ways to spin up online properties like blogs with little or no code. Accordingly, I've recorded a video of provisioning WordPress into a Web App in Azure. WordPress is an easy to work with, PHP driven blogging platform.

Watch the video below for a walk through using a Stop and Go tutorial format. After completing the video tutorial you will have stood up a complete blog in the cloud with no coding required.

On a recent episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast, a question for the cast was if they ever walked away from video games, if any of them had ever stopped playing video games for an extended period of time. I thought I'd give my answer to this question because there was a time when I almost left video games entirely.

The sixth generation of consoles started out on a sour note for me. It's a story for another time but I had to fight for my PlayStation 2 and challenge my mother to get it. However, once I did have it, it seemed to be smooth sailing. The first game I got for my PS2 was the awesomeTwisted Metal: Black, I loved games like Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and I soon after was able to get a used GameCube and Xbox.

However, as games were released, there weren't many that caught my eye. Sure, there were some great games every once and a while, such as Grand Theft Auto III, Halo: Combat Evolved(the first FPS game I liked FYI), and Super Smash Bros. Melee, but a lot of games were leaving me cold. Wave Race: Blue Storm was disappointing, Dead or Alive 3 couldn't hold my interest for long, and games like Splinter Cell didn't interest me.

As a result, I started turning to older games to occupy my time. I got collections like Midway Arcade Treasures 2, King of Fighters 2000 / 2001, and Sonic Mega Collection. I picked up a Dreamcast and fell in love with that, ignoring titles like Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, andMetroid Prime for Street Fighter III: Third Strike and Phantasy Star Online. I even picked up a Saturn and started playing PlayStation 1 games again, like Chrono Cross and Twisted Metal: Small Brawl, which is actually a fun game. It was around this time I was introduced to emulation.

However, this worried me as I found myself perfectly content with playing games I had already played and completely ignoring new releases. People would be talking about Bloodrayne andMechAssault and I wouldn't care. A new Grand Theft Auto is coming out? I've already played one of those. Resident Evil 4 is awesome? I didn't like the other games so I'm not going to bother. I reached a point where I just didn't care about gaming as it was. This then started to affect the older games I was playing. Crazy Taxi and Clockwork Knight were great fun but knowing that they were never going to be more than that made the games feel a bit empty.

I vividly remember one night I was up late. I wanted to play a video game and I looked at my library of games. I didn't want to play any of them. I couldn't think of a game I wanted to play. This depressed me. I just was in my room without something to do and no idea what to do with myself. So I walked out of my bedroom and into the living room that was dark except for the light coming from my room. I sat down on the couch and pondered what I was going to do with myself.

I've been playing video games for over 10 years at that point. If I wasn't going to play video games anymore, then what was I going to do? I had other interests, sure. I loved to read and listen to music but my biggest hobby was video games. Hell, if I was listening to music, it was usually during playing a game. I don't know how long I was sitting there until my mother came out of her bedroom and noticed me on the couch.

She sat by me and asked me if something was wrong. I was hesitant at first because I knew that this was not a serious problem. I eventually told her after some convincing and she just told me about how people change and their interests in thing change with them. We talked a bit and I came to the conclusion that I needed to find what it was about games I liked. After that night, I got more into the history of games through emulation. By the time the Xbox 360 was released, I felt renewed. Games genuinely started to interest me again and the seventh generation of consoles reestablished that.

Since then, I've come to the conclusion that many of the games in the sixth generation of consoles were uninspired and graphically drab. However, as I have a greater appreciation for games now more than ever, I want to return to that generation and give the games I missed another shot. I want to hear from you now. Have you ever stopped playing video games for an extended period of time? Have you ever thought about quitting, like me? Let me know in the comments and be sure to check out my Wordpress blog for more posts on video games as well as music, movies and more. Peace and Love, gamers and players! Colorwind out.

WordPress is a very popular platform. Using Azure plus Web Apps plus the Azure Marketplace you can easily spin up a WordPress site without having to touch any code. The provisioning process takes care of code installation, Web App initialization, and even creating a MySQL database for you.

For one of my engagements I was asked to come up ways to spin up online properties like blogs with little or no code. Accordingly, I've recorded a video of provisioning WordPress into a Web App in Azure. WordPress is an easy to work with, PHP driven blogging platform.

Watch the video below for a walk through using a Stop and Go tutorial format. After completing the video tutorial you will have stood up a complete blog in the cloud with no coding required.

The Internet is abuzz over last month's major WordPress update.

After massive data breaches at Ashley Madison, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield and the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, cybersecurity has become a top priority for consumers, businesses, and even federal agencies. So WordPress, a platform used by nearly a quarter of all the Internet's websites, has installed advanced new privacy features. Observers are eager to see if these enhancements make a difference and prevent future breaches.

But despite the update, some people are still skeptical of using WordPress, chiefly because of some baseless myths about the platform. Here are the five most prevalent -- and why they're wrong.

Myth No. 1: WordPress is just for blogs.

While primarily used as a blogging tool in its early days, WordPress is now a full-featured "content management system." That means users can customize their site's appearance with thousands of themes and specialty functions via downloadable "plugins."

WordPress can serve as the backbone for powerful, dynamic websites far more advanced than a cookie-cutter blog.

Myth No. 2: WordPress isn't secure.

With over 60 million websites, this system is certainly targeted by hackers. The vast majority get blocked. WordPress comes with robust security plugins, which are particularly useful for sites hosting ecommerce or other sensitive client information. And those plugins, along with other security measures, are only getting stronger.

Last month's update, for example, includes enhanced password security features. Password reset links will now only stay live for a limited time and passwords themselves will never end up in inboxes -- a feeding ground for hackers. WordPress will even advise indivi dual users on the safest possible password.

And even those scant few successful breaches don't mean WordPress is any less secure than rival platforms. The websites of CitiGroup, Google, and Zappos don't run on WordPress and have also been hacked or attacked. Regular, commonsense precautions -- like avoiding "password" as your password -- will protect average users from any shenanigans.

Myth No. 3: WordPress isn't suitable for big businesses.

Many large companies with high-traffic sites use WordPress, including Forbes, CNN, TIME magazine, The New York Post, and General Electric. Most of the speed and security issues that might affect a well-trodden site can be solved by hosting the site on a private server.

Even the experts trust WordPress. TechCrunch, a major technology news site with millions of visitors each month, runs on the platform. And The Seattle Times now entrusts its entire online presence to WordPress.

Myth No. 4: Open-source software does n't provide good user support.

WordPress uses software that can be edited by any web developer. Some critics claim that such "open sourcing" leaves gaps in user support.

The opposite is true.

Open-source software allows millions of developers from all around the world to add and refine the WordPress programming. That means if a user runs into an issue, chances are someone else has bumped into it too -- and already found the solution. WordPress forums are a massive base of community knowledge and offer fixes to almost every potential problem.

Compare that to a closed-source platform. Even the most dedicated support team probably includes at most a dozen or so people. They're responsible for solving a wide and sprawling mass of glitches. Even common user issues often go unaddressed.

Myth No. 5: The plugins can't be trusted.

It's safe to assume that some of WordPress's 30,000 plugins haven't been coded to the highest standards. But that's why the p latform has a robust review system that allows users to flag any problems.

With millions of sites giving feedback, glitches are ferreted out quickly. And just as you wouldn't buy a blender on Amazon with one-star reviews, users would do well to avoid installing a plugin with less-than-stellar ratings.

Whether you want to run a basic blog or an online empire, WordPress is a solid platform option. And last month's security upgrade is bound to make it even more so.

Kristen Thomaselli is a director at Keybridge Web, a leading web development company based in Washington, DC.

Terri Seymour has almost 20 years of internet marketing experience and has helped many people start their own business.  Now is the time to get started with your own exciting resell ebook business.  Visit now to get three free gifts including The Big Book of Social Media Tips.  http://www.ebooks.seymourproducts.com

For anyone wanting an ecommerce website, Wordpress is an excellent tool with which to launch your new business.  Wordpress is an open source website building program using PHP.  It is one of the easiest ways to produce a professional profit producing website or blog. 

Wordpress may have started out as a simple blogging platform but it has evolved into much more.  With plugins and widgets the features you can add to your site are endless.  There is no cost to use Wordpress.  You can install it and modify it however you choose and it is fairly easy to learn.  

Hundreds of different themes provide a wide array of designs you can choose for your website.  Some themes are free and some require a fee.  Although WP is not extremely difficult to use there are some things a beginner should know to make the experience flow more smoothly. 

1. Wordpress Folder – When you create your WP site you do not want to use a Wordpress folder so it shows up in your url.  I have seen sites that do this and end up with urls like  mysite.com/Wordpress.  Install the WP in your main directory or use a subdomain. 

2. Plugin Overload – Plugins are a wonderful thing.  They have one for everything from changing your font size and color to sharing your posts to your social media accounts.    Although they are a great tool to use, be careful not to use too many.   When I first went to the plugin directory at wordpress.org I was like a kid at Christmas.  I was downloading just about all of them.   I have since learned to only use the plugins I actually need and to be sure they all get along.  Sometimes you do get plugins that don't play nice together.  If you notice a problem on your site after installing a new plugin, just deactivate the plugin and see if it fixes the problem. 

3. Posts and Pages – Pages and posts are different and should be treated as such.  A page is static which simply means it is fixed.  The page displays the same to each visitor because the information is embedded in the HTML code.  A post is dynamic which means visitors can interact with the content and it can consistently change.  Your static pages should be like permanent webpages – About Us, Privacy Policy, i.e., any content that you want to remain constant. 

4. Backup Your Site – If you have ever experienced the loss of a website, you know it is not a pleasurable experience.  To prevent this from happening be sure to backup your WP site regularly.  Some hosts will provide a 24 hour backup of your site if anything happens but not all of them offer that extra feature. So, do not forget to backup your website regularly.   There are services for this or plugins that do this for you as well.  You can search the plugin directory at wordpress.org and find hundreds of options. 

5. Use Images – Using quality images in your posts and on your pages can increase your conversion rate dramatically.  The brain pro cesses images much better than text so they do much more for your products/services.  Be sure you are using images legally and always add an alt text.  This will help the search engine spiders "see" the image.

6. Remember Your Footer – Unfortunately many people overlook the footer at the bottom of the page.  This is where you want to add your copyright and/or business information or other pertinent information or links.   Be sure to keep it up to date as well.  Many people will make it a point to check the footer for information and to see if the site is up to date.

7. How to Choose a Theme – Choosing a theme is an important part of building your website so do not take it lightly.  The theme provides the design and layout of your site.  Determine the purpose of your business and what you need your website to do for your business.  Research each theme thoroughly to see if it will provide what you need.  Be sure to see if the theme provides support.  Try the theme and see if it "fits" with your site and content.  Take the time needed to choose the right theme.  If you do find out later the theme you chose does not work, don't fret, they can easily be changed. 

8. Customized Permalinks – Permalinks are the urls given to your post by Wordpress.  The default permalink can be ugly or extremely long depending on your post titles.  You can change the structure of the permalink by going into Settings>Permalinks.  You can choose one of the options they have or you can customize your links. 

9. Automate Social Sharing – Social media must play an integral part of your website.  There are many options for social sharing plugins so every time you post, it will be shared with your social media followers.  There are also plugins that will allow your visitors to easily share your content on their social pages.  Be sure to use these plugins to your advantage.

10. Update Wordpress and Plugins – Wordpress a nd the plugins associated with it are constantly being changed and revised.  You need to keep up with these updates and always check to see if an update is available.  If you are not up to date the chances of your site being hacked could increase.  It could also cause problems with interaction between old and new plugins and features.   Updating is as simple as a click of the mouse.  Check for an Update Available button next to your plugins or at the top of your admin dashboard. 

Wordpress, to me, is the best thing to come along since chocolate so if you have not yet considered using WP, look into it and see all the possibilities it can provide for your website.  There is a ton of information available so take the time you need to research WP and see what it can do for you and your business.