{"id":699,"date":"2022-12-26T15:00:30","date_gmt":"2022-12-26T05:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bdabooks.com.au\/Blog\/2023\/updating-blogging-software-from-html-to-wordpress\/"},"modified":"2023-01-06T17:03:18","modified_gmt":"2023-01-06T07:03:18","slug":"updating-blogging-software-from-html-to-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bdabooks.com.au\/Blog\/2022\/updating-blogging-software-from-html-to-wordpress\/","title":{"rendered":"Updating Blogging Software: From HTML to WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Static HTML site or WordPress? Despite their significant differences, WordPress static sites are becoming increasingly common. It might seem paradoxical, but why wouldn’t you want the best of both worlds?<\/h5>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

As we mentioned in our first post on our revamped website<\/a>, we started rebuilding our company website in July 2021 and deployed the new website in October 2021.<\/p>\r\n

*This post contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.*<\/h6>\r\n

We updated our site for several reasons: design and functionality, site performance, functionality and content management, and security.<\/p>\r\n

\"Photograph
Belinda D’Alessandro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

We wanted to minimise the need to have a developer on hand for day-to-day updates and support and have complete control over the content. In addition, it would save money on monthly costs and increase flexibility and lead time when making significant updates, such as blog posts or content creation of campaign pages on our website.<\/p>\r\n

We wanted to minimise the need to have a developer on hand for day-to-day updates and support and have complete control over the content. In addition, it would save money on monthly costs and increase flexibility and lead time when making significant updates, such as blog posts or content creation of campaign pages on our website.<\/p>\r\n

Our web hosting was also due for renewal, and we were using the same basic package we\u2019d started with when we set up the website, which was scheduled to be retired by our hosting provider. However, after discussing the options with our hosting provider, Vodien<\/a>, we decided to upgrade to a package with faster, uninterrupted enterprise speeds and the protection Google prefers.<\/p>\r\n

Our initial decision: Static HTML<\/h2>\r\n

As we were building a small website that was unlikely to change or require new content, static HTML was a good approach with our initial redesign. We wanted to minimise the need to have a developer on hand for day-to-day updates and support and have complete control over the content. In addition, it would save money on monthly costs and increase flexibility and lead time when making significant updates, such as blog posts or content creation of campaign pages on our website.<\/p>\r\n

To enable us to make regular updates or create new pages (for SEO reasons), we updated to a solid, dependable, and simple content management system (CMS) to handle the job of creating static HTML pages. We\u2019re currently using Mobirise<\/a> for our website builder: it\u2019s a free offline app you can use to create websites, landing pages, and portfolios easily. You can also get a paid version.<\/p>\r\n

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\u201cBlogging is just writing \u2014 writing using a particularly efficient type of publishing technology.\u201d Michael Eisner<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

And here is where we get to the BIG but with a static website: static website builders are designed to offer total control over the structure and design of content. But incorporating the blogging side (similar to what WordPress software offers) requires a significant time investment and in-depth coding knowledge to create (which I don\u2019t have) or paying a developer to do it for me (which would be very expensive).<\/p>\r\n

Changing from Static HTML to WordPress<\/h2>\r\n
\"Anna
Anna Fitzgerald’s side-by-side comparison of the pros and cons of both static HTML and WordPress<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n

As a part of that transition, we had to decide how to design the front end. Our hosting provider, Vodien<\/a>, allowed us to design a static HTML site (and upload our files) or install an instance of WordPress content management software<\/a> and use the design of pre-prepared themes (in essence, templates).<\/p>\r\n

Technology and fashion are constantly changing, so it was critical to provide visitors with up-to-date content and allow us to make updates quickly and easily. Anna Fitzgerald considered the differences between (and the pros and cons of) choosing between a static site or a WordPress site on Hubspot.<\/p>\r\n

The pros and cons were also discussed on wpbeginner.com<\/a>. Brian Jackson also considers the differences on Kinsta<\/a>. So, what did we work out? There are pros and cons for each case.<\/p>\r\n

So, what did we work out? \u00a0Anna Fitzgerald provides a side-by-side comparison on Hubspot<\/a> of what she considers the advantages and disadvantages of choice:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\u00a0<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nWordPress<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nHTML & CSS<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Software<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nOpen-source content management system<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nNo underlying software<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Uses HTML<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nYes, but primarily written in PHP. When a user visits your website, PHP code on your hosting server queries the database for relevant content, then packages that into an HTML file to deliver to users.<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nYes. Web pages exist as individual HTML files in their entirety. No assembly is required.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Speed<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nSlower out-of-the-box because requires more server resources.<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nFaster out-of-the-box because requires fewer server resources.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Ease of use<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nBuilt-in dashboard, themes, and plugins make it easy to build, customize, and manage a WordPress site.<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nBuilding and managing an HTML site will be difficult without coding experience or hiring a developer.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Price<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nFree to use the software but have to pay for domain registration, hosting, and premium plugins and themes. On average, costs range from $11 to $40 per month in addition to a one-time sum of $200.<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nHiring a developer to build and design a small, responsive site from scratch ranges from $7,000 and $10,000. Maintaining such a site will cost $400 to $1,200 per year.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
SEO<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nIn addition to being able to configure SEO settings in your dashboard, you can choose from hundreds of plugins that let you control your on-page and technical SEO.<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nOptimize on-page SEO by including the right tags in source code or hiring a developer to do so.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
Blogging<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nOffers a drag-and-drop block editor and advanced built-in blogging functionality for managing users, controlling content visibility, and more so you can create and manage content right in your dashboard. More advanced users can edit the underlying code to make specific customizations if they want.<\/td>\r\n\u00a0<\/td>\r\nOffers total control over the structure and design of content, but requires a significant time investment and in-depth coding knowledge to create.<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

So initially, we were creating our blog posts as static HTML pages and added a commenting system. It worked well for us, with the limited number of blog entries we initially posted. However, as time passed, it was getting harder to regularly and consistently write and deploy blog posts without a content management system like WordPress.<\/p>\r\n

The costs of setting up a website can vary on a case-by-case basis. The things you need to take into account when determining costs are:<\/p>\r\n