One of my other sites, Hot Dog Stories, has moved. Last week, I exported the site from the Blogger platform to a self hosted, Wordpress platform. I purchased the Genesis Theme Framework for Wordpress several months ago and I am beginning the migration process for several of my sites.
The Hot Dog Truck will probably never move. I have over 1300 posts here and the site ranks at or near the top in Google search for a number of keywords and phrases. I also have a pretty good page rank for this site (I hover between 3 & 4). I don't want to do anything to jeopardize the ranking of this site, so it will stay put. I won't move How to Start a Hot Dog Business either, for the same reasons. I figured I'd move Hot Dog Stories now, before it starts ranking big time for keywords. I like the Blogger platform and I have become fairly good at customizing Blogger templates, but in this day and age, it pays to diversify. Now that I have Hot Dog Stories on another server and IP address, I am hoping to get a bit more link juice from my Blogger sites.
The layout of Hot Dog Stories is essentially the same, so many people might not have even noticed the change. I set the site up on the Genesis Framework for Wordpress with the Prose theme. I bought the "Pro Package when I purchased Genesis; this gives me unlimited access to ALL the Genesis templates. I am already in the process of building a website for a local law firm with a customized version of the Executive Template on the Genesis framework. I chose the Prose theme for Hot Dog Stories because it is the easiest to customize and I wanted to retain the layout of the site. I think it came out pretty good.
One of the benefits of having a self hosted Wordpress site is that I have complete control over my site. With a Blogger site, Google could come in and shut you down at any time, theoretically. I don't think they'd ever shut down the Hot Dog Truck-it conforms to the TOS, but I suppose there is always that chance (I back up the site weekly just to be safe). The Hostgator hosting package I purchased gives me complete control over every aspect of the site and allows me to host as many sites as I want. I can also grow my server size when I need more space.
Moving Hot Dog Stories wasn't difficult. There's a simple "import" button in Wordpress that will import an entire Blogger site. There are a few things to do manually to make the change smooth, but overall, it's a "one button" solution. A good article on importing a Blogger blog to Wordpress can be found here.
So far, so good. Check out the NEW Hot Dog Stories site.
Hot Dog Stories has Moved
The Great Wordpress Migration
Well, I finally did it.
I purchased a Wordpress theme package, specifically the StudioPress Genesis Theme Framework and dedicated hosting from Hostgator. I decided to do this for a variety of reasons. Besides blogging about the life and times of a hotdogman, I also have other websites, like my popular How to Start a Hot Dog Business site.
I wanted to diversify my hosting so I don't have all my proverbial eggs in one basket. Everybody says Wordpress sites are search engine friendly, and it's good to have your hosting spread out over several platforms, so I took their advice and took the plunge. I am still debating whether to move the Hot Dog Truck dot com, but I probably won't move it at all due to the sheer number of posts and the quality page rank the site has built up over the years.
All my other sites are fair game though.
I chose the StudioPress Genesis Theme Framework because I could get a portfolio of 30+ templates that are already search engine optimized with good support at a decent price. I can use all the templates on as many sites as I want too.
I chose Hostgator because they have simple Wordpress installation and they have very good pricing.
I ran into some problems (ALWAYS READ THE TUTORIALS BEFORE YOU START) when I was messing around with the C-Panel. My new best friend, Kirk Taylor a fellow webmaster I met at Affiliate Summit West, graciously offered to help me straighten things out when I crashed my C-Panel. He spent nearly an hour getting me back on track. Thanks Kirk!
I eventually figured the mess out and moved my first "site" over yesterday. I moved Your Own Hot Dog Business first.
I will post updates on further migrations- Hot Dog Stories is going to move too!
Webhosting Solutions
When I started the Hot Dog Truck website, I had no idea where it would lead. In the year and a half the Hot Dog Truck has been online, I have created lots of new opportunities for my Hot Dog business and I have learned a lot about webhosting. Heck, I have 30 sites and over 100 domain names-and I'm "just a hotdogman!" I now earn money with my websites AND my Hot Dog Truck.
One thing everyone is sure to know is that if you want information on something, the internet is a pretty good place to find out. The problem is the clutter of information. When I needed to find new webhosting solutions for my Little League site, a friend's restaurant site and some of my own sites, I didn't know where to turn. Google "webhosting" and the results are mind boggling.
I like to know what others have experienced with a service, so I found the Webhosting Geeks' web hosting reviews very beneficial. Being able to compare services in one place saves me a lot of time and lets me know which hosting service is best for the application I am looking for. A forum host is different from a blog host which is different from an ecommerce host and so on. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each service provider (plus hearing about others' experiences) lets me make a better choice for my particular needs.
If you are looking for a web host, check out the Webhosting Geeks webhosting page today.
Web Hosting Choices
A friend of mine wants me to put a website together for his Restaurant Management Recruiting business. I am more than happy to help him out as he's the president of HDTOAS (Hot Dog Truck Operator's Assistance Society). He wants some specific features, like a forum as he wants his potential customers to tell their tales of experiences with various restaurant chains etc.
What works for me and the Hot Dog Truck might not work for him. I have a Little League site that has other needs and is hosted in a different spot. Each website owner has many choices to make with where to register a domain, where to host, bandwidth needs and so on. A site called web hosting choice is a great resource. They list virtually every option available to the would be website owner so he can make a decision based on his own needs. They compare domain name registrars, web hosting companies and they even tip you off to web hosting scams.
I told my friend to do some searching around on web hosting choice to get a feel for what he wants to spend and what features he wants. Once he's got it narrowed down to a few companies, I'll help him make the final choices.
I'll certainly recommend he DOESN'T REGISTER HIS DOMAIN NAME WITH NETWORK SOLUTIONS. They are stealing domains from people! Don't register a name with Network Solutions!
Where to Host?
I, obviously, have a website. In fact I have several. I also administer a website for my local Little League. I host this site on Blogger because it's free and I'm a cheap bastard. I may have to host this site somewhere else someday though. When you have free hosting, you get what you pay for!
The thing about finding a new web host is sorting through the thousands of available options. How do you choose? That's where the folks at http://www.webhostingchoice.com come in. This site has a HUGE directory of web hosts for people who want a small, simple site to those who want a large e-commerce site (and everything in between). All you need to do is enter the parameters for what you want your host to do and they'll spit out suggestions. Of course you can just browse their list too.
The next time I need to set up a site, I'll be sure to check out http://www.webhostingchoice.com. You should too.
