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Static Front Pages and Stores within WordPress
Use WordPress as a static site with a store
What if you're too busy to run a blog? What if you want to use WordPress as a static site with a store? In this article, Linda will answer both those questions with ways to resolve your goals.
Conclusion
While business blogging is beginning to become a mainstay for most businesses, you might not want that blog on your front page. Use the static page and create "Articles" rather than blog entries to produce a less casual atmosphere, one that is credible and a bit more distant, yet accessible. Use some of these other solutions to add to that business demeanour (the following recommended by WordPress):
- You can allow customers and fans to use a forum on your site. Try bbPress or WP Forum depending on the requirements. Both are easy to install and both have a range of useful features.
- Try WP Campaign Monitor for your email newsletters, because it is simple to install and easy to use. It also integrates with WP e-Commerce lite.
- Use the Survey Fly plugin to get information from your visitors, because this plugin is powerful and easy to use as well. Administrators can download .csv reports that they can manipulate internally using proper spreadsheet software.
- If you want statistics, try wp-slimstat or wp-slimstat-ex because they are both so easy to install. WP slimstat ex is based on wp-slimstat but full of AJAX goodies.
- If you aren't using Google Analytics, then get on board now. This tool tells you everything you want to know about how your visitors found you and how they interact with your site. Google Analytics for WordPress automatically tracks and segments all outbound links from within posts, comment author links, links within comments, blogroll links and downloads. It also allows you to track AdSense clicks, add extra search engines, track image search queries and it will even work together with Urchin. The WordPress Plugin repository has other Google Analytics plugin listed under the analytics tag.
- Search Everything enables the searching of Pages, Comments and more. No Hacking or modifications necessary (bravo!), just install, activate the plugin and configure it under Options > Search Everything
- If you don't like using the WordPress e-Commerce Plugin, you have options – See the available Ecommerce Plugins & Ecommerce Themes for Wordpress.
Linda Goin
Linda Goin carries an A.A. in graphic design, a B.F.A. in visual communications with a minor in business and marketing and an M.A. in American History with a minor in the Reformation. While the latter degree doesn't seem to fit with the first two educational experiences, Linda used her 25-year design expertise on archaeological digs and in the study of material culture. Now she uses her education and experiences in social media experiments.
Accolades for her work include fifteen first-place Colorado Press Association awards, numerous fine art and graphic design awards, and interviews about content development with The Wall St. Journal, Chicago Tribune, Psychology Today, and L.A. Times.