Newbie - HELP...please

[TechZone]

I have been acquiring a few domains here and there over the last couple of years. I have not sold any at this point, although I have tried. I have a majority of my domains currently pointing to nameservers at DomainSponsor.com and a few with GoDaddy and am making a few cents on them, which hasn't impressed me in the least.

I now see that there is a serious crowd acquiring domains and either flipping them or monetizing them, if I'm using that term correctly. I very much would like to get into this and would need some guidance as to how I might go about this. I am fairly green in this area and would appreciate it if you folks could detail how I might go about getting started with this.

Many thanks!
TechZone

 

[zabijaq]

I use feedwordpress to add some feeds and it update some of mines WP

 

[blaknite]

Blaknite, in regards to WordPress, am I missing something here but isn't wordpress simply a blogging platform? I would still have to fill the site w/relevant ads or some sort of adwords system, correct?

Wordpress is a CMS (content management system) It originally started out as a blogging platform but its really more than that. You install the wordpress program onto your server and direct your domain name to the directory where wordpress is installed. From there, you add templates simply by transferring them into a folder under the wordpress install. You can change the entire look and feel of your site simply by changing the template in your control panel. You don't really need to get into php unless you actually want to modify or make your own template.

Put simply, wordpress separates the data from the content. You can create a new page for your site or a new post if you make the site into a blog simply by typing it in just like you do for this forum. The information about your pages or posts goes into the database. When someone visits your site, the wordpress program generates all the html code and pulls out the content from the database to create webpages on the fly for your visitor. Any time you want to add something, make changes, or put up a new page, you just write or edit the content. Wordpress will automatically update all your links between pages and make your new page so it fits the same theme.

As for ads you can either download a plugin and add it to your site or you can dig in a bit and paste adsense code into your theme. Take a look at AnimeVideos.net to see how I have handled the ads there. My theme is a heavily edited free wordpress theme.

I have created three different types of "page" templates. I just copied the page template two times with different names. One is for the home page. A second is for the index style pages. (including the pages that have amazon store pages embedded) and a third is for content pages. Then I pasted the ad code into different places depending on where I wanted it to appear for each page style. Pages that have amazon astore don't show google ads. I wouldn't want the competing ads on the same page. Index pages also do not show google ads. (its against adsense tos to show google ads on pages without content) Content pages have adsense ads. The homepage gets different adsense code than the content pages. A bigger adsense ad block because its where most people bounce from my site. If they land there by mistake I give them somewhere to go...

I don't think you'll have much trouble getting how to put ads onto the site if you take the time to figure out how to build the site. The whole point to my suggesting wordpress (or joomla, ect) is that it really allows you to focus on creating content instead of getting lost creating html. Search engines are not at all interested in your html. They will send you traffic based on the quality of your content.

 

[pdcom]

TechZone, you mentioned that you were considering getting into flipping domains. Given that you are very new to the game and just learning what constitutes a "good" domain name, I would strongly suggest that you put domain flipping on the back burner. You still have a lot to learn. If you try to flip domains at this point in the game, you may very well waste a whole lot of money on domains that you won't be able to resell for a profit.

 

[krx]

If you are on Mac, as everybody should (well... I was still working with PC just 4 years ago, so I share here the zeal and fervour of the newly-converted), I would recommend RapidWeaver (not DreamWeaver, excellent, but much more complex).

How does RapidWeaver compare to Joomla? I am ready to put up sites on some of my domains but am a total noob when it comes to web development. So I'd like something as noob-friendly as possible...

Also, how do apps like RW and Joomla differ from website builders like citymax.com and homestead.com?

btw, this is a great thread and a great testimony to the high caliber and generosity of the NP community. Makes me proud to be a member here.

 

[TechZone]

Awesome feedback! Thanks!

Any additional words of wisdom is greatly appreciated.....