[newbie]

I am looking to set up a website using wordpress as a template. Initially the site will have a blog, a directory and review of related websites and also some articles which I would like displayed as normal web pages. From having read previous posts, I gather this shouldn't be an issue. However, one thing I am unsure about is the flexibility that I will have on the future use of the site. i.e. If the site does well and achieves a high google ranking for my keywords, could I expand the site to be more than just a blog/set of articles/directory without negatively impacting the sites existing google ranking?

For example, say that I was initially looking to blog about job hunting, write some articles on applying for jobs, and have a directory reviewing and linking to other internet job boards. If the site did well with the requisite keywords and achieved a high google ranking, then in the future I would look to expand the scope of the website to offer users the ability to search for jobs which would be stored in my database. Could I just bolt on any new functionality for job searching without changing the existing site architecture, and if so would it affect my existing google ranking?

Thanks a lot in advance for any replies. I knew nothing about seo until a few days ago, and I have found this forum, particularly the regular posters, really useful in providing clear, insightful advice.

Harry.

[Interconnect IT]

Yes, you can bolt on extra functionality - that functionality can run from subfolders with the main driver of your site continuing to be WordPress. There's quite a lot of very nice and substantial websites out there doing this.

If you take a look at our site, http://spectacu.la you'll see that it has WordPress for the front end, bbPress for the forum (fully integrated) and uses aMember for subscription management.

The biggest problem you'll have is that of full integration of logons if you're using quite disparate systems.

Joomla and other systems such as Expression Engine are more mature when it comes to building large websites with multiple modules, but all have their issues and costs.

[newbie]

Hi there and thanks for the reply. I checked out your website and the themes look pretty slick. I noticed that you mention that you support themes for two years after release. If I download a wordpress theme from the web, could I have potential issues with future releases of wordpress or does it tend to be backwardly compliant? I am happy installing patches etc but would be wary if a non supported theme could have say security issues when a new version of word press was released. I guess I could always not upgrade to the new version, but then I run the risk of missing out on new functionality.

From your reply, I think I am okay with the direction I am going. My goal is to follow a four stage approach for my website. 1) blog, 2) articles, 3) search and 4) forum. Depending on how well the site does in terms of google listing when I have developed the blog and articles I will move on to the search and forum functions. I don't want to spend too much initially, at least until I have had a chance to guage its success (or lack of it) hence why I was thinking of going for a wordpress theme and developing it myself. If all goes well I will pay someone to redesign the site and install the search functionality at a later stage. While what I want to do is possible, will this approach make it problematic for any future developer (who adds on extra functionality) from a seo perspective i.e. would they be able to retain the existing content and just bolt on the new elements, and then seo the whole site... without losing my existing google ranking. Or is there a risk that these changes could actually negatively affect my ranking (at least in the short term). Plus am I making life difficult for an SEO expert by taking this approach or does it not matter.

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply
Harry.

[Interconnect IT]

Well - that's no bad approach. Obviously when your site needs more sophistication, you can build that in. There are no easy approaches - anything that's not off the shelf is going to take some hard work from a developer... and good developers aren't cheap! But by taking it one step a time you simplify the load.

bbPress and WordPress integration is improving quickly - you can do it now with 2.5.1 and the current bbPress, but not 2.6, for example. Again, wait a few months and that problem will be solved.

With Spectacu.la the whole point of guaranteeing support for at least two years on all premium themes is that we'll test all our themes on every new version and release patches within a month or so if required. Usually they aren't That along with the support forums is the whole basis of our business.

If you fancy trying Spectacula, the coupon 4354B will give you and other forum members a 50% discount until the end of August. And that's on top of the launch reduction that's in place right now :-)

[antonia]

thanks for the info: I realy like using wordpress but like newbie was unsure about how far it could go! Will check out your site offerings.

[newbie]

Thanks for that Interconnect. Any advice on the seo element?

[Interconnect IT]

Consider using All-in-One SEO plugin - but to be honest, your site structure is only a small part of the SEO story. Having said that, many of our clients have turned up at the top for their chosen keywords within 6 months of going live, so we're doing something right.

Some themes, incidentally, are far better than others. On one scoring system the average is around 50% and our themes tend to come in around the 85-90% mark. Very few come higher and they tend to do tricks we're not 100% sure of - and we do tend towards being a little conservative with these things as overdoing it can damage things. But search engines aren't your only traffic source. In fact, if they're making up 95% of your traffic, you're doing something wrong!

[Sam (Mr. Mu)]

good advice (furiously scribbling notes) - newbie, them spectacula and interconnect people seem to know their stuff! :-)

Also check out Old Welsh Guy's blog http://www.oldwelshguy.co.uk/ for some great SEO common-sense tips!