We have several blogs that we run; most of them are very typical blogs like this one… just basically a bunch of posts with ads sprinkled throughout the site. This site is probably similar in set-up to most of the blogs you see online nowadays. The cool thing is you can actually make your blog so much more (which we plan to do with this site as it evolves).
With the way blogging platforms are setup, they are basically content management systems (CMS). We use WordPress to run most of our sites, and with all the cool plug-ins and add-on scripts available online you can pretty much turn your blog into any type of site you like. And if you can’t find a plug-in to do what you need… you can always go to a site like Elance and hire someone to create it for you. With all this technology at your fingertips, the sky is the limit to where you can take your blog.
One of the sites dearest to my heart is MiraMesa.com. It took me about a year of negotiating and a LOT OF MONEY for me to obtain that domain from the previous owner. I bought it because Mira Mesa is the town I grew up in and I know everything about it, so I just had to have it. It is one of the largest communities in San Diego with about 80 to 90 thousand residents and growing. It has a huge business sector as well. If you are familiar with Qualcomm, they started their business at the west end of Mira Mesa Blvd. and are still here today… just in a LOT MORE buildings!
When I first purchased the domain, I paid some programmers to build me an incredible website. It actually ended up being TOO INCREDIBLE, but I will save that for a future post. To make a long story short, the custom website I had created worked perfectly for several months, but it soon started getting all sorts of bugs and eventually I had to shut it down.
So I had to come up with a new platform to run my website. I actually checked out some CMS platforms like Drupal and Joomla, but I ended up going with WordPress, and I am so glad I did.
When I first switched MiraMesa.com over to WordPress I had no interesting plug-ins or scripts… I was just using some free template and no other features.
Since then we have added several cool functions to the site to make it more like a Community Portal, versus a basic blog. We have an awesome Events Calendar and Business Directory that people in the community tell us they love. We have also just added a Coupon Section which people have been bugging us for months. We are still working on its functionality, but it works for now. Also, our local advertising is really starting to pick-up, which we really love 
So what is the point I am trying to make from this post? My point is you don’t have to limit your site to just writing posts. With today’s plug-ins and scripts you can turn your blog into anything you like. You can sell products and services directly from your site, you can create a membership site, you can do whatever… the skies the limit.
What can you add to your site to make it more “User Friendly”?
Sire (132)
Lee Ka Hoong (106)
Asswass (75)
bbrian017 (69)
Extreme John (64)
The Gooroo @ iBlo... (55)
Typhoon (53)
Vote on this arti... (47)
Benjamin Cip (41)
EarningStep (38)
Jared P Little (38)
Samjien (33)
Tycoon Blogger (33)
Trey - Swollen Th... (31)
Compute Live (29)
Michael Aulia on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 7:15 am
Yeah, it is amazing
I think for blogging, WordPress is the best platform. I have a church site in Joomla and it’s quite a pain to manage/maintain.
Although it’s a bit hard to make WordPress into a CMS. You can, but not as powerful as real CMS like Joomla
Doug Dillard on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 8:36 am
Yep… definitely cannot make it as powerful as something like Joomla, but for managing basic content, it works fine. We created the MiraMesaChamber.com with Joomla, and it works fine, but it is a MAJOR PAIN to teach someone how to add just a basic article. There is a HUGE learning curve to maintain it and if you want several people to have access to publishing and editing… it can be a bit scary.
George Serradinho on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 8:18 am
WordPress is the bomb, easy to use and maintain in the long run. I am currently looking at starting another website and you have given me an idea about MiraMesa.
Now days all sites can be used for anything, we are actually not limited by anything except ourselves.
Doug Dillard on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 8:37 am
Couldn’t agree with you more. We are the only ones holding ourselves back.
Deneil Merritt on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 11:29 am
Yeah, wordpress is one of the best software for cms. I have seen some sites you would not believe was made with wordpress. One I really wanted but couldn’t afford to buy it.
My question is how does it feel to own the domain name of your city?
Doug Dillard on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 12:25 pm
It’s not really a city, but a community in the city of San Diego. It is big enough to be it’s own city though. As far as how does it feel… it feels good, but you can own the domain of any city if you want to spend the money
Deneil Merritt on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 1:04 pm
Oh ok, well if its big enough to be its own city. I am sure you will start seeing the traffic to the site.
I looked up my city and somebody owns it. They parked it! ERRR! I can’t afford to buy it from them right now but I will sometime in the future.
Doug Dillard on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 1:14 pm
The site has pretty good traffic so far and growing each month. Last month we had almost 6500 unique visitors.
As far as your city… You might want to contact the owner and see if they want to partner up… if you don’t mind doing the work?
Deneil Merritt on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 1:17 pm
That is awesome, keep up the great work.
I have too many websites as it is. I can’t take on another work load.
Sire on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 3:58 pm
I had a look at the coupon section, that is really pretty cool. Do the companies offer you something for displaying their coupons?
Doug Dillard on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 4:08 pm
Absolutely… we charge $30 per month for that section. We give them deals if they want to advertise on the homepage and/or the business directory as well. These are all local businesses where we know the owners, so it is much easier to build personal relationships. Mark and I are both on the Board of the local Chamber of Commerce. Mark is actually the Chairman of the Board. That really helps in building relationships with local merchants.
Sire on Fri, 14th Aug 2009 4:21 pm
Ah, so it’s not what you know but who you know. Maybe I should join the local chamber of commerce……Nah!
Sire´s last blog ..Dominance Is All About Your Domain Name
TechZoomIn on Wed, 8th Jul 2009 11:01 pm
Qualcomm is just beside my office here in India
Great post and site you had man..Thanks for sharing these..
Extreme John on Mon, 13th Jul 2009 10:29 pm
I made the switch from a basic html site to a WordPress Blog about a yeah and half ago and I love how easy it is to use, and to say Im a plugin addict would be putting it lightly.