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“Ask Anca” is a column written by WordPress expert Anca Mosoiu. Anca is owner of Tech Liminal, a co-working space and technology hotspot. This is the first on several Ask Anca columns we have in store for you, stay tuned for more.

Pat C______ wrote:

WordPress forum seems to be having issues today. Maybe someone in this group can help.

I am setting up a WordPress website for a frame shop. The owner is an artist and has a personal website that is at www.sales@xxx-energy.com. We want to incorporate it as pages in the new website without breaking it into WordPress pieces. Can a traditional website be uploaded “as is” into the WordPress structure?

Pat C______

Hi Pat,

The short answer is “No”.

What’s the long, hypothetical answer? If you have a traditional HTML website, you can load each of the pages into WordPress, but you’ll have to tweak the HTML as follows (it might not work the way you expect, or even be worth the trouble).

1. Go through and remove the section, retaining only stuff that’s inside the tag. Even better would be to extract the part of the HTML that’s the content, leaving the navigation and sidebars to be rebuilt by WordPress – but this is not the question you’re asking.
2.  In the WordPress editor, paste this HTML into the HTML tab for that page. Save your page. Note the new URL for each page you’re creating this way.
3. At this point, you should have something that looks like your old site, minus any CSS. You’ll also have a whole bunch of broken links.
4. For the URL in each page, replace with the new WordPress URL (which may be different from the old site’s URL). For example, http://mystaticsite.com/about.html might become http://mywpsite.com/about. *. Important: Use the HTML version of the editor; switching to Visual may break some of your careful formatting.

WordPress will add things around this page content – menu navigation, sidebars, etc. (which have their own HTML, based on the theme you’ve selected).

Next, you’ll have to tweak the CSS to combine your theme with your old site’s CSS.

Which is sort of the equivalent of stuffing an elephant inside a duck using only a hammer.

You’re definitely better off breaking it up into WordPress pieces and doing it that way. There are several things you can do make this job easier once you understand a little bit about WordPress.

Cheers,

Anca.

* Note: You can use the Search and Replace plugin to make the task of replacing URLs in content a little bit easier.

Anca Mosoiu runsTech Liminal, a technology salon in downtown Oakland, CA, where people just like you can get help with their websites, web applications, and general technology concerns. She is translating her background as developer, analyst, and information architect working on large-scale corporate web applications into practical, straightforward tools for the motivated entrepreneur and small-business owner.

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If Website In A Weekend has one highest hurdle, it’s finding a venue which meets the technical challenge (i.e., number of seats, high speed wireless) at a price point profitable for holding seminars. Anca Mosoiu provides just that venue: Tech Liminal. Just as I’ve spent two years building content and competence, Anca has spent two years building a viable brick and mortar tech salon, a perfect venue for Website In A Weekend Workshops.

Note: This is “website in a weekend,” not “wordpress in a weekend.” WordPress is awesome to be sure, but when it’s overkill, we steer clients toward more appropriate website platforms for their businesses.

Here’s Anca with her perspective on websites.

Three types of websites you can build in one weekend

-by Anca Mosoiu

Now that you’ve written out your website goals, let’s figure out what type of site will provide you with the best tools to accomplish them.

If, like me, you resist blogging with a passion, it’s useful to realize that your website doesn’t have to be a blog (or have one). Your website needs to support the kind of business you run, and it needs to get you the right results. Sometimes that means engaging people all over the world through comments, and sometimes it means making sure that hungry customers know where your restaurant is and how late it’s open.

Let’s look at a couple of sites that aren’t blogs to see what I mean. Each of these sites could be built in a weekend, provided you have the assets handy.

Pattern 1: Basic Informational Site

Sometimes called an online brochure, an informational site provides a visitor with a first impression of your business, tells them what you have to offer, and establishes the mood of your interactions. This type of site doesn’t need to be updated very often, but you should spend time carefully crafting your content so people can find you through search.

An effective example is Zero Emissions Renewable Energy. This site for a green energy startup provides information for investors. The company invested in a nice graphic that helps an impromptu pitch presentation, but also allows people to learn on their own.

Zero Emissions Renewable Energy website provides important information to prospective investors.

Here’s Transportation Analytics, built by Diana Dorinson at the previous Website In a Weekend Workshop.

Transportation Analytics highlights the owners qualifications at her profession.

Pattern 2: Sales Site

A sales site drives a visitor towards a purchase. Basic information is of course available, but you want them to buy. If you are selling your own product (or someone else’s), this should be clear on your homepage. You can use a sales site to directly fulfill a product order (such as for an e-book) or to close a sale that might require some off-line activity (like shipping a printed book).

An effective example is DIY Themes. A clear headline describes their product, and is supported by additional content, including a video, that allows a potential prospect to be educated quickly. A candy-like button tells people to “See Plans and Pricing”.

DIY Themes landing page features text and video.

Another great example is Zirtual, Maren Kate’s virtual assistant brokerage. Notice how every element on the landing page supports the “Get Started ->” button.

Zirtual's calls to action "Get Started ->" buttons are plain and simple, highly effective.

Your sales site could be as simple as a landing page – and could even be added as a page to an informational site. You might spend more time working on a sales site as you hone your copy, images and video, or even your overall pitch.

Pattern 3: Blog-based site

The two patterns above provide a consistent set of information that doesn’t change very often. A blog, on the other hand, provides a fresh stream of information to visitors, who then engage through comments, social media, and email – with you and with each other. A blog might have different content on the homepage every time you visit, so it’s helpful to give a first-time visitor a clear starting point so they understand what it’s all about.

Blogs help your business establish credibility, or even help you gain direct revenue through advertising or affiliate marketing (if the blog *is* your business). If you’re making revenue through advertising, you need to focus on keeping your visitors on your site as long as possible, looking at as many pages as possible. So, you need to create or curate an ongoing experience.

Since you’re reading this on Website In a Weekend, you’re looking (and perhaps participating!) at a blog. You might have come here because you’re a regular reader, or because you found the answer to a question using a search engine. Take a a look at the stuff on the right-hand side of this page, and start exploring.

Now what?

Now that you’ve considered the patterns before you and you have your basic goals in mind, you can start looking at pretty WordPress themes and plugins that will help you with colors, graphics, layout and functionality.

Later, you’ll have to write a whole bunch of content, if you haven’t already.

Anca Mosoiu lives in Oakland, California, where she owns and operates a technology salon. Tech Liminal provides visitors with a unique experience: technology expertise delivered – in person – by nice people who make customers feel more in control of the online aspects of their businesses.