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Moving a static site over to Wordpress is a big job, but there are some very good reasons to do so, not least better search engine rankings. Did you know that Google now penalizes sites that are not optimized for mobile devices? Well with Wordpress, you can have a site that automatically detects the users browser, and jiggs the layout around for the best possible experience.
Let's formulate a plan for the conversion.
We need a list of URLs on the site, so let's use a free tool to spider the site and give us that list.
All of the URLs in the list need to be checked. Any URLs with out of date information may eventually be deleted from the new site, but we do need to redirect them to a page on the new site.
The .htaccess file may contain information we need, so check it out.
We also need to take a look at the folders in the old web space.
The spreadsheet holds the key to a simple conversion. If all of your data is in there, then what follows will be much easier.
We are going to install Wordpress, but we'll do it in a way that hides the new site from Google as we build it.
A small "switch" in Wordpress Dashboard will make your site invisible to the search engines. This is important because...
We'll set up the categories for the new site so that we are ready to start importing content.
There are a couple of settings we should change in Wordpress before we start the import. Let's do those now.
We are going to install a theme and a couple of plugins before we start the content import.
Google rewards mobile-friendly sites, so this should be a priority as you convert your site.
The homepage for my site is a special case where I will use a Wordpress PAGE rather than a Wordpress POST.
Time to move the content, one page at a time.
Keeping the spreadsheet updated as you go will save you time later.
Are there hard-coded links in the content on your pages?
With the site content now duplicated in Wordpress, we need to make sure we have the appropriate redirects in the htaccess file for the site.
Time to switch on your new site, and out with the old.
Let's re-run Link Sleuth to check for any link problems.
Congratulations, your new site is live. Go on, check it out in a mobile browser.
Links to free tools mentioned in this course.
Course Objectives
To take a static HTML website that fails Google's "mobile-friendly" test and convert it into a slick, responsive, mobile-friendly website that looks great on desktop, tablet and mobile phone browsers. You can watch the entire conversion process "over-my-shoulder" and see how this type of conversion is possible without losing current rankings, and with zero site downtime.
Who is the course for?
This course is for anyone that needs to convert an HTML site into a mobile-friendly Wordpress site to be compliant with Google's upcoming algorithm change.
The course does not require any previous knowledge of HTML or Wordpress.
Why is this important?
Google has an algorithm update that effectively penalizes sites that do not display well in mobile browsers (that's mobile phones and tablets). Older HTML sites are not typically optimized for mobile devices, so they will suffer in the search engines.
If you have old HTML sites that you want to keep, now is the time to think about converting them to Wordpress. This course can take you step-by-step through the entire process.
So why Wordpress?
Wordpress offers a platform that is easy to set up and offers responsive site themes out of the box. If you convert your site to Wordpress, you'll not only have a great looking website, you'll also have one that is responsive! That means the site looks great in any browser on any device - mobile phone, tablet or desktop computer. The beauty of Wordpress is that it takes care of the technical stuff, you just concentrate on your site content. Now you don't need to be a designer.
If you are concerned about the upcoming changes to Google's algorithm and how they will affect your HTML site, then this course is for you. Within a few hours, you'll have a beautiful, responsive site that Google will reward.
What's in this course?
This course starts off with an introduction, telling you why it is important to make the switch to a responsive theme.
I'll then introduce you to one of my old HTML websites, built a long time ago when SEO had very different rules. During this upgrade to Wordpress, I'll also be cleaning it up and bringing the SEO up to date.
You'll then see an easy way of collecting a list of URLs on the site, and using a spreadsheet, organize them to help the conversion go smoothly.
After installing Wordpress, you'll learn how to make it invisible to the search engines until you are ready to switch it on.
You'll also learn the simple strategy to make sure your site has ZERO downtime during the conversion.
Once the site has been ported over to Wordpress, you'll learn how to make the switch, and test the new site to make sure everything is as it should be. You'll even be able to go to Google, search for your pages and click on the old HTML pages and be redirected to the new version of that page on the Wordpress site.
So, what are you waiting for? Let's start to convert your site.