Wall Street Journal wants to expand classified advertising by partner with Tributes.com to sell classified obituaries on the paper's Web site, Crain's New York Business.com reported.

According to the deal announced Monday, Tributes.com is the new classified obituaries section of WSJ.com. Users will have the chance to add a print counterpart in the Remembrances section of the Saturday Journal.

“Obits and memorials have been a small part of (the newspaper's classified) business, but we're expecting it to grow with this relationship with Tributes,” said Patricia Rodeawald, director of digital classifieds for WSJ.com, according to Crain's New York Business.com.

Users can commemorate their loved ones on Tributes.com, posting unlimited texts, 25 photos or a songs, with an annual fee of $79.99.

The price for obituaries in the Saturday Journal starts at $250 for the basic listings.

Tributes.com started out as a baby boomer social site Eons.com in February 2008, with the support from Journal parent Dow Jones & Co.

According to industry analysts, Tributes.com is a good fit, but not a life changing one for the Journal, Crain's New York Business.com reported.

"Dow Jones' partnership with Tributes is a smart move to bolster online revenue, but it's a finger in the dyke that won't stop the losses to the newspaper business overall,” Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps said.

However, some observers opposed, saying that it's not just about the money.

It's clear that the Journal would like to become more consumer friendly, according to Edward Atorino, a newspaper analyst at the Benchmark Co. “That's what the Saturday paper is about.”

The Saturday Journal has been running classified obituaries since late 2006. However, as a national newspaper, the Journal did not have the relationship with local funeral home directors, who take care of most of the business for death announcements.

With the partnership of Tributes.com, the paper hopes to have access to that network, Crain's New York Business.com reported.