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There are just as many ways to create a website as there are to skin a cat. One common method is to simply install a CMS (Content Management System) such as Wordpress or Joomla. A CMS is simple for the site owner to maintain and expand on their own. This saves them the cost and time of waiting for a web developer (like myself). So which one is right for your new website? In this article we will be looking at the advantages and disadvantages of Wordpress and when exactly is the best time to use it.
Wordpress
What is Wordpress?
Wordpress is developed freely by Wordpress.org as a blogging software. Originally, this software didn't have the abilities it has today for expansion; individuals had to "hack" it's core to enable advanced features that are now available in plugins. To this day, Wordpress is still released as a blogging software; however, many companies and individuals find it's easy to use administrative panel, the ability to quickly change the site theme, and the wide variety of plugins currently available the key reason to tweak this blogging software into a fully functional website.
Wordpress system requirements:
- PHP version 4.3 or greater
- MySQL version 4.1.2 or greater
Ease of installation:
Wordpress coins the phrase "5 minute installation". Someone new to Wordpress and the use of website systems such as MySQL will obviously take longer to install this system. Advanced users usually take 5 minutes or less for installation.
After installation, the site is very basic but fully functional. Customizations can take a lot longer to implement depending on their complexity. However, Wordpress has a built in system to allow it's users to quickly search a wide variety of free themes and plugins to help improve their site. One could easily have a fully functional blog running in less then 10 minutes with SEO (search engine optimization), a new non-standard theme, and almost any other need they may have by simply using the built in features.
When should you use Wordpress:
Because of Wordpress's ease of use and mass following, many people choose Wordpress before much thought.
For a simple one or two page site (such as a squeeze page for product sales): I wouldn't recommend installing this advanced system. Wordpress is currently (v2.9.1) using 834 files for just it's core features. After installing plugins and other features of this system you can quickly make a 2 page website consist of almost 1000 files and a advanced MySQL database. I believe this is over kill, there are much more simplistic solutions out there for such small websites. One could easily use basic HTML files, this would create a much faster loading website with less of a server load. Some host even provide a free service for beginners to where they can edit their websites with a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor. Meaning simple changes wouldn't force them to learn the simple language of HTML.
For a website consisting of advanced user interaction and other non-blog related websites: For advanced websites, it's a gray area for me. Most people seem to forget that Wordpress is a blogging software, forcing this into a different type of system is a little extreme in some cases.
For example: Wordpress has the basic features of most websites built into it:
- User handling
- Saving, editing, and updating of data
- Administration panel
Individuals wish to take these key features from Wordpress and change it from a blogging software into a huge content site, or e-commerce website. This is similar to changing a car into an airplane. Cars have engines, wheels, and seats just like airplanes. However, changing a car into an airplane would force one to remove everything that makes the car a car and replace it with all the features of an airplane. Sometimes, it just makes more sense to build the airplane from the ground up, rather than taking the extra man hours to take apart the car.
For a website consisting of constant post that need to be categorized by date and topic with usually one common theme: This is a great idea, simply because that is exactly what a blog is, and exactly what Wordpress was targeted towards.
Conclusion
Wordpress is a great blogging software which can be easily installed and maintained by intermediately skilled users. For beginners I would recommend using an account on Wordpress.com or taking the time to educate yourself on the workings of a website. Having a developer install Wordpress on your server shouldn't cost too much or take much of their time, there are also many online tutorials and videos to help beginners learn how to make Wordpress work for them.
It can be transformed into many other types of websites, and should only be after considering the amount of work it would take to convert Wordpress into what you desire rather than just falling back on a current system or custom solution.
Questions or Comments
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