HTML versus Wordpress - I am thinking HTML

I'll preface all this by saying that I work with WP every day - it's what I do, in large measure. So I don't find it daunting at all to throw up another theme file and a few IF statements to make WP do what I want it to do.

So I guess I'm making assumptions that I shouldn't -- that someone who can put together a decently-coded HTML file can, without too much trouble, do the same thing with WordPress and have themselves an infinitely more flexible system.

The other assumption was that sites would be more than a few pages, and that you would want a consistent look throughout the site.

If you want to put up a sales page and a couple or 3 landing pages then no, WP isn't the way to do it, I'll definitely give you that.

That's why you'd use a plugin like wp-super-cache (although I'm not fond of too many plugins, that one works well). And let's face it -- without being on some sort of publishing platform that does some stuff in the background (like RSS and ping/trackbacks) running into heavy traffic will probably not be an issue.

Yes, WP was developed with a different goal in mind. But, as with most collaborative projects, its scope has expanded and changed since its inception. It has become useful for more than just blogging.

Plugins are sort of a sore spot with me, because there are many poorly written ones out there, and they can cause more trouble than they're worth.

On the other hand, how much trouble would it be to make a static HTML page that has an RSS feed, integrated social bookmarking facilities, image management, etc.?

Idaho is ... well ... way beyond the Mississippi river. Out in the Wild West USA.

As I said up top, I don't have a problem diving in and cranking out another theme file and telling WP to use it with specific pages or posts. I should realize that other folks haven't taken the time or don't have the interest in doing the same.

THAT is a different perspective! LOL

I used to think the same way, but then eventually made my own wordpress theme that I could customize any way I wanted as I did feel a little trapped by the themes I was using.

I'm not sure what your needs are, but I can basically do whatever I need to do with every post or page.

LOL! WordPress is scripted in PHP, as are Joomla, Mambo, Drupal, Expression Engine, and many other CMS platforms. It spits out, as do all the others, HTML. CSS styles the HTML. HTML is all that a browser understands (we're leaving out javascript here, for the sake of argument). How that HTML gets to the end user is what CMS software is all about.

Joomla is WAY overkill for most sites, as is Expression Engine, as is Drupal. Use it where you need it.

WP is overkill for many sites. If you need 5 or 6 pages, hand-code them or fire up Dreamweaver or NVU -- or even GoLive, if you're desperate

Now that the techno-mine-is-bigger-than-yours-and-i-am-smarter-than-you stuff is done...

After all this go-around, I'm coming more to understand the OP's point - that for many things, WP is too much, especially if you're not intimately familiar with it. For most people, becoming that is not a viable option. It takes time to learn it, time to play with it. If you're inclined that way, fine. If not, why mess with it? I certainly wouldn't advocate paying someone hundreds of dollars to code a special WP theme if you're only going to do a few pages.

Remember that wordpress was developed with a different goal in mind. When you use it to update your audience in your area of expertise, blogs (and thus Wordpress) are perfect. If you want to sell products and do other things with your website, it becomes more questionable. It can still be done. There are enough plugins out there to make anything work, but it is not as easy any longer.

That is why I use blogs for some and HTML for other websites.

You can use design different template pages if you want different pages to have different looks.

When I started with WordPress, I found a theme I liked, and have stuck with it for all my sites. Well, I've modified that theme since then and, on some sites, it doesn't even really look much like the original anymore.

Once you get into things, you can modify the heck out of WordPress. You can make your own themes and design the pages anyway you like and just use WP as your CMS.

I do HTML/PHP sites too. If you just have a small number of pages to deal with, WordPress can be overkill. I don't use WP for sites to which I don't plan to add a ton of content.

Ken
I have sales pages in my WP install that are completely different to the other blog posts/pages.

Also you can created a static HTML page(s) and create a link to it from your WP blog, many ways to do it

Kevin/Choying,
that's dead simple;

Option.1
In the existing site login to WP Admin go to Manage > Export > Download Export File, this will create a WPR file containing all you posts, pages, comments, custom fields, categories, and tags.

On the new site log into WP Admin, goto Manage > Import > Wordpress

if the filesize is really big it can cause a problem, depending on the max_upload_size limit imposed by your ISP, but you can break it up into smaller chunks.

Option 2
on the current domain cPanel use phpmyAdmin to create a SQL dump of the database used for WP, then on the New cPanel install WP then used phpmyAdmin to upload the content of the dump into your new WP database.

these are other ways I'm sure