Do you use WordPress or a website, and why?

15 years ago

I use WordPress for my blog, which also includes static pages so has some characteristics of a conventional website. As a blog it is updated frequently and invites comments - for this WordPress is great.

For other websites I use "hand crafted" code: html or PHP as appropriate. These sites are static, not updated on a daily basis and do not invite user interaction, other than sign up forms, affiliate links and payment buttons. I find it much simpler not to use WordPress for these sites as it is too much work to customize it for just a few pages.

The key is to use the right tool for the job each time. WordPress is a great tool but it's not always the right one. What's the old saying: if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

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Clive

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la dominatrix

15 years ago

One of the disadvantages of Word press or any other blogging platform is the fact that ultimately someone else controls your content and can shut your blog down.Ig you use dreamweaver you can use free web template google "open source templates" Some are easy to use and soem adapt some are not however a few of them you could set up n Dreamweaver in less than an hour. U havce just set one up about half an hour ago and it took less than an hour to get the hang of it
la dominatrix

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VegasGreg

15 years ago

Originally Posted by la dominatrix

One of the disadvantages of Word press or any other blogging platform is the fact that ultimately someone else controls your content and can shut your blog down.Ig you use dreamweaver you can use free web template google "open source templates" Some are easy to use and soem adapt some are not however a few of them you could set up n Dreamweaver in less than an hour. U havce just set one up about half an hour ago and it took less than an hour to get the hang of it
la dominatrix

The OP mentioned using Wordpress on his own host (cpanel and Fantastico) so there would be no one else controlling his content. A Wordpress.com account would have that issue, not the Wordpress.org software available on most hosts.

I use Wordpress(.org) as a website, so it isn't always either or. For me it is now easier to set up a website using Wordpress that create and edit one through Dreamweaver or Frontpage or something similar. Also much easier to add content.

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Adrian Cooper

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Ian Jackson

Do you use WordPress or a website, and why? What are the ptos and cons of each?

I use a website editor (DWeaver 8), but am wondering if it's worth my while to spend time getting to grips with WP (through my cPanel/fantastico account)

Wordpress - in my view - is only appropriate for blogging based IM business where blogging is the first priority, monetising it the second.

People treat WP as a content management system and it really is not designed to be one and can never be one - it is way to inflexible.

Lest I upset you WP users let me stress that it is absolutely possible to run a successful IM business based on WP, but it is not my product of choice.

I recommend Joomla for IM businesses.

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ppc4profit

15 years ago

Originally Posted by Adrian Cooper

People treat WP as a content management system and it really is not designed to be one and can never be one - it is way to inflexible

Adrian,

I agree that Wordpress was not designed to be a content management system but I find it can easily be used as one.

What are the issues you find that cause it to be 'inflexible' ?

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Adrian Cooper

15 years ago

Originally Posted by ppc4profit

Adrian,

I agree that Wordpress was not designed to be a content management system but I find it can easily be used as one.

What are the issues you find that cause it to be 'inflexible' ?

WP is fine for adding content, and of course its structure lends itself well to SEO - if that is an issue - but for overall flexibility to create a professional looking site with all necessary features for the purpose it falls way short compared to Joomla for example.

WP designs are also restricted by their blog origins.

WP is a completely viable - and useful - platform, but all I am saying is that if the intention is more than blogging, then Joomla or other CMS is far more appropriate.

That said I have seen some excellent looking sites built in WP, so there are no absolutes.

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anitabrown 15 years ago

I have used both word press and FTP sites. I think wordpress is very powerful software if properly used. Site maps are updated and pinged automatically. There is only one main issue in WP ! It generates a lot of supplementary content
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- The Pension Guy 15 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by anitabrown
  
  There is only one main issue in WP ! It generates a lot of supplementary content
  
  Like what content?
  WP doesn't generate any content by itself... all content is "generated" by the user. Give us an example of "supplementary content".
  
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Valeriu Popescu

15 years ago

Depending on what are you want to achieve. I use WP and also static websites. And a mix of WP for my blog inside of a static site.

But to be honest, I balance to switch everything to WP because I can get new pages indexed much faster.

The disadvantage would be that I have to switch from static pages to WP for a large site and this is NOT an easy task.

Valeriu

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Superior

Banned 15 years ago

I use wordpress for my websites. This is very nice software, easy to customize. I never feel need to use joomla or any other CMS for my websites because wordpress fulfill my all requirements.(almost)

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Igor Kheifets

15 years ago

I use wordpress because it's a blog.
Blog is better than a website because:

1. SEO friendly
2. Adding pages is easy
3. Getting feedback from visitors

Those 3 are just a small fraction of why I prefer
blogs over websites.

Igor

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EdKirby 15 years ago

I use self hosted Wordpress sites. Although I have used static html sites as well as Joomla.

The reason I use WP is that I find it easier and quicker to get a niche site built with all of the functionality that I require. There are quite a few awesome free plugins that you can use to extend the functionality of WP to suit your needs.

You can make a WP site look and feel like a static html site with a little (relatively easy) tweaking. Like anything else it requires a little planning as to how you want the site laid out.

If you already know html and php or are willing to learn a little about php then you can easily customize the look and feel and even tweak functionality.

The best part is that once set up all you have to do is add content. No duplication of effort.

I like Joomla also but I find it to be overkill in most of my applications or needs for a site. Under most circumstances you probably won't have to manage 1000s of pages. But then again WP can do this to a certain extent. Admittedly I don't know what WP's upper limit would be if there even is one.

I haven't fully tested Joomla vs WP from an indexing perspective but I have had very good luck with WP and the love that the search engines are giving me.

Now, I don't want to start a war of semantics but I have to say that in my opinion WP is a CMS, albeit a very lightweight one but a CMS nonetheless. You are in fact managing content and using a software application to do it.

So, I wouldn't let the fact that maybe it wasn't designed as a full on CMS scare you away from using it.

Time is the most precious commodity that we have in this business and I'm all for saving time.

Cheers,
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Ed
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- Garch 15 years ago
  
  One of the disadvantages of Word press or any other blogging platform is the fact that ultimately someone else controls your content and can shut your blog down
  
  This is only true if you host your WordPress blog with wordpress.com. If you use the self hosted WordPress software, you have 100% control over your blog.
  
  Now, if you want to talk about control of content, you really don't have as much control as you think, regardless of what type of editor or CMS you use. Unless you own your own web hosting company, your web host has a good deal of measure over your website and can easily and legally remove your site from the web for a multitude of reasons. And to take that one bit further, even if you own your own web hosting company, you better own the servers and the data center where the servers are housed if you want a real measure of control.
  
  Getting back to the focus of this thread, I will say that one of the best advantages to using WordPress, is how you are able to extend it's functionality through the use of plugins. Another huge plus about WordPress is it's relative ease of use compared to other platforms, in particular, Joomla.
  
  I could go on and on with this topic, but I suppose you can already tell that I'm a fan of WordPress.
  
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Pokerlover

15 years ago

I am also using Wordpress as I can easily manage it.. As for websites, there are certain things that I am not familiar with.. With wordpress, even new bloggers can understand the same..

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radio

15 years ago

due to the number of plugins available for wordpress and the strong development community, i find it to be a great content management system. quick and easy to update, theme, and launch sites.

WP doesn't generate any content by itself... all content is "generated" by the user. Give us an example of "supplementary content".

Wordpress might not create the content, but it gives a framework that allows plugins to quickly and easily create that content!

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Garch

15 years ago

WP designs are also restricted by their blog origins.

How so? For starters, there are thousands of themes available, including many custom premium themes which are designed for specific CMS purposes. In addition, it's possible to code your own custom theme to look whichever way you want it to.

What specific restrictions are you referring to?

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Ldimilo

15 years ago

the blog vs. website debate.....

Choosing what you want to do really depends on your aim. I have seen many make the claim that blogs are better than websites. I think that the reason is because blogs are easier to manage than static websites and since so many find it easier, they automatically assume that it must be better.

From an SEO perspective, there really isn't one advantage over another though. Once upon a time, bloggers had the .xml files as an advantage but even this has changed.

Ultimately, it really depends on what you plan to do with it....

Are you planning on building a lot of content up front? Do you want social interaction? Are you planning on updating frequently? What type of site are you building and why?

There are just too many questions to be answered to make a blanket statement like one platform is inherently better than the other...

I have static websites that get lots of traffic and also have a couple blogs that do very well....

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ChrisBa

15 years ago

I use wordpress for almost anything, the amount of themes and customization just make it easier

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Michael Motley

15 years ago

wordpress. I'm to the point now that I can pretty much get a site up and running on my host (that provides wordpress free) and fully trimmed out with seo, some decent graphics, adwords and submitted to search engiens in about 1 day. In another day it will be indexed in google. Within about 4 days from the day i buy the domain i'll start getting traffic. Now if i can just sell something

I've been messing with it long enough that I pretty much know what does and what doesnt work with a wp site

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tandren544

15 years ago

I use WP, simply because it's so much easier/cheaper to set up than an html/php site. I'm a pretty skilled php coder so I find it really easy to wade through WP code and customize my sites very easily, plus Atahualpa gives me a lot of freedom.

Because of my background in php and in all-around stubbornness, whenever I build a site from scratch, I build it 100% from scratch. This leads to many many weeks of hard work, which I don't want to do anymore.

Enter WP.

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Do you use WordPress or a website, and why?

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