Is it just me or is Wordpress a big learning curve?

108 replies
Hey everyone,

I've recently taken advice from numerous people who recommend wordpress instead of a static site.

I decided to try it out but boy am I finding it difficult. Before I use to download some free HTML / CSS templates and just play around with them for a bit to my liking and didn't find that too hard.

With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought. For those who use wordpress I assume you know what I'm talking about... especially when you are first starting out.

I just hope that all the hype about how much better SEO is with wordpress is really worth the change over!!

Any thoughts
#big #curve #learning #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author Whothar
    I don't believe it's hard - if you are just starting with it, then it's probably just intimidating because you can do quite a bit with wordpress. Just look around for a while and you will learn how to navigate and use it more efficiently, everything takes time to learn!
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    • Profile picture of the author KenJ
      Its not just you.

      There is a huge learning curve with wordpress. (kenj now ducks to avoid incoming) Fortunately the new version is much easier to set up and use.

      If you are focused on getting lots of content online then wordpress does make this very easy.

      The problem is getting a wordpress theme to actually look and function in a way you want it to.

      Kenj
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  • Profile picture of the author flavius333
    Main idea:

    Get it installed and set up with friendly urls and everything and have the most important plugins installed.

    Outsource that if you don't know how to do it on your own.

    Once you have the main things set up, the sky's NOT the limit.

    Important point:
    Whenever something that you want for your blog crosses your mind - try to find a plugin for it and you'll almost certainly do.

    Wordpress is highly customizable and very useful once you get the hang of it.
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    • Profile picture of the author suemax
      I never learned HTML, and I have taken to Wordpress very well. Perhaps it is the move from HTML to Wordpress that causes "head problems"?
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  • Profile picture of the author PeterGarety
    It is a bit overwhelming in the beginning, but once you will set up one site you will realize how simple it is. Besides, it is really worth learning it.

    The important thing though is theme itself. Some themes are easier to customize some is not. I personally recommend Flexibility Theme, as it is really simple to customize, and it is free.

    In terms of plug-ins, it all depends on the purpose of your blog. However, there are few of them, I would recommend to install on any blog -
    - XML Sitemaps - this will create a sitemap for search engines
    - All in One Webmaster - this will submit sitemap to search engines, and you will be able to verify the ownership of your site. You will also be able to add Google Analytics code.
    - Broken link checker - this will continuously make sure that all your links are working properly
    - Fast and Secure Contact form - this is for your contact me page
    - Platinum SEO Pack - this will allow you to construct meta tags for search engines.

    I hope it helps you a bit,
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  • Profile picture of the author Derwin
    You are saying right that word press is not so easy for those who are fresh and starters on the word press.It gives lot of facilities that you can use. The only reason that you are new to the word press, that's why you are finding difficult other wise there is no problem with word press.
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    • Profile picture of the author Fazal Mayar
      Wordpress is easy, I first thought it was hard too. The plugins that Wordpress has is wonderful, I don't even think you will have to maintain your website/blog much when you install the proper plugins.
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  • Profile picture of the author sanssecret
    I can't help but sit here and smile. Sorry.

    I used to hate Wordpress. I couldn't get the hang of it for love nor money. And it wasn't for the want of trying. In fact, looking back, I think it was because I was actually trying too hard.

    Don't sweat it so much. Yes, there's a learning curve, but concentrate on the basics first. And then just do exactly the same as you did with the static templates - play around.

    All depends how techie you want to get with I guess. I'm all for simple. And to be honest, I find the free themes much easier to work with than premium. Premium gives me too many options.

    Setup a 'test' site on a subdomain and use that when you're trying to do something you're not sure about. That way you minimise the risk of someone landing on your site while you're in the middle of screwing it up. :p
    Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

    Hey everyone,

    I've recently taken advice from numerous people who recommend wordpress instead of a static site.

    I decided to try it out but boy am I finding it difficult. Before I use to download some free HTML / CSS templates and just play around with them for a bit to my liking and didn't find that too hard.

    With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought. For those who use wordpress I assume you know what I'm talking about... especially when you are first starting out.

    I just hope that all the hype about how much better SEO is with wordpress is really worth the change over!!

    Any thoughts
    Signature
    San

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  • Profile picture of the author CliveG
    Yes, WordPress is difficult at first, but so was driving a car and you probably don't think about that any more. However, its much easier than building a website from scratch if you want even a small proportion of the features. Persevere - it's worth it. I even use it now for a couple of websites without blogs.

    Clive
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  • Profile picture of the author jazbo
    i am not convinced the learning curve for wordpress is "huge". If you read as you go by doing google searches and you have moderate competence, you can set wordpress up quite easily.

    JUst play around with a test site for a week. Once you have mastered it you can set up a site very, very quickly.

    Basically you just install wordpress, which is about a ten minute job once you have done it once.

    You then upload a theme and select it in admin. Then you drag and drop a few widgets, upload and activate required plugins, and if you are feeling brave head into the template and css files to edit those a bit.

    Thats really about it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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      • Profile picture of the author sanssecret
        I never cease to be amazed on this forum. Just goes to show I guess. I had you tagged as a real techie for some reason Alexa. I've looked at Typepad and it scares the heck out of me, so I'm guessing I was right.

        I can't begin to imagine how you can find wordpress so hard, though I suspect it might be something to do with reading about it instead of just throwing it up there? I confess I'm atrocious at reading the 'destructions' lol. Much easier to get on and break it by myself without any help. :p
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Funnily, I was just commenting in a thread yesterday that I suspect I'm far from the only one here who can't and won't use Wordpress. The learning curve is absolutely huge, and from my perspective it turned out not to be time well spent at all, and I abandoned it with relief.

        I was interested in Wordpress because (a) so many people seem to use it, and (b) that means there's always help/advice available, including here from ultra-reliable experts like Istvan, who seems ever-willing to help ... but I couldn't do it even after reading the whole of the book "Wordpress For Dummies" and eventually decided (after also reading "Blogging For Dummies") to use TypePad instead, which was actually one of my best decisions ever ... (and I actually prefer being a paying customer to using something free anyway, because that gives you some rights, and TypePad's support is excellent anyway).

        Wordpress really does seem, to me, dreadfully complicated. Apparently you can't even change the font-size in a post (which I often want to do) without fiddling with "CSS" or something? Extraordinary. Almost every time I read a thread here about a Wordpress problem (and that's at least once a day), I let out a sigh of relief that I long ago admitted defeat with it.

        To me, even "non-blog website-builders" are far easier, far more flexible, much nicer-looking and no more difficult at all to update regularly. And this certainly isn't something to outsource, if you want to be self-reliant and in control of your own business.
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        San

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      • Profile picture of the author elementel
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Wordpress really does seem, to me, dreadfully complicated. Apparently you can't even change the font-size in a post (which I often want to do) without fiddling with "CSS" or something?
        I'm afraid you've been informed, Alexa, but I know how overwhelming it can be when there's so much information out there on something and getting to the bottom to find an answer is like digging in sand.

        The nice thing about wordpress is that it has a built-in custom post editor that will let you do a few basic things. If you upgrade to the extended version of that editor using a plugin called TinyMCE advanced, it becomes effortless to take control of nearly every aspect of the HTML in your wordpress post.

        Now that still comes with a caveat. There are some things that can get complicated, but that usually comes from a lack of knowledge on the nature of html. For instance a lot of my clients come to me with the need to change their tables they've created in a post. They've tried to use an image that is too large for the table to fit without ruining the rest of the cells and rows. That's just a problem with html coding.

        There's also a few other instances where I wanted to throw wordpress out the window. I'm glad I didn't however because it's helped me deliver low-cost websites to my clients which is what I love to do ultimately.
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        • Profile picture of the author Akin Alabi
          I agree its got a huge learning curve. I believe blogger is easier to use but most people go for wordpress because of its many featues and other stuffs you can add to it.

          Here's what I'll suggest. Install the basic wordpress blog from your cpanel and then outsourse other stuffs.
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      • Profile picture of the author hometutor
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post


        Wordpress really does seem, to me, dreadfully complicated. Apparently you can't even change the font-size in a post (which I often want to do) without fiddling with "CSS" or something?
        When I code using open office wysiwyg editor and copy and paste the code into the html section of wordpress, hit the wysiwyg view then back to the html it looks like it coded larger or something like that for the font size, but the problem is it's not in the editor that comes with the posts

        Rick
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      • Profile picture of the author Byrt M
        Great to see there are some who feel the same way as I do with WP. I love their look but not worth my time trying to figure it out. But then again, I am a tech dunce!
        Thanks Alexa for mentioning TypePad - I checked it out - looks like its the one for me
        Thanks.
        Byrt
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        • Profile picture of the author marine1983
          Im also a little confused about wordpress. In my understanding each post is in fact a new page? Well I think so anyway. Can someone clarify this for me.

          The only reason I ask, is that I run market samurai against my site. It has 1 paged indexed. I thought each post is a page so in theory shouldn't the index paged number at least match how many posts I have?

          Or have i totally confused myself on how this works?
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          • Profile picture of the author lexyz22
            It does have a steep learning curve due to the nature of wordpress, there are so many features to learn. But if you already know css, html and php, you can master it.
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        • Profile picture of the author jlucado
          I find it curious that so many people here think WordPress is difficult. Just like anything else, to know it, you must learn it.

          Having a little html knowledge can be very useful with any CMS, especially for WordPress and beginners. A free education is available at W3Schools Online Web Tutorials.

          Then learn a little about ftp and an html editor and you can do anything you wish; like creating a separate squeeze page, sales page, etc. All hosted inside your WordPress platform, but unique in itself.

          I hope this helps some of you.
          And remember, "Success is a learning experience".

          My best wishes to you.
          Jerry
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      • Profile picture of the author webtrading
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Funnily, I was just commenting in a thread yesterday that I suspect I'm far from the only one here who can't and won't use Wordpress. The learning curve is absolutely huge, and from my perspective it turned out not to be time well spent at all, and I abandoned it with relief. I was interested in Wordpress because (a) so many people seem to use it.......
        Agree. I also prefer standard html sites vs Wordpress. I worked for years with regular html sites before using Wordpress and found considerable WP negativity as far as making non-blog sites are concerned, which issues I won't go into at this time but will cover in My Blog and on Twitter tomorrow. (P.S. WP is excellent when used only as a blog)

        IMO, the main reason WP is so popular is there are lots of people out there who are WP programmers, designers, resellers or developers who sell products and services which only work with WP, including many WSO's.

        As a side note, I recently decided to not buy several excellent sounding new WSOs since they are designed only for Wordpress and I was reluctant to add more WP sites no matter how good the WSO may sound. Just my 2 cents on this subject being discussed.
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  • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
    Guys,

    Wordpress it's a (damn good) essential learning curve into todays IM. It's solid, secure, and it's pretty much the way I see the future of web sites/blogs.

    But if you think reordering the menu bar is difficult... :p You better start outsourcing those tasks.
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  • Profile picture of the author jamjar919
    For me the only difficult bit is the installation - I can even design simple wordpress themes.
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    • Profile picture of the author Pandan
      Originally Posted by jamjar919 View Post

      For me the only difficult bit is the installation - I can even design simple wordpress themes.
      I find that the easiest bit - If you have hosting with a cPanel (most hosts use cPanel), then in the cpanel, under Software/Services, you have Fantastico application you can use to install WP automatically - very easy.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alfred Shelver
      Are you being sarcastic I just cant tell, Installing wordpress is the only newbie friendly thing I can see in WP...I use simple scripts in my Cpanel account, what a breeze. Its the design that then makes me think I am one of the stupidest people alive

      Originally Posted by jamjar919 View Post

      For me the only difficult bit is the installation - I can even design simple wordpress themes.
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      • Profile picture of the author imMindset
        I think it's definitely worth switching over to wordpress. Once you understand the basics, it makes updating, and managing sites a breeze, especially if you are into creating multiple sites. In terms of the design aspect there's some good courses you can take and learn this within like a week. Check out Lynda or Youtube videos for training. Also I really do think there's great benefit for SEO purposes. My pages are usually indexed within minutes of posting and they have staying power in the SE's.

        Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author thebitbotdotcom
    Wordpress is as easy as it gets. If you want a tough learning curve, try building a website from scratch using Dreamweaver or worse yet, straight HTML or even worse, straight PHP.
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  • Profile picture of the author stevecl
    I avoided wordpress like the plague because it looked to technical for a peanut brain like myself. Got fed up with building HTML sites. So decided to take the plunge with wordpress and basically taught myself how to do it. Now i can have a new site up and running with plugins, fully secured in under an hour.

    Love it.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

    Hey everyone,

    I've recently taken advice from numerous people who recommend wordpress instead of a static site.

    I decided to try it out but boy am I finding it difficult. Before I use to download some free HTML / CSS templates and just play around with them for a bit to my liking and didn't find that too hard.

    With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought. For those who use wordpress I assume you know what I'm talking about... especially when you are first starting out.

    I just hope that all the hype about how much better SEO is with wordpress is really worth the change over!!

    Any thoughts
    Keep with it! Wordpress is great once you learn it
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  • Profile picture of the author JWatson
    I like and use WP. Just between you and I, I have some paranoia (shh! don't tell anyone :rolleyes about dependence of my business on any single point of failure. So for me, it is worth the effort to learn WP. Personally I don't find it that difficult to just use it close to "out-of-the-box." Though years (and years) ago I was a programmer.

    But even so, if you start getting into skinning a WP site and find some widgets mis-behaving I think it is a lot for some people (including sometimes me ).

    As with most things there is a learning curve and as you learn more it does (mostly!) get easier.

    I always thought Adobe products, as good as they are, had a UI that just was NOT how I tend to think; that as a result my learning curve was slower, and that it was just me. Later I learned that in fact quite a number of people had similar feelings.

    Watson
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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      • Profile picture of the author MamaShell
        I wish this thread existing a few months ago! I spent countless hours on building my wordpress site. It STILL is not how I would like it. I thought I was missing something, it shouldn't be that hard. Nice to know I wasn't the only one stumped on wordpress.
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      • Profile picture of the author thebitbotdotcom
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        Noooooooo ... I'm the most techie-incompetent (and technophobic) person here! :rolleyes:



        Yes, at first it did with me as well, to be honest (but Wordpress did at first and "at last"). But on the strength of what I read in "Blogging For Dummies" and what a couple of friends told me, I tried it after giving up on Wordpress and actually found it a lot easier. There are still hundreds of things I don't know how to do with it, but they have a great "knowledge base", and for anything not covered with vocabulary I understand, I ask the helpdesk people all the time, and their replies get me through because they spell it all out for schmeckels (from pre-written, pasted-in replies, I think): ... "now click here, this page will open, now click here, now paste in these symbols, now close the window, now click here ..." and so on, which even I can just about understand. It embarrasses me, but I need real spoon-feeding.

        And I don't remember "having done stuff before" either (probably because I'm so frightened of actually doing it the first time that it doesn't go in to that part of my memory). But after 2 years I do now know that, one way or another, I'll somehow manage to do again something I've done before, given enough concentration and attention.

        It's far from ideal, of course, but it gets me through and I'm too much of a control-freak to outsource most site-building.



        Ah well, we're different "types" there, I admit. In internet marketing I like the "destructions", and fine-print, and interpreting terms of service, and anything literate/literary: it's the "doing" I can't cope with ...



        Eew, those widgets are not to be trusted - these conversations give me palpitations ... I'm outta here ...
        Actually, the skill you do have (i.e. copywriting) is more valuable than being tech savy...
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    • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
      Originally Posted by JWatson View Post

      [...] had a UI that just was NOT how I tend to think; that as a result my learning curve was slower, and that it was just me. Later I learned that in fact quite a number of people had similar feelings.
      You nailed it perfectly!

      If our way of thinking is similar to that of the developers - it's easy.
      Otherwise we struggle.
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  • Profile picture of the author Richnana
    Yep, I think it is just so much to learn. After learning HTML, I thought wordpress would be a breeze...NOT. However, there are so many wordpress tutorials that will walk you through the process. Personally, I hate trying to learn anything with video... Either the voice makes me cringe or there are so many of the videos that I fell wiped out trying to download all the crap

    The whole wordpress thingy is not intuitive for me. I purchased one of the WSO's about wordpress and thankfully, it was offered in PDF> I am not a technophone.

    I taught computer applications for years, but the wordpress thing had me stumped.

    It just seemed overwhelming. However, if you get a blueprint and just go step by step on using it, it works well, but yes,it was a huge learning curve for me. I am still struggling with getting the recommended 100 niche blogs up and running by the end of the year.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      I'm sort of with Alexa - I've done Wordpress and got everything set up and going. I just don't like it very well.

      It seems like I spend more time trying to tweak and adjust WP than I do getting info out there. For me, it's impatience as I can build a new html site quickly so I tend to do that rather than spend time mastering WP.

      As for security - and I may be wrong here - it seems most of the threads about "I've been hacked" are referring to WP blogs. Is it only because there are so many blogs or are blogs more at risk? Don't know.

      I'm not giving up on it and have a couple of blogs planned in the next month or two. In the end, it's personal preference as Google doesn't care whether you have a site or a blog.....to big G, they are all "sites", aren't they?

      kay
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  • Profile picture of the author nongnut36
    Just keep it to the basics until you get the hang of it. I am very non-tech but managed it with the help of my tutorial videos. Mangaged to use the widgets as well just drag and paste.
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    • Profile picture of the author mcmahanusa
      Add me to the list of people who find WP daunting. I'm not giving up, though, as a couple of websites I'm planning must be developed with WordPress.

      It makes me feel much better about myself that someone like Alexa, who always demonstrates a clarity of thinking and a good commonsense approach to matters, dispensing good advice along the way, would find it a challenge.

      In that vein, someone (Richnana) mentioned a WSO that you can actually read. Anyone know who did the WSO? I hate learning from videos, too.
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      • Profile picture of the author hometutor
        The only thing I had trouble understanding was even in the html mode it took spaces as actual spaces to code as spaces. I use Open Office to do my code since I don't like the editor in wordpress. Out of frustration I wrote a program to remove all line breaks in a code and copy it to the clipboard, but really that's about it. Other than that just take your time and play around with the admin section

        Rick
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      • Profile picture of the author elementel
        Originally Posted by mcmahanusa View Post


        In that vein, someone (Richnana) mentioned a WSO that you can actually read. Anyone know who did the WSO? I hate learning from videos, too.
        I'm not sure about the WSO but I am a graphic designer who works almost primarily in Wordpress and I would be glad to scratch anyone's back if they're having trouble with Wordpress. If I had enough posts I'd tell you to pm me but I think that privilege needs to be earned (or bought?).

        Start a thread, ask for elementel and I'll step in and do everything I can to help you out.
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  • Profile picture of the author eliz
    I also found Wordpress to be a good size learning curve - but stick with it and you will be surprised how quickly things will start to fall into place. If I hit a huge roadblock I would frequently use the help section to solve my problem. I also found this post on the Warrior Forum which was a big help.
    The Warrior Forum - Recommended Wordpress Plugins For Blogging

    Good Luck - let the good people in the Warrior Forum help you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Droopy Dawg
    HTML was a huge learning curve when I learned it back in the 90s... all programming languages will seem like a mountain, but if you apply yourself and dedicate yourself to learning it you can do some incredible work..
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  • Profile picture of the author Hanz
    Wordpress has simplified the coders life. It is a brilliant base to sit your website foundations on.

    It cuts time and effort down.
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  • Profile picture of the author ileneg
    Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

    Hey everyone,

    I've recently taken advice from numerous people who recommend wordpress instead of a static site.

    I decided to try it out but boy am I finding it difficult. Before I use to download some free HTML / CSS templates and just play around with them for a bit to my liking and didn't find that too hard.

    With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought. For those who use wordpress I assume you know what I'm talking about... especially when you are first starting out.

    I just hope that all the hype about how much better SEO is with wordpress is really worth the change over!!

    Any thoughts
    Agree w/you.

    Because I started building sites with HTML/CSS, WP was a difficult transition. Now in many (but NOT all) ways I do like it better.

    The bottom line - hang in there, be patient with yourself and practice till you get it.

    ileneg
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  • Profile picture of the author cma01
    With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought. For those who use wordpress I assume you know what I'm talking about... especially when you are first starting out.
    Your HTML knowledge isn't wasted with Wordpress, you would just be using it in the theme files rather than each individual static page.

    If this is the first time you've used a database driven platform, I suppose it can take a little bit of time to learn how to structure your information. But as far as CMS/blogging platforms go, on a scale of 1 to 10 in difficulty, I would say Wordpress is a 3.

    You just have to remember that the content, presentation and logic are all separated.

    As for the line spacing, there really is no difference between using Wordpress and a static HTML site, you just edit the CSS the same as you would for anything. Unless, of course, you have been used to using inline font tags, which has not been the recommended practice for the past decade.

    You can get a little more control over content display in your posts by installing the TinyMCE plugin.

    As for a static page, just go to Pages => Create New, and there you go, you're set.

    Customized menus used to be a little more work in Wordpress, by either using a blogroll as a menu (which was more than a little backwards,) or using a plugin like WP-Menu Manager. But now with WP3.0, there is a built-in custom menu feature where it is truly drag and drop.

    As for security - and I may be wrong here - it seems most of the threads about "I've been hacked" are referring to WP blogs. Is it only because there are so many blogs or are blogs more at risk? Don't know.
    This isn't always true, but most of the time when I've seen WP sites hacked, it was because they didn't keep them up-to-date.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mbullard
    There's a whole curriculum of how to create a wordpress site from start to finish at the site in my signature. It will cost you but you could just be a member for a month and get the wordpress training. It has over 25 camtasia videos on subjects like setting up DNS, posting, removing sponsor links, adding audio, using your cpanel, and more. Or you could poke around the forum here. There's bound to be somebody that can give you the right steps. After that, there's always reading a book on wordpress.
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  • Profile picture of the author Christophe Young
    Glad I'm not the only one!

    I just decided to recreate my website using Wordpress and I'm already frustrated with it. Installation was NOT a breeze for me. I had to mess around with the My SQL stuff, (whatever that is), and know which directories to install the files to in C-Panel.

    I have it set up, but now I'm trying to find a theme that matches my existing website. I also don't like having to search for plugins all the time. Would much prefer to have everything there already.

    I also tried uploading my custom header to a few themes only to learn that it can't be done in all of them. I'm about to give up unless this gets easier at some point!
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  • Profile picture of the author bay37
    Okay... is it just me or did anyone else here find WP to be extremely simple and straightforward to use?

    I'm being completely serious here. Never ran into a problem that I couldn't fix within minutes.

    I guess it just shows how big a gap between people who come from different backgrounds can sometimes be. I literally had no idea that some of you find WP complicated.
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    • Profile picture of the author txconx
      Originally Posted by bay37 View Post

      Okay... is it just me or did anyone else here find WP to be extremely simple and straightforward to use?

      I'm being completely serious here. Never ran into a problem that I couldn't fix within minutes.

      I guess it just shows how big a gap between people who come from different backgrounds can sometimes be. I literally had no idea that some of you find WP complicated.
      Yes. I've done HTML sites and never want to go back.

      Loved Drupal - until I tried Wordpress, then there was no going back. I don't even use Fantastico to install it any more - I prefer doing my own installation. (Yes, I'm a bit of a control freak.)

      Until I read this thread, I thought it was a very intuitive platform.
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  • Profile picture of the author jaxrefinance
    Honestly although I haven't read all the posts here, I will say this

    Bravo for choosing Wordpress.

    According to Matt Cutts (hint: from Google) wordpress handles 60-70% on page SEO. For beginners it's perfect.

    Although I don't see myself as a professional in Wordpress, I've learnt everything I need from searching youtube, or in worst case scenarios google. It's not hard once you get the hold of it.
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  • Profile picture of the author jlambo44
    Wordpress is a great platform once you get the hang of what it can do for you. It was overwhelming for me at first also. A few tutorials should help you out a lot. Go over to Offervault.com, they have free webinar replays over Wordpress.
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    • Profile picture of the author PTaubman
      I have been using WordPress for about a year now. Initially it was a bit tricky to learn, but just click on everything, read it and try it out. To this day I am STILL learning, but the blog gets better and better (I think it does ).

      My advice is based on a quote I use as my mantra:

      Persistence, Not Perfection!

      Get it up and get it going. Each day, add to it. This does not refer only to content (but that will certainly help your ranking), but try new plugins. Search for different ideas. Try out the various settings. See what happens.

      Do not expect to put up a perfect blog Day 1. That will never happen (unless you outsource it perhaps). Have fun with what you do and be persistent! A little bit each day adds up! Before you know it, you will be an expert as well!

      Let me know if you have any questions!

      Be Well.
      Paul.
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  • Profile picture of the author prajwalnshinde
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author connorbringas
      Its definitely difficult when you first start using it..and incredibly frustrating. The template I currently have doesnt look to great..its just hard to get traffic to a blog then to another site from another site. Anyway good luck
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      • Profile picture of the author hommi_16
        Hey guys,

        Thanks for all the input. My biggest frustration is the fact that I thought that it will be easier by simply reading all the great stuff about it. Maybe I was blind to the negative because I never noticed anyone writing on how it quite tricky in the beginning.

        Don't get me wrong, I knew that the installation process was going to be a bit different but other than that I thought it was gonna be a breeze!!!

        My new dilemma....

        Every time I make a post, everything on it is one big blob. No spaces between paragraphs

        Can anyone point me to the right direction??

        Thanks in advance
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        • Profile picture of the author L41db4ck
          Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

          My new dilemma....

          Every time I make a post, everything on it is one big blob. No spaces between paragraphs

          Can anyone point me to the right direction??

          Thanks in advance
          In WP-Admin go to Appearance > Themes, find the default theme and activate it. Then see if the posts are still the same.
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        • Profile picture of the author tecHead
          Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

          Hey guys,
          ...
          Don't get me wrong, I knew that the installation process was going to be a bit different but other than that I thought it was gonna be a breeze!!!
          Funny thing is; installing WP is the easiest part next to posting straight blog posts. What it was intended to do, it does well... all that other stuff people force it to do... eh..

          It always makes me chuckle when I see how much effort and energy people put into making that blog jump through all these different hoops to be the end all be all app.

          Kinda like this Accounting Major (I knew back in college) who wrote his entire English Lit. term paper in Lotus... and then got frustrated because he couldn't get the margins the way he wanted. Just funny...

          Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

          My new dilemma....

          Every time I make a post, everything on it is one big blob. No spaces between paragraphs

          Can anyone point me to the right direction??

          Thanks in advance
          That would be in your theme's CSS; I won't go into too much detail (mainly because I'm not a CSS guru, but also) because every theme is going to be different. Yet, you should be able to track down your post text spacing by searching forums and doing some Google searches.

          One thing I've found; (and this isn't just about WP); is that if you run into a specific problem that is easily explained in a couple of words.. 9x out of 10 you can put that phrase in quotes and do a Google search and find an answer within 30min, or less.

          HTH
          PLP,
          tecHead
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  • Profile picture of the author Ellen Violette
    I found it difficult and pretty much gave up and had someone else do it for me. But I recently got a course and will try again. If you're interested, Rufina James has a course and Christina Hills has one too.
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    • Profile picture of the author mapasm2003
      i can try and help, pm me your website and i will have a look and see if we can tackle these isues you are having.
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  • Profile picture of the author Danny Turner
    It is easier to use than it used to be - there still is a learning curve
    what I like is because it is so popular if you have a problem just google it
    plenty of answers in seconds - that is , for me, what makes it easier
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    The biggest problem in word press is not the learning curve. It is oracle, WITCH (pun) owns my sql and just sued google for using java. The database is a resource pig. That means if you ever do get a lot of traffic, then you will be kicked out by your web hosting company.

    Word press use to be SEO unfriendly, but it is better now.
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  • Profile picture of the author ArticlesThatRock
    Everyone should learn some HTML, but that is only a portion of the learning curve. WordPress scatters the HTML over many files, some of which are hidden, which makes it hard to figure out how to change something. At times, it even forces you to call a programmer to make simple changes such as changing the width of a column from 200 to 240 pixels.
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  • Profile picture of the author Bruce NewMedia
    I have to chime in regarding the post about installation difficulties.

    Even having Fantastico it has been difficult to get it installed right ....endless calls to my hosts tech support and looking over WP help files...I have finally just outsourced all WP stuff since (to borrow an expression) I want to know what time it is, not learn how to build a watch...
    _____
    Bruce
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    • Profile picture of the author ocd
      Originally Posted by brucerby View Post

      I have to chime in regarding the post about installation difficulties.

      Even having Fantastico it has been difficult to get it installed right ....endless calls to my hosts tech support and looking over WP help files...I have finally just outsourced all WP stuff since (to borrow an expression) I want to know what time it is, not learn how to build a watch...
      _____
      Bruce

      I was using the search feature here about alternatives to wordpress and this post nails it. If you aren't techically oriented (translated, your brain is wired a little different) then wordpress can get downright ugly.

      Last night I was attempting to change the tab bars on WP, very easy to do on blogger as a pathetic example, and when I hit "update"...POOF! all code was gone and my site was never the same. The theme is gone along with all of my articles.

      Yes I backed up the site beforehand. Yes I copied the code beforehand. And no, it won't accept either. I have de and re-activated all plugins. No possible way to restore settings. Every WP forum comes away with "thread closed" and those losers at WP never step in to answer the questions.

      This is worse than a bad marriage. Frustration leads to stress. Stress leads to anxiety. Anxiety leads to panic. Panic leads to a heat attack...or a hostage crisis situation.

      "In today's news, an unknown middle-aged man went into Best Buy waiving a gun. He told everyone to get out of the store where witnesses last saw him heading towards the computer section yelling at the computers, "Daddy's going home and your going with him!" Both Microsoft and Dell were unavailable for comment."


      Signature
      The link of great joy and happiness...but this one? This is the one that all window cleaning companies in the free world are inspired by. Hey, where did the sarcasm font go?
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  • Profile picture of the author lefty359
    Get a good video course on WP. There are lots of them out there. They are pretty cheap too.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by mcmahanusa View Post

      In that vein, someone (Richnana) mentioned a WSO that you can actually read. Anyone know who did the WSO? I hate learning from videos, too.
      Originally Posted by lefty359 View Post

      Get a good video course on WP. There are lots of them out there. They are pretty cheap too.
      Scroll up to post #28 in this thread and grab the WSO in Istvan's signature. Comes with excellent videos and PDF transcripts.

      As far as the learning curve is concerned, it depends on what you are trying to do. It can range from drop-dead simple to nearly impossible.

      If you are building one or two page minisites, Wordpress can be some major overkill. The reputed SEO benefits have nothing to do with WP itself. It has to do with the way many static sites screw up or ignore basic on-page SEO.

      On the other hand, if you want to build large sites that you add content to constantly, some form of CMS is a good thing. Before turning to WP, I used Movable Type (the standalone version of TypePad). I changed for a couple of reasons. First, the skinflint in me wanted to go with the open-source solution. Second, there were so many more people using WP that finding answers was easier.

      Hommi, if you're building very simple sites of only a few pages, and you're comfortable with html/css, keep doing them that way. Find a good checklist for on-page SEO and follow it. It's more important to get more buy buttons out there than it is to use a specific platform.

      As for security, it's damn near impossible to hack a basic html site if you have a decent password, take some care with it and change it once in a while. Most of the security exploits come from either programming holes (javascript or php mainly) or database functions.
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  • Profile picture of the author Richnana
    YES, it is a big learning curve. It just does not flow for me. I taught computer applications for year. So, I'm not totally technically challenged but wordpress makes me continually go back to the books to find out how to do anything.

    It is really frustrating also. So, I feel your pain. It is worth it to have someone else take care of creating those 100 blogs you need to be competitive because Wordpress gets on my nerves (smile)
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  • Profile picture of the author peter.max
    I find that I use both Wordpress and static html and it depends on what I want to do. If I just want a quick mini-site based for lead generation I use the free version of Microsoft SharePoint Designer (used to be FrontPage). It is very simple to use. If I want to set up a site for SEO purposes with lots of changing and new content I use Wordpress. I took me a while to get the hang of WP but it grows on you.

    I use the "Free Traffic Getting SEO" plugin by Jeff Johnson (just Google it). There is an opt-in but the plugin installs:

    1. All-In-One-SEO Pack
    2. Google Sitemap Generator
    3. Sociable
    4. Ping Optimizer
    5. Akismet
    6. Database Backup
    7. SI CAPTCHA
    8. Permalink Migrator
    9. Google Analyticator
    10. Facebook Like

    Here is the link to the free version of Microsoft SharePoint Designer (Frontpage)

    Download details: SharePoint Designer 2007

    Peter
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    admin > Settings > Privacy.
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  • Profile picture of the author discrat
    Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

    Hey everyone,

    I've recently taken advice from numerous people who recommend wordpress instead of a static site.

    I decided to try it out but boy am I finding it difficult. Before I use to download some free HTML / CSS templates and just play around with them for a bit to my liking and didn't find that too hard.

    With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought. For those who use wordpress I assume you know what I'm talking about... especially when you are first starting out.

    I just hope that all the hype about how much better SEO is with wordpress is really worth the change over!!

    Any thoughts
    Not to try to dispute what you are saying but I am technically a moron and found WP to be easy to figure out. Maybe I am not doing some of the more technical things you are but I have 7 Blogs up and running that I migrated from Blogger earlier this year.
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    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      Originally Posted by discrat View Post

      Not to try to dispute what you are saying but I am technically a moron and found WP to be easy to figure out. Maybe I am not doing some of the more technical things you are but I have 7 Blogs up and running that I migrated from Blogger earlier this year.
      Now that explains a lot...

      Or did you mean that you're a moron when it come to techie stuff?
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      • Profile picture of the author ikelove
        I am currently in the process of recreating my static review site with Wordpress. I agree that if you want to take full advantage of Wordpress and configure the themes according to your wants, needs, and desires, then there is a large learning curve. Knowing html, having a bit of knowledge of programming languages from college (though not PHP, I know almost nothing about it), and having a brother who's a web developer has definitely helped me, but still things have been very challenging.

        Things that I thought would only take a half hour or less have wound up taking a few days because of the learning curve, and have caused me to miss and subsequently push back the deadlines I've set for myself.

        The thing is, I agree with what other people have said, once you have everything set up, everything else is gravy. It also helps that google LOVES wordpress, so using it will help in your search engine rankings for your keywords.
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  • Profile picture of the author JayVance
    It was a bit of a learning curve for me and I'm even tech savvy. Not to say it was difficult but I did have to do some reading on other sites to figure out what the heck I was doing. Now it's very easy to use. If you are looking for an easy free site, nothing beats blogger.
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  • Profile picture of the author Terry63
    I find WordPress quite an enigma. On the one hand I find it very simple to install. I find it easy to use too UNTIL you want to do something really left field which requires digging into the code and infrastructure (I am working on my second site and find myself at this point).

    The best advice I can give is to have patience; start simple using standard themes and settings until you feel that confidence building. Don't run before you can walk as the saying goes. Then you can take little nibbles at customisation, ensuring you digest the last one before you start the next. You will be amazed at what can be achieved with this platform. Heaps of information on the web too - and bless you - it's free!
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    It also helps that google LOVES wordpress, so using it will help in your search engine rankings for your keywords.
    Actually, I doubt that...

    Search engines might love the clean code (it is always valid until users start to mess with it, LOL... and adding garbage copied from MS Word), the proper usage of heading tags to structure the content of a webpage, the instant pinging and RSS feeds = updated content and many other things. But not WP in itself.
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  • Profile picture of the author Super Affiliate
    Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

    Hey everyone,

    With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought. For those who use wordpress I assume you know what I'm talking about... especially when you are first starting out.

    Any thoughts
    It can be kind of complicated in the beginning. But it's a lot easier than modifying the source code for static sites. Once you get the hang of it, you'll know what I mean. For wordpress tutorial, you can just go to YouTube. It has every imaginable tutorial on how to create your 1st wordpress blog and everything you need to know.

    Joe
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    Wordpress has a bit of a learning curve to it, and you'll definitely be a little uncomfortable in the beginning. I can see why you'd be a little frustrated, since you were designing static sites and probably employing some kind of html WYSIWYG editor to make changes to the templates. WP is a whole different ballgame. Whenever you migrate to a different software platform (or CMS in this case), you'll find that things are done differently, and obviously you'll have to adjust to this new way of doing things.

    Once you've practiced on a few WP sites, things will quickly become second nature and you won't even think about how hard it used to be anymore. As with just about any new skill that you're trying to learn, practice makes perfect!
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  • Profile picture of the author Dean Jackson
    I am getting there with Wordpress!

    One of the things that really bugs me about it is plugins, and how minor things keep wasting your time. I set up a website for a client and for some reason the spacing kept getting messed up.

    Did I mention I tried about 5 different pop up plugins to get 1 to work with my theme?

    I also just don't like the layout of many blogs. For me, all the dates, tags, and footer links just annoy the heck out of me. What happened to good old breadcrumb navigation?

    LOL.

    Am I now considered "old school"?

    - Dean
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    • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
      Originally Posted by Dean Jackson View Post

      Am I now considered "old school"?
      Not necessarily... I would say wrong expectations.

      Let me explain. WP was made primarily as a blogging script. (It is getting closer to a full CMS but the initial idea was exclusively blogging!) Now, with blogs there are certain conventions how the content should be presented.

      It wasn't WP who invented those: they were there even in Blogger at the time it was owned by Pyra Labs, they were there in Greymatter (an early popular blogging script), they were there in b2evolution (from which WP has been forked).

      Everything: dates, clickable titles etc. make perfect sense for traditional bloggers and avid blog readers.

      Tags are considered a big thing in Web 2.0... so we are supposed to embrace them

      Oh, and don't use plugins for things that can be done without them. E.g. Aweber offers a perfect lightbox popup optin form with JS... no need for any plugin.
      The spacing should be defined in the stylesheet - but more often than you'd think the "clients" successfully screw up their own blog by copy/pasting some monstrous idiocy in the editor...
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  • Profile picture of the author Geografixx-com
    I've been using wordpress for several years now. The main use was to push down my clients negative reviews on google search results. It has worked out quite well. No Complaints here
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  • Profile picture of the author computerfan
    Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

    Hey everyone,

    I've recently taken advice from numerous people who recommend wordpress instead of a static site.

    I decided to try it out but boy am I finding it difficult. Before I use to download some free HTML / CSS templates and just play around with them for a bit to my liking and didn't find that too hard.

    With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought. For those who use wordpress I assume you know what I'm talking about... especially when you are first starting out.

    I just hope that all the hype about how much better SEO is with wordpress is really worth the change over!!

    Any thoughts
    It all depends what you want to do with wordpress! If you just want to make a landing page for optins, even a static page will do. Wordpress is much more powerful
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  • Profile picture of the author Platinum Matt
    I HATE wordpress... It's meant to be easy?

    Hmmm, right until the point you try to upgrade the software, because of the constant updates and you lose EVERYTHING and have an unworking site...

    If you've learned to build static sites, stick with them, LOADS less maintenance and problems.
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    • Profile picture of the author smokinhalfnote
      It's definitely intimidating at first, but like anything worthwhile, the more time the spend with it, the easier it gets.

      But here's some practical advice (and it worked for me).

      Get a cheap .info throwaway domain from Godaddy or your registrar of choice, and just start playing around with it. Learn how to install it "by hand" as well as with Fantastico. Install all the themes, plugins, and modifications you want. Learn how to backup the MySQL database (if you don't know what that is yet, you need to learn). Do whatever you want.

      And if you mess it up, wash, rinse, repeat. Who cares if you mess up "MyThrowawayWPSite.info"? Just delete it all and start over again.

      Just to encourage you a bit, two years ago I knew nothing about Wordpress and couldn't tell you the difference between CSS and CSI. I now build WP sites for local businesses at around $2,500 a pop plus various other fees (hosting, support, etc). And that's just my hobby.

      But always use the right tool for the right job. On any given day, I'll use Wordpress, Dreamweaver, Rapidweaver, XSitePro, or even just code by hand using BBEdit. Wordpress is just one of many options, but it's not a bad place to start.
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  • Profile picture of the author mahesh2k
    Comparing to joomla, drupal and textpattern i can safely say that wordpress is dead simple. Try installing joomla, drupal or textpattern for simple squeeze page and see how hard it is.

    You can use Learn WordPress.com to quickly learn some of the basics of wordpress software.
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  • Profile picture of the author CDarklock
    Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

    With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought.
    WordPress is a big, mean gorilla.

    You can't train it; if you try, it will hurt you.

    You don't bend WordPress to meet your needs.

    You alter your needs to meet what WordPress does.

    Gradually, you will come to an understanding, and you can get most of what you want from the gorilla. But in the beginning, never forget: the gorilla is in charge.
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    "The Golden Town is the Golden Town no longer. They have sold their pillars for brass and their temples for money, they have made coins out of their golden doors. It is become a dark town full of trouble, there is no ease in its streets, beauty has left it and the old songs are gone." - Lord Dunsany, The Messengers
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  • Profile picture of the author bhitesman
    It is a big learning curve. I've used Dreamweaver as my webdesign software and when I started with wp I felt lost and overwhelmed. What I did is that I checked out a good blog (in your opinion) and setup all the plugins they had. I've added
    1. mylivesignature
    2. commentluv
    3. google friend connect integration (GFCI)
    4. facebook like
    But the hardest is still my opt-in. Tip: every important change I make or plugin I add I write it down and the reason I add it. Google a lot what is it that you want. I found lots of info there and of course here in the warrior forum.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    Take it one step a time, otherwise you'll be overwhelmed. Try working within the framework of the default theme in Wordpress 3.0 - play with it, get comfortable with all the features it has, and then start adding plugins that you anticipate using and try configuring them. I'd buy a cheap 99 cents .info domain from Godaddy and designate this your Wordpress testing ground, where you can implement all kinds of things without fear of screwing up a live WP site that you're actually using for something.
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    • Profile picture of the author Ian Jackson
      I'm revisiting WP

      Thanks to ebooks from Caroline middlebrook, Leanne King, and Colleen Slater, am getting on fine, using cPanel fantastico. I just have to adapt a little for my 3.0.1 version.

      My biggest problem at the moment is being able to alter my site title and tagline font. My current theme - ModXBlog 1.0 by JustDreamweaver - doesn't seem to support such an editing facility (I've looked into all the appearance/editor page options)

      Sorry for a bit of thread hijacking.... I like the simplicity of this theme - and that it's free of course - but What I'd like is a theme similar to this that allows the Adsense, 2 columns (RHS sidebar) and the aforementioned font editing. I'm assuming that they all give RSS by default. Anyone...?
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      • Profile picture of the author SMazinTX
        To everyone expressing issues with changing column widths, fonts and the general visual appearance of your WordPress blog /website - I suggest you take a look at Artisteer.

        It's essentially a GUI generator which can crank out templates and themes for a variety of platforms - including WordPress. I have used it with great success. The next version, scheduled to be released in November 2010 should let you accomplish even more.
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  • Profile picture of the author yourreviewer
    Apart from the learning curve, someone else in the Warrior Forum mentioned how bad Wordpress is when it comes to security because it is an open source and can be so easily hacked. Though I use Wordpress and didn't find the learning curve difficult at all, the point about site security scares the sh*t out of me. I need to do something about that.
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    • Profile picture of the author rhinocl
      Some of you may be interested in this article I put up recently.
      Wordpress Versus a WSIWYG editor

      I'd like to add one thing here. When you switch from an html editor to building static pages, you need to change your thinking about what you are building. You give up some control of on page placement (unless you become really good at css) but you are getting things in return-such as not having to manually build your navigation table.
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    • Profile picture of the author lonicera
      when I used wordpress for the first time to set up a site I was terrified... and that's probably natural when you see all those options and boxes in the dashboard.
      But you know the slogan on National geographic TV: "Replace fear of the unknown with curiosity..."
      Just start somewhere and start exploring. Go through all the tabs in the dashboard, open them, look, read, experiment. Istvan's manual is great and will help you a lot, and there are a lot of free resources to learn wordpress all over the internet, here is just one of many:

      WordPress Tutorial - How to use WordPress to create a blog site
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    If you think WP is "hard", do me favor and install Drupal

    Seriously...WP might have a little learning curve...but once you get the hang of it...i mean...a cave man can drop/drag a widget, install new themes, write a post, install plugins. There is nothing hard about it, really.
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    Funnily, I was just commenting in a thread yesterday that I suspect I'm far from the only one here who can't and won't use Wordpress. The learning curve is absolutely huge, and from my perspective it turned out not to be time well spent at all, and I abandoned it with relief. I was interested in Wordpress because (a) so many people seem to use it.......
    Wow...uhm..i 100% disagree. Not only is the learning curve "not that huge"...the benefit AT THE END after learning WP is *priceless*. And i mean it in every sense.

    Learning WP wouldnt take longer (the opposite actually) than learning to use some site builder like Xsite...or (God beware!!) hacking in plain HTML and trying to make some site based on hand written HTML.

    I dont know how "hard" it was in the past...but TODAY you can install WP with a couple of clicks (right from your fantastico panel)...the same with plugins or themes.

    And 10 mins later you can start writing posts and play around with it, install different themes etc..etc...
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    • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
      Originally Posted by GeorgR. View Post

      ...but TODAY you can install WP with a couple of clicks (right from your fantastico panel)...the same with plugins or themes.

      And 10 mins later you can start writing posts and play around with it, install different themes etc..etc...
      Actually, I am convinced all the problems come from this apparent "easiness"
      I am not kidding - while this one-two-3-clicks/5-minutes-install is true and if you just start blogging "10 minutes later", then everything is fine. Use it as it was intended:
      - idiot-proof installation
      - ready-made themes (design)
      - push-button publication of your content

      Unfortunately, clueless users start thinking that modifying the layout (aka edit CSS file to get a different design) or making custom tweaks in the PHP code would (should?) be as easy as the install and publishing process.

      Then they discover it isn't so.

      Not to mention that they never really study how WP works but they have certain expectations regarding what and how WP should do for them... so they will start forcing their way onto WP, instead of learning WP to do the job for them...

      Of course, they end up cursing and frustrated, blaming WP, WF, you and me and everybody else.

      Is it easy or not? - I don't know...
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  • Profile picture of the author SAButler
    I believe that WordPress is worth sticking with. I actually started with WordPress so perhaps I have an edge; however if you stick with it and follow some of the tutorials at WordPress you may find some of the answers you seek. Hang in there!
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  • Profile picture of the author robzeeb
    I had trouble with WP early days but there is always someone out there who has succeeded with my problems. I just had to Google "how to in WP".
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  • Profile picture of the author realnetworker
    Amen & Amen to Word Press being a learning curve!!! I thought it was soo frustrating in the beginning!! It took me about a week to learn how to change things on my site. Then I got some help from Kelly Felix and Mike Long's forum, "Bring The Fresh". That showed me step-by-step every little thing to do. Then I found a Word Press theme plugin that was developed just for Marketing. It helped my site look and function 95% better right off the bat. If you would like to know where to find this Word Press Theme plugin, PM me and I will give you a direct link to the guy's blog. Hope this helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author Daniel Deegan
    Wordpress is not to bad if you have a "good enough" is "good enough" philosophy when it comes to your design, look and feel. When you decide to start tweaking things to look a certain way....SH*T MAN...you better have some level of tech skill, time to learn or money to outsource. The pickier you are the more pain your in for.

    My advice for those willing to suck it up and pay their wordpress dues...Design a site that you would like to use as your base look for all your sites or for a batch of sites and then use a plugin like Back Up Buddy or WP Twin to clone it.

    I'm pretty tech savvy, certified by Cisco, Microsoft & Novell and I still get "heated" using wordpress...Mostly due to what Caliban said...trying to bend wordpress...even simple things are many times NOT so damn simple..lol getting pissed off just thinking about the damn thing...{grumble}
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  • Profile picture of the author NateRivers
    Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

    Hey everyone,

    I've recently taken advice from numerous people who recommend wordpress instead of a static site.

    I decided to try it out but boy am I finding it difficult. Before I use to download some free HTML / CSS templates and just play around with them for a bit to my liking and didn't find that too hard.

    With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought. For those who use wordpress I assume you know what I'm talking about... especially when you are first starting out.

    I just hope that all the hype about how much better SEO is with wordpress is really worth the change over!!

    Any thoughts
    Umm, I guess I don't remember but if you take the time to learn it, setting up sites and blogs is super fast and easy. I thank the Lord for wordpress all the time...
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  • Profile picture of the author Eko Ventures
    Thinking back to when I first picked up wordpress, coming from building all my sites in pure html, it was... a bit overwhelming.

    It really depends on what you're used to, however I wouldn't say it has a huge learning curve, or is any way really difficult to get a grasp of - but it's certainly not clear where you should star - especially if you're used to using a CMS for web development.

    What worked for me was to simply play around with it, I had a test site and spent months just toying with anything and everything. Now I'm very glad I took the time to get used to wordpress - because of it I have a fairly good grasp of php, and can whip up a professional website in a matter of hours.

    Stick with it, it's very worth it in my opinion .
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  • Profile picture of the author celente
    its you....

    if you want something bad enough, you will sit your butt down and learn it.

    If you do NOT want to do that just outsource and tell someone what you want, and they shall be able to do it for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Diane S
    Originally Posted by hommi_16 View Post

    Hey everyone,

    I've recently taken advice from numerous people who recommend wordpress instead of a static site.

    I decided to try it out but boy am I finding it difficult. Before I use to download some free HTML / CSS templates and just play around with them for a bit to my liking and didn't find that too hard.

    With wordpress, trying to learn how to install widgets, create a static page, order the menu bar, format the line spacing etc. is proving to be more frustrating that I initially thought. For those who use wordpress I assume you know what I'm talking about... especially when you are first starting out.

    I just hope that all the hype about how much better SEO is with wordpress is really worth the change over!!

    Any thoughts
    1. The menus are new and that whole section can be ignored.
    2. A post is not the same as a page and that gets confusing. You can use either and set either to be your home page.
    3. Never ever waste time going to the codex with a question. You will get harassed for just asking.
    4. Keep asking specific questions. A lot of people here know a lot about wordpress. And we won't harass you for asking. Ask away!
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  • Profile picture of the author Eko Ventures
    Diane mentioned a great point I forgot to, TONS of people use and are very comfortable with wordpress. Any troubles you come across or questions you need answered, can be readily found with a simple google search - or of course asking here .
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    3. Never ever waste time going to the codex with a question. You will get harassed for just asking.
    a) the Codex is the online documentation. You cannot ask questions there.
    b) you ask questions at the WP support forum: WordPress › Support
    - and they don't harass you; that'a lie, sorry!
    - and no, don't ask software-specific technical support questions in the Main Discussion (= How to Make Money) forum! The mods don't like it, so it's wrong advice...
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  • Profile picture of the author Eko Ventures
    To that point, by "ask here" I meant on the forum in general - but in the appropriate section of course!

    There are so many people here willing to help and have the knowledge to do so, it would be a shame to see people not seek it.
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