Using WordPress for things other than blogging is something that comes naturally to a lot of developers today, but not so much for the general public. That being said, larger publishing companies are already putting WordPress to good use for their editorial group blogs and others are powering opinion sections using the system. This article tackles the various problems and decisions you need to make when you want to use Word- Press as a more traditional CMS, powering non-weblog sites with the system. It is not only possible, it is also a perfectly sane solution that saves time and money.
CMS is short for content management system, which basically tells you that it is a way to manage content. It is what you use to write, edit, and publish your work online, assuming you’re not hacking the files or database yourself. WordPress is a CMS, even though it originates from weblog publishing only. By now you’ve gathered that WordPress is about way more than just blogs. Basically, you can do just about anything that involves managing written content, but also images, sound, and video. When I’m talking about WordPress with traditional publishers, I usually say that there is no newspaper or magazine site that I couldn’t rebuild in WordPress. These are sites usually powered by expensive licensed systems, and while it was unlikely that anyone would make that claim a couple of years ago, today it is taken seriously. So WordPress is a CMS and you should treat it as such. It is great to power blogs, but it has other uses as well.
While WordPress’s CMS status is hard to debate (although some people still try), that in itself doesn’t really say anything. There are enough bad CMS alternatives out there to go around, so it really isn’t a proof of anything. Picking the right CMS is important, since it should excel at what you want it to do. WordPress is your choice if you want a CMS that is:
Basically, if your site is an editorial one, based on text and not thousands of images (although that will work too, as Matt Mullenweg of WordPress fame has shown on ma.tt), you’ll be safe with choosing WordPress.
So when should you go a completely different route than WordPress? Some would say whenever you need community, but the release of BuddyPress for the multi-user version of WordPress, and the easy integration with bbPress, actually make this argument a pretty weak one. What some of the heavier CMSs have is of course a more modular structure, which means you can create pretty much anything you want, wherever you want. This usually at the expense of usability so you need to compare features and workflow before deciding on which route you should take.
Also, one of the most common criticisms against open source CMS alternatives overall is that commercial ones offer support as a part of the package. That’s why it is considered worth something to pay for a CMS. Naturally, this is ridiculous; the money allocated to licensing could be spent on a consultant and/or developer when needed, and not just be the cause of a big hole in the coffers. The point is, any open source CMS, WordPress included, can be met with that criticism. The defense would of course be that you can take those licensing fees and build your adaptations, should you not find the solution being available already. And after that, it is all free.
WordPress is a great CMS option, especially if you’re building an editorial site. Whether you think it is right for your project or not, you should always sit back and figure out what you actually need first. Then, find the ideal CMS and consider how you would use it for this particular project. More often than not, you’ll revert to a CMS you know, which may or may not be a good idea.
Just remember: you can build just about anything with WordPress. All you have to do is figure out how, and that’s why you bought this article, right?
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05132010
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