Comments on: Beyond a Blog – Running a Full Website Using WordPress

By: petra

petra — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 10:54:13 +0000

Wordpress has been a wonderful platform to use for my real estate website: http://www.columbuscastles.com which many people have told me is the best looking real estate website they’ve seen in my area. It’s been easy for me to update the site myself, with the exception of new version updates.

By: Stef Levolger

Stef Levolger — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:12:55 +0000

Wordpress has been a CMS for a very long time and the possibilities are practically endless, running a full website through it therefore isn’t really a surprise.

After all, what’s need for one? Static pages – check

You’re quite quickly done on that, and the basics are set. You can go a lot further if you desire, especially if you’re handy with coding your way around a bit. But nothing is really out of reach anymore, and with every new release it’s only getting easier.

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:41:00 +0000

Just revamped my portfolio website using Wordpress and definitely worth it.

I used to develop my own CMS but now think why bother reinventing the wheel – if there’s something out there that works then use it.

Came across a few niggly bits along the development course but usually a solution is handy to find due to the huge fan base Wordpress has and the amount of plugins available.

By: Joe

Joe — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:26:51 +0000

@Kevin

There is a comma at the end of your site link making it fail.

Also, I find a black background VERY hard to read.

Just my 0.125 Chinese yuan.

Joe

By: Heidi

Heidi — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 23:03:40 +0000

I’m using WordPress at both of the sites I’m currently building, which includes my own, and it was also used on the site I just finished assisting with. I’m impressed with it, although I have heard that it doesn’t quite measure up to the full definition of ‘CMS.’ I started out using Drupal and became more familiar with that before switching to WP, but it wasn’t too hard to come over. I’m hoping to get to know it very well, so that future projects won’t involve quite so much ‘learning’ time.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:54:50 +0000

This is a great post. I actually am working on running two blogs which are in reality their own websites. I have two blogs that each focus on a college football team and I have been using WordPress to bring the feel of a legitimate web site complete with content for each. You can check my favorite one out at http://redraiderzone.wordpress.com, which covers Shippensburg football. If you browse it enough you will see that is still being added to but it has content such as audio downloads, an interactive schedule and a history section etc.

I have found it very easy to use WordPress to run a website and hope that others do as well.

By: charles

charles — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 12:15:53 +0000

Actually, most of the best web designers today do think about SEO during design phase and implementation phase.

By: Index Options Trader

Index Options Trader — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:00:34 +0000

Incredible post and discussions. I clicked on Blue ducks and Men with Pen website design. Wordpress has long been used as content management tool. Here is site that I use as content management tool with a fixed Home Page.

http://www.badcredit-mortgage.com

By: Rod

Rod — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:57:14 +0000

I’ve found WordPress up to everything I’ve tried to do with it so far, and much easier to work with and understand than Joomla or Drupal. I guess it’s debatable whether it’s a true CMS, but who cares, as long as it gets the job done. IMO one of it’s greatest strengths is the large community and wide availability of plugins and themes to make it behave and look like you want it to.

By: Paul

Paul — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:04:52 +0000

A great article. I can use more articles like this about using Wordpress as the primary CMS for my business. I too would like to see more examples and ideas that I can implement.

By: joe gelb

joe gelb — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:55:49 +0000

thanks for the great article i learned alot

By: Yu Ming Lui

Yu Ming Lui — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:17:49 +0000

Wordpress changed my life on the blogosphere. I would definitely recommend it for beginners because it is easy to use and there is a plethora of plugins to choose from, plus a huge community out there developing it and sharing knowledge.

By: CCNA Training Videos

CCNA Training Videos — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 03:10:25 +0000

Not a bad post as food for thought, but I was hoping for some examples, some links to sites that are fully functioning CMS platforms, useful plugins, etc.

One free theme that I have found, that totally rocks for CMS is the arthemia theme
http://michaelhutagalung.com/2008/05/arthemia-magazine-blog-wordpress-theme-released/

I haven’t implemented on a production site yet myself, looking for a project to do so. But if you’re looking for a good CMS theme (if nothing more than to get your creative juices flowing) it’s worth a look.

By: Byron Bennett

Byron Bennett — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 02:15:02 +0000

Very nice article. I hope that more people will begin using WordPress in creative ways as that will hopefully stimulate some WP development beyond its blog focus.

I personally run a To-Do list site that is based on WordPress, primarily for its wonderful member management system and the built in blogging features. I haven’t really seen any other application that takes WordPress so far away from its blogging roots than say Guy Kawasaki’s Truemors.

I’d love for you to drop by and see what I’ve done with WordPress: http://www.sugardo.com

One of caveats about WordPress is that it has a bad rap as a resource hog and that it can be slow. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do love the WP.

By: Tinh

Tinh — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 01:03:12 +0000

I think it is a great idea to make a website with WordPress rather than a blog but it is for business only, not for what I am planning now :-)

By: Lisa Wood

Lisa Wood — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:36:00 +0000

Thanks for this post! I have a few clients who want something easier to maintain than their current static websites – and I’ve been pointing out the benefits of WordPress. I really don’t care Joomla at all.

By: Alex Thio

Alex Thio — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:33:24 +0000

Amir, a hearty word of thanks for your article. It was just what I needed! As a newbie blogger and author of my first website (yikes!), the content of your article will certainly be food for thought and application. I wish you the best as you come up with more informative and practical articles like this one! Thanks a million – and success be yours always!

By: Sangesh

Sangesh — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:57:25 +0000

I’ve heard quite a lot about using wordpress as a CMS for building dynamic websites, but I’ve never tried it. I’ve even visited web sites that used wordpress as CMS which are really wonderful. I’d like to use wordpress as a CMS though. Maybe soon in the future.

By: Todd Andrews

Todd Andrews — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:54:16 +0000

I get almost 100% of my clients to use WordPress as a CMS because it is so easy to use. Better than teaching someone Joomla.

By: Lara Kulpa

Lara Kulpa — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 09:48:44 +0000

It’s only as complicated as you want it to be… or as you allow it to be, I should say.

I haven’t ever come across a situation where there was something I wanted to do with WP and couldn’t. I’ve had multiple installations on one domain (before WordPress MU came out – back when we had to manage that ourselves). I worked with another plugin developer to get that nectardesign site to be what it is. I’ve built every single client site I’ve done over the past 4 years with WordPress, and trust me – they’re not all blogs.

The bottom line is that it’s going to cost you – either in TIME to learn the real ins and outs yourself, or in MONEY to get someone to help you who already knows them.

I also wanted to add that I don’t think this post was meant to teach you the ins and outs of PHP and customizing WordPress, step by step. That’s what wordpress.org and the forums and other blogs are entirely dedicated to doing. But it was meant to get you thinking about WP in a way you might not have before. Don’t be so harsh on the author… and yes, with a few minor tweaks (like permalinks and adding some certain plugins) WordPress is EXTREMELY SEO friendly.