Database Error

While your attempt to rationalize a lack of familiarity with WordPress by comparing it to some other platform you might already be comfortable with is understandable, your characterization of WordPress in general is incorrect.

WordPress is solid, robust, and adheres to an amazingly minimum set of very user-specific data requirements in its configuration file in order to work. If you have the information in the config file correct, it works every time. Just like Joomla, Drupal, and every other database driven web application. You shouldn’t confuse this with “running a PHP file by itself”

You need neither bunny slippers, rabbit ears, a magic wand nor fairy godmother. You simply have to adhere to the directions and requirements for running WordPress. It’s a beautiful thing: What You Most Need to Know About WordPress

Hello,

I think wordpress is very easy and handy CMS, also it’s come with many features. It will give very good look to your sites.

We do quite a few custom pages with php in WordPress, and as ClaytonJames said, you do have to follow a few rules. If you are wanting to create a page for instance, you can create something like page-newpage.php upload it to the proper folder and you will be able to view this page once you create a page in the WordPress admin, and name it newpage. You can also add a snippet of code for a page template in your php file, then upload it. Create a new page in the WordPress admin, it will then be available to assign to your page.

I worked in Joomla for some time, and I think if you consider the craziness you go through just to set up a page there, (create an article, create a menu item, assign the article to the menu item, assign it to the pages you want to use it on), you will see WP is a walk in the park.
After I spent some time in the WP docs, I found everything I needed to know. Give it a shot!

Perhaps we differ on matter of emphasis.

Just as the United States is not this coherent “thing” in and of itself, neither is WordPress. WordPress, in part, is a blogging system that doubles as a CMS. It is also a community. It is also a huge library of plugins and widgets. Finally, it is a massive amount of tutorials going back several years. Finally, like it or not, it is connected by Google.

I might not be terribly familiar with WordPress, but I do understand what it means for something to work “out-of-the-box.” And I am very aware when something I pay for such as a template or a widget or a plugin off of Code Canyon or some widget with a Pro Version that I pay to get an upgrade conflicts with some other what-not. When it comes to working out-of-the-box … that ain’t WordPress. As I mentioned above, so-called commercial templates may or may not work with so-called proven plugins. It’s really hit and miss. The forums are generally helpful, but they are slow. And when they aren’t slow … they shore ain’t very helpful one-hunerd percent o’ the time. I’m simply amazed WordPress can’t run HTML or PHP natively from a page or post. This is a huge oversight and really hampers its versatility. Finally, searching Google for WordPress tutorials is an absolute mess because Google, for all its wonders, dishes out a huge pile of articles that range in age from 4 to 8 years. When it comes to technology, this type of information is not helpful. Not at all.

I’m not a Joomla troll, so I won’t get into Joomla. “It” (software, extensions, community, etc) has its own sets of strengths and faults.

Yes, I hear everyone when they say WordPress is amazing and elegant. Perhaps at its core of cores and in its potential, yes, but to really bother with it, a person has to become half programmer, half artist, half internet researcher, and half wise-and-patient sage. The United States might be a wonderful thing, but when it comes to certain specifics, it can also be a frustrating, complicated, downright mess.

As can WordPress.

While I’m not up to the tedium of any point – counterpoint discussions at the moment, I can honestly say I enjoyed reading your perspective on WordPress. I do however, think it’s safe to say that you could easily substitute the name of any other software you like for the word “WordPress”, and everything that rings true in your comments would still ring true.

Where-ever you happen to eventually land on the learning curve, I hope you have great success. Some folks like to learn, others are happiest when they can just point and click.

If you want to get your feet wet with WordPress without having to do a lot of thinking about it, you might give a free WordPress blog a try over at wordpress.com. There are a few more restrictions with the free blog than what there would be if you hosted your own site, but it certainly would give you some time to decide if WordPress is really something you might want to become more familiar with in the long term.

People all have different expectations, so what you decide usually depends on how far out of your comfort zone you’re willing to venture to learn something new, and how much enjoyment it really brings you.

The important thing to remember, is that the only thing that ever seems to work perfectly “out of the box” is a Band-Aid. Pretty much everything else is going to take a little user participation at some point or other.

Good luck to you, what-ever you decide, and don’t give up too easily… You’ll miss out on the fun!