Version 1.0 and Archiving

  • Yes, I realize that there are numerous posts in regards to archiving categories but most, if not all, posts that I have found refer to the .72 version and I notice there are some significant changes, at least cosmetically, to the 1.0 version.
    Here is what I am currently doing…
    Over the last few weeks I have downloaded and tried every single CMS that I could find that looked like it would fulfill the needs of my entire site. Most have turned out to be overly complicated, too multi-user, or are too ‘busy’ in relation to category development. In the mean time I have been using WordPress with only one category for a blog since all of the categories bundle together on the main page anyway. Since version 1.0 came out, I am reconsidering using WordPress as to manage the entire site–if it can be done correctly.
    Here’s what I would like to do…
    1. A handful of static pages with comments disabled. Just create a category and edit the content (one post)–okay, I can do that.
    2. Archive 2 or 3 categories as official blogs SEPARATELY, such as a personal journal, tech journal, autobiography, etc. In other words, I would click one of the links (categories) from the main page and be presented with the last 5 posts and a menu on the right (in my case) that lists by month and/or year all of the archives relative to THAT PARTICULAR BLOG. I would like this behavior for all of the “blog” oriented content.
    3. Show one category on the main/front page. I’m thinking I can create a category and call it “news” or “front page”, post to it, and filter out everything else somehow on the index.php page, right? I saw a discussion that refers to this in regards to the .72 version but not sure if it still applies.
    4. Notify users when one of the blog oriented categories have been updated. Not a huge priority but it would be nice.
    I realize that WP is not a full blown CMS, but I would like to use it BECAUSE it is not bloated and expand out from there if the above is possible, not to mention that it is simple and easy to administrate.
    I have considered creating separate identical but renamed SQL tables for each category and reuploading the entire wp directory (renamed) each time I create a category, which isn’t too often. That way I would have each category automatically organized by month without seeing each other, but this option seems like it would waste a lot of unnecessary space and require me to log into each admin panel to update each branch of content. But if I have to do this it’s a strong consideration.
    I haven’t been able to find a list of changes in 1.0 compared to .72. This could probably answer some of my questions if 1.0 has addressed the archiving issues in any way.
    Any ideas?

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  • Thread Starter hatespitlove

    (@hatespitlove)

    Okay, after spending the day trying to make this archival thing happen I have checked out numerous wp websites and ALL of them archive in the same way. This is the same problem that I have run into with other CMS’s and to be honest it’s driving me nuts–both as a reader and a site owner.
    As a reader, I would guess most of us do a quick survey of the website on initial entry. We look for information that appeals to us, then click the link to explore it. If our attention is captured we then explore the information further by according to the topic that gained our initial interest. Once we have exhausted this pursuit, we then pick a different topic from the selection, if there are any, then peruse by that topic, etc. etc. etc.
    Now here’s the problem with CMS and multiple category blogs. The first page is great. You get a few articles that are relative, jump down to the archive links for more and BOOM! you’re bombarded with every ounce of extraneous information that you could or could care less to know from astrophysics to what the author did at a party the night before. So what is a person to do that wanted to find that great snippet of information on “How to create usable archives” when instead they are getting a lot of information that does not relate in any way to their search? You guessed it–close out of the page and go back to their favorite search engine to look for another site that provides a more useable structure to convey the information they are looking for. I don’t think we really care about ‘when’ an article was written, with the exception of event based journaling, as much as we care about following an interest path. Don’t get me wrong, sorting by date is often a neccessity and one of my own priorities, but if there isn’t a way to stick to the subject when clicking on “February”, then slapping the reader with…
    “Programming 101: February 2nd: Cat-Computers”,…
    “How to Plant Tulips: February 6th: Cat-The Art of Botany”, and…
    “Why Harry Met Sally:February 9th: Cat-Favorite Movies”
    …all on one archive page will just roll the visitors right off your site dizzy, disoriented, and frustrated.
    So…since I have yet to see anyone archiving their posts by category, from coders to newbies, should I assume this simply can’t be done with a CMS based system? I’m not a programmer but I can’t imagine that something this simple could be that big of a task for someone who is. Or is it?

    I’d like to see archiving by category too. I don’t need it for my blog, but it’d be useful for my template site.

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