WordPress appropriate for website requiring Member's area & MySQL database?

  • I am developing a new website and would really like to use the WordPress platform but don’t know whether it will accommodate the specific setup and custom functionality that I need.
    My requirements are:
    1. The website will require an SSL certificate
    2. The website will need to be connected to a MySQL database
    3. The website requires a separate Member’s Area which is protected by a login and which only members can access
    4. The member’s area will have a completely different set of pages from the main/public website although the look and feel/theme will be the same
    5. The member’s area needs to have a completely different menu bar from the main/public website to reflect the different pages in this section. The footer will be the same as on the public website.
    6. The member’s area will need to incorporate some existing pHp based software
    8. The member’s area will require a private Message Board/communication portal that individual members can use for private, one-to-one communication with us

    I have been advised by a couple of web developers that WordPress will not provide the flexibility I need, however I wonder if a talented pHp coder could bring this together seamlessly on a WordPress platform.
    Also, would WordPress multisite be useful for this?
    Any thoughts/recommendations would be VERY much appreciated!

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  • I’ll see if I can answer these for you…

    1. The website will require an SSL certificate

    Easy to set up. You just need to purchase and install it on your server. If you do that before you install WordPress you can use the https:// protocol for all of your URL’s and have a good secure set up.

    2. The website will need to be connected to a MySQL database

    WordPress works with MySQL for it’s own functions, so this part is already done out of the box.

    3. The website requires a separate Member’s Area which is protected by a login and which only members can access

    There’s a lot of good membership plugins around with free and paid options depending on exactly what features your site will need so have a look and I’m sure that you’ll find something that works for you.

    4. The member’s area will have a completely different set of pages from the main/public website although the look and feel/theme will be the same

    This can be done easily with templates.

    5. The member’s area needs to have a completely different menu bar from the main/public website to reflect the different pages in this section. The footer will be the same as on the public website.

    Also done with the template. WordPress can support a large number of menus, so that’s no problem.

    6. The member’s area will need to incorporate some existing pHp based software

    This is possible, but will most likely need some integration work. this is probably the biggest issue that you’ll face, but a competent PHP developer that knows WordPress should be able to set this up without too many dramas.

    8. The member’s area will require a private Message Board/communication portal that individual members can use for private, one-to-one communication with us

    There’s various ways of doing this, so again searching for a plugin for a ticketing system or something similar will give you a lot of results.

    As far as WordPress not being able to handle those requirements.. that’s just plain wrong. Most of the times that I’ve heard that it’s been said by people because they either don’t know what WordPress can do, or they just want to work with their own chosen platform.

    Thread Starter juliettem

    (@juliettem)

    Thanks so much for this great information – it’s been really helpful. It looks like WordPress might be a good option after all. Thanks again!

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)
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