WordPress blog or static site… advice?

  • bmuse

    (@bmuse)


    18 years ago

    Hi everyone. I’m beginning the design of a site, and am really torn whether it should be a WordPress site, or a static site designed in Dreamweaver. I know there’s no definitive answer, but wanted to pose a few specifics and ask your opinions.

    It will be a site for computer novices, organized into categories and subcategories. For example:

    SECURITY
    — Why it’s important
    — Antivirus
    — Firewall
    — Antispyware
    HARDWARE
    — Processors
    — Memory
    —- Upgrading your memory
    — USB

    Instead of blog-style Category links in a sidebar, I want a SoThink/DHTML menu system — same concept as MSNBC.com’s menus, but using icons and graphics.

    Leaning to the static/Dreamweaver design:
    – Most content/pages won’t change often
    – It will be more “static” pages than blog-post pages
    – I’d like more control over the design of the site from a graphic standpoint (design in Photoshop, create in DW)
    – I won’t want user comments on most of the pages
    – I’d like to use a SoThink DHTML menu, with graphics and icons, as the primary navigation

    Leaning to the WordPress/blog side:
    – I’d love to be able to quickly add content & update
    – I’d love to “tag” content for easier searching by users
    – I like that WP/blogs are ready-made for Digging, RSS, etc.

    Each topic will consist of explanations or how-to steps with screenshots. I’m planning to add a forum as well.

    I’ve read that people customize WP themes in DW. I’ve also read that people have added DHTML SoThink-type menus to their WP pages. But I’m not fluent in PHP, so I’m a bit intimidated by a lot of extensive coding.

    Also, I see that WP offers “Pages,” more geared to static content. But it says that Pages cannot be added to categories? And, almost all of my site would be static Pages.

    Bottom line, it seems that my intent & content lean toward a standard DW-built site. But the more I read about WordPress, the more impressive it is.

    Is it possible to blend a WordPress site using SoThink/DHTML menus and mostly static Pages? Or does that defeat the purpose of tags/categories and elegant updates?

    Apologies for the convoluted post. Thank you very much for any insight and opinions.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
  • jamin100

    (@jamin100)

    What about a CMS system like Joomla?

    Starkmann

    (@starkmann)

    It doesn’t seem like a this or that question. You want both. You want a blog type page in a framework that is static. Why decide when you can have both?

    Thread Starter bmuse

    (@bmuse)

    jamin100, I hadn’t seen Joomla before… I will check it out right away.

    Starkmann, you are correct (and succinct where I was not). ?? If I do want both, which system can best create that?

    Thank you!

    Starkmann

    (@starkmann)

    Well, I’ve never heard of Joomla before and only played with it for about 15 minutes. I personally don’t see a huge advantage for myself but each user is different. If I were you, I’d play with the Joomla test setup, even DL and try it out on your service. If you need a test install of Word press, let me know. I have a defunct install I’m not using, I’ll give you admin rights and you can feel free to play.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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