WordPress for Content Management

WordPress is a widely used web site publishing platform that is a favorite among bloggers. It has a huge community of users and developers, in addition to being free to license and simple install on your web server. Since the WordPress source code and database are both open source, it is possible to customize WordPress to suit many content management scenarios.

Content Management

Other than blogs, WordPress can be easily used as a content management platform for business web sites. The advantage of WordPress is that many desktop authoring tools are available which communicate with Wordpress' XML-RPC and AtomPub interfaces, making publishing new content from your desktop a snap.

In many instances, WordPress will be better suited for content management than more robust content management tools such a Joomla. In comparison to Joomla, WordPress has fewer built-in page management tools, but it is simpler to use, easier to modify, and has a much larger community of users. This is great news for your web developer and your content producers because it ultimately saves them time.

Syndication

WordPress also supports Really Simple Syndication (RSS), which is a data protocol which facilitates content distribution. RSS readers are popular desktop tools for aggregating daily published web content in a single reader interface. RSS is useful for subscribers, but just as importantly, provides a simple channel for incorporating WordPress content into an existing web site.

Wordpress Installation

The WordPress installation is a simple process, the only requirement is that you first setup a MySQL database using your hosting console and paste the database connection information into the Wordpress configuration wizard. The installation wizard creates all of the necessary database tables and an .htaccess file to allow your site to use search engine optimized page urls. Upgrades to new versions of WordPress are just as simple as the initial setup. The only potential trouble with the WordPress installation is if the apache server user does not have write permissions on your web root folder.

The WordPress database is well structured and easily deciphered.

Themes and Plugins

Currently there are thousands of WordPress themes available to customize the design and layout of WordPress, as well as plug-ins that add extened functionality to your site. Here are some links to get you started in finding some great WordPress add-ons for your web site.

Sakena Theme from Shazia Mistry