Bits and Pieces Today

First off, “More Than Blogging Software « WordPress Publisher Blog“
from Lloyd Budd’s “Publishers Blog” at Automattic.com, about “WordPress being used as more than blogging software”. A nice selection including Raj Dash’s “48 Unique Ways To Use WordPress” at Performancing.com.

Joost de Valk’s contact form plugin … provides a nice little reader feedback form

Google (XML) Sitemaps Generator plugin, “generates a XML-Sitemap compliant sitemap”. Maybe not mission-critical, but this deserves to be on the ToDo list.

In the news department: Matt announces that Andy Peatling has joined Automattic and the company is now backing Andy’s project, BuddyPress

Buffer Dump 27DEC07

An editor that blows away markup and an RSS system that blows away feed data … ain’t it fun to be working with toys instead of tools? (Hint: no f’n way.)

Looking through my backup material (including a set of OPMLs) I came across this swath of links … it’s crude to just paste, but I’m tired and a tad bummed out. (Hard to do work when high-ridden folk are trashing your stuff.)

So, without more prelude, a slab of links.

A list from Graphic Design Blog | “WordPress as a CMS – Content Management System”:

• Five WordPress Enabling Plugins
  This article from Blaze Media talks you through 5 WordPress Plugins which make it easier to use WordPress as a Content Management system
• Creating Custom Templates for WordPress
  Charity at Design adaptations gives a step by step guide to creating template pages in WordPress -
  “One of the ways I use WordPress as a CMS is by way of custom templates. The kind of pages which can be added using template files that you define are virtually limitless. Say you want to showcase your Portfolio. You might need a layout vastly different from your default pages.” Charity has several other articles about using WordPress including Configure WordPress as a CMS.
• 5 Reasons to use WordPress as a CMS
  David Peralty at Blogging Pro shares his 5 reasons that WordPress should be used as a CMS.
• WordPress Ecommerce Plugin
  A plugin from Instinct.co.nz which brings ecommerce to WordPress. (as mentioned above by Jennifer)
• How to Install WordPress Locally on Windows
  J David Macor gives a step by step guide on how to get WordPress running locally on a PC, ideal if you want to test your WordPress website before releasing it publicly.
• How to Install WordPress Locally on a Mac

  Michael Doig gives a step by step guide on how to get WordPress running locally on a Mac, again ideal if you want to test your WordPress website before releasing it publicly.

• Using WordPress as a CMS
  Blog helper has several different articles about using WordPress as a CMS including how to use WordPress to create a portfolio site
• The Revolution CMS Theme
  Brian Gardner has created a premium WordPress theme called Revolution – a magazine style CMS theme.
• Another to Adaptations to WordPress to Use it as a CMS
  This article from pqdb.com gives more information about working with categories, adding a FAQ page, a contact form and making sure the whole WordPress website is searchable.
• WordPress Sandbox Theme
  The Sandbox theme at Plaintxt.org is a very minimalistic theme ready to be styled in any way you wish. If you are looking for a fairly blank canvas to start your WordPress CMS website and know a bit about CSS it could be a place to start.
• Customise your WordPress Login
  David at David Airey has an article on how to customise your WordPress Login page. This could be useful if you are using WordPress to build a CMS website for one of your clients and want the login page to fit in with their corporate look.
• How to hide pages and rearrange your menu in WordPress
  Randa at Randa Clay Design discusses how she worked out how to rearrange wordpress navigation and hide elements she did not want to appear.
• Using WordPress as a CMS
  Char at Essential Keystrokes talks you through how she made a website using WordPress as a Content Management System.
• From Weblog to Cms
  This article by John McCreesh at Onlamp.com can show you how to create a static home page if you are using an older version of WordPress.
• How to Create a WordPress Theme
  An article by Jonathan on how to put together a WordPress Theme from scratch.

Buffer dump 22DEC07

An ace from Darren Hoyt: “Premium WordPress Themes and Other Concerns” … not just a truly fine over-view of “themes for $$$” but a thoughtful consideration of themes design.

From WordPressGarage: ZDNet says WordPress not clunky, but also not CMS:

“what struck me the most about this article was the Update at the end, where he says that he was corrected by Dennis Howlett, who pointed out that WordPress isn’t actually a CMS. This is something that I really don’t get. WordPress manages content, does it not? Then why isn’t it a CMS?”

HackWordPress.com writes: “There are a few [plugins], however, that every WordPress blog should be using in some form. Here is my list of the top plugins all WordPress blogs should be using, in no particular order”

A fascinating plugin utility: PlugInstaller, “a WordPress plugin-management plugin that eliminates the need to download a plugin archive, upload it to your FTP server and unpack it manually”.
Also from Henning Roland Schaefer, his Plugin Reviews. He writes, “On this page, I am reviewing some of the most useful plugins for wordpress. If you have found a plugin you find especially useful, or if you are a plugin author who wants to “spread the word” about her new plugin, you are welcome to suggest plugins to be reviewed here.”

Thanks to SmashingMagazine for this monster list: WordPress Plugins & Tutorials: Your Pick

From Corry Miller: “The First 5 Essential Tweaks I Do in a WordPress Blog Installation“

[Intelligent breaks restored and corrected by cutting / pasting / running a TextPad macro / cutting / pasting *sigh*]

Geekish:
“Diagnostic Styling” by Eric Meyer at 24Ways.org (His self-declared “first 24Ways article”.)

“At PSDXHTML.COM we do the hard work for you when it comes to your coding needs” … woo!

Real tools for real needs: IM is not email, blog is not wiki

“when it comes to ease of use, a blog platform beats or average CMS hands down. So why have I been stuck with so many clunky CMS systems over the years? There’s a host of reasons, but most of these afflictions come from strange IT management practices.”

Hear, hear!
That from ZDNet blog, by Larry Dignan, “WordPress vs. an army of clunky content management systems” (17DEC07)

Also of interest:

• “Can Blogs Do Journalism?” (mentioned in the above)
• “WordPress Cookie Authentication Vulnerability” at trac.worpress … gnarly
• “10+1 Tips for Choosing a WordPress Theme“

WPMU and WP as CMS

Final Verdict for Using MU to Power Multiple BlogsI almost regret going with MU. It lacks the polish of regular WordPress, and the community is a lot smaller. I feel a lot more left out on my own here, than I did when I first ventured into WordPress.However, the ease of which I can create blogs – allowing public creation or not – makes up for it. Just having to update on blog system, on set of plugins, that also saves me time.While I wouldn’t pick MovableType over original WordPress, the lack of support and help for MU makes me wonder if there’s something better out there.

If you know your way around WordPress, and know a little about PHP, then WordPress MU is a good choice for powering multiple blogs. Otherwise you’ll have a hard time, or harder at least – MU isn’t as user friendly as original WordPress.
Devlounge | “Using WordPress MU to Power Multiple Blogs”

“Perhaps of more concern though is the lack of ‘independence’ that the blogs have in terms of templates and plugins. For example, it is currently impossible (beyond designing and having uploaded your own individual template) to edit a template to your choosing and if you want a particular plugin, then you’ve just got to persuade the admin to make it available site-wide.Indeed, it could be argued, that if WordPress can live up to it’s promise as being *the* excellent independent blogging tool, then as long as WPMU only allows a limited amount of independence to each blogger … this opens up the field for whoever effectively can. “

BlogSavvy | “Giving Blogs with WPMU”

• Graphic Design Blog | “WordPress as a CMS – Content Management System”
• BlogHelper’s 7 part “Using WP as CMS”
• Using WordPress as a CMS
• How to use WP as a magazine or news CMS
• A strong argument in favor of Drupal; comment to “5 Reasons to use WP as CMS”
• From DesignAdaptations, Using WP as CMS and “Configure WordPress as a CMS“; see also “Potential of WP; Extending as a CMS
• “Multi-User Blogging, Drupal VS WP“