Part 1. WordPress, a CMS

Dear WordPress Tenderfoot,

WordPress has evolved from a simple blogging tool to a feature-rich content management system, and even a web application platform. You can use WordPress to do almost anything, although it fits certain projects more than others. I’ve worked with many companies and individuals, architecting and implementing websites powered by WordPress since 2005. What follows are my recommendations for deciding whether WordPress is the right tool for the task and for approaching new WordPress projects.

When evaluating WordPress as a platform for a new project, start with the information architecture or the data layer. It’s imperative to learn as much as possible about the information to be stored, how it will be organized, updated, and searched, and the relationships between data objects.

For simple websites, posts and pages are sufficient. However, more sophisticated websites often require custom post types. For example, an event will have a title, description, date, and number of tickets available. Post types may need to relate to one another—an event is associated with a venue, which has a name, address, and phone number. Custom post types often warrant custom taxonomies such as specific product categories. Custom post types, taxonomies, themes, and additional metadata can be added to WordPress fairly easily, but it’s important to map out how they will be implemented and ensure that they meet the needs of the business.

Carefully review the website’s functional requirements. An understanding of WordPress features will help you spot gaps where additional development or plugins are needed. When choosing plugins, it’s important to consider: age (newer plugins may be less stable than competing, veteran plugins), compatibility (plugins should maintain current WordPress version compatibility), support (developer should be diligent in fixing bugs and responding to issues), and documentation (installation guide should be included, as well as usage information).

If, after evaluation, you find your project resisting “the WordPress way,” you may wish to explore other solutions. This includes information architecture not conforming to the post type and taxonomy paradigm, custom theme and plugin development exceeding budget or timeline, or requiring more than 50 percent customization of the core.

As WordPress becomes more extensible, it will be a faster, easier, and more economical tool to solve increasingly complex client problems. May you find success and enjoyment in your WordPress projects.

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James Coletti
jamescoletti.com | @jamescoletti

In the next two chapters, we’ll cover some WordPress basics. You may have used WordPress in the past; if so, that’s great—we can build on that. If you haven’t worked in WordPress before, that’s all right because we’ll start from the beginning and go over all the details.

We’ll look at everything from why it makes sense to choose WordPress for your next project to how to install it on your server and add content. By the end of these two chapters, you’ll have started an intimate relationship with WordPress that will last a long time. You’ll get something out of these two chapters whether you’re a veteran WordPress blogger or a novice who’s never seen the WordPress admin.

When I started teaching web design, I had to cover every little detail of HTML, CSS, web standards, browsers, and more. I knew most of it already, but because I had to actually define growth paths for my students, I needed to know everything there was to know. This made me a better web designer, teacher, and business owner. I was able to explain the details of the web and my work with greater confidence because I could describe every aspect of what I was speaking about. You may know the difference between a WordPress post and a page, but in this part of the book, you’ll learn how to explain it to your clients.

In Part 2, we’ll build on our understanding of WordPress by diving into WordPress theming basics, template hierarchies, and best practices.

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