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How do you use Wordpress for a website that's not in a blog format?

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y0sh

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I'm developing a company website which has to accomodate easy changes by non technical people. I've been asked to use Wordpress as the CMS, but the website I've created is not in a blog format.

 

This is what it looks like:

 

FAT2zyB.png

 

I just don't see how it's possible for somebody to edit all of the text on this page using that single WYSIWYG editor on the edit posts page. Here we have a banner with text and images, 3 content boxes laid out horizontally, and some text in the lower part of the page.

 

What's the solution to using WP for these layouts?

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Max Norris

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A mix of using static pages (not posts), widgets and a template that's geared for a CMS layout will get you this sort of look.  Takes a little extra work as WP is primarily a blog platform but it's totally doable. 

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MikeChipshop Member

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Either manually use Custom fields or use a plugin such as Advanced Custom Fields (advancedcustomfields.com).

Can pretty much do whatever you can dream of.

You can also use custom loops to call in different pages for different sections.

 

  On 10/07/2013 at 11:08, XerXis said:

the same way you use a jackhammer to screw in a lightbulb. There are better options out there if you don't need a blog, drupal and joomla come to mind for example

WordPress is lighter than both those solutions and is just as flexible as a CMS. The days of it being "Just another WordPress blog" are long over.

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Fourjays Veteran

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As someone who is doing this for the first time at this very moment, I can tell you it is easy once you get the hang of it. You just have to take the time to look through the code in one of the default themes, look-up functions and do some research. I was previously a bit of a naysayer of using Wordpress for non-blog websites (and even wrote several CMSs as a response), but I've begun to change my mind now - you just need to understand how it works.

 

It would take too long to explain everything in detail, but here are some rough pointers that may help you get started (look at the Twentytwelve theme for specifics):

  • Read Twentytwelve. Even copy it and use it as a starting point. Once you get into the code of that theme, things begin to make a bit more sense.
  • There is an option under Settings > Reading to have a static page as the front page. I'm not sure you actually need to specify a blog page either (if you do then obviously the blog appears there).
  • You can have page-specific templates. These go in the "page-templates" directory and appear as an option when editing pages. For my front page (that isn't too dissimilar to yours in layout) I have this load a specific sidebar area with get_sidebar('front'). This in turn loads the template file sidebar-front.php which contains the code for loading a widget area that is defined in functions.php. Then in the admin I simply assign widgets to the front page area and style them to align side by side. Now you have some front page content areas using the "Text" widget. :)
  • Use the page-specific templates to your advantage. I have the default one for my blog, one for a sidebar for static pages (altered the get_sidebar() in page.php to load it) and one for the front page.
  • Rotating banners can be achieved without any plugins if you want. Just set the right HTML as the homepage content, add a slider to your theme and select the correct element to apply it to. There are a lot of banner plugins out there too... I just found most of them to be a bit messy, often including their own stylesheets that assume certain things.
  • Look up the "Widget Context" plugin. This allows you to specify on which pages a widget will appear. I'm using this have an "aside" content area specific to each static page.
  • You don't have to have every page listed on a menu. Go to Appearance > Menus and once you've added a menu and set it to an Menu area within your theme, it will replace the default.
  • Don't waste time trying to fight Wordpress' HTML too much. It is mostly semantic. It is the plugins you've got to worry about - some have downright bad HTML, while others include intrusive or hard to override CSS styles.
  • Use the filters within functions.php to your advantage. It is tempting to hard-code elements and hack files to achieve an effect. Whatever it is you are trying to do, search for it and you'll likely find a way to easily override it using a filter within functions.php (for me I wanted a widget_odd/even class on widgets).
  • Google/Bing/whatever is your friend. Answers to Wordpress problems are abundant. Just need to take care that you don't jump at the first solution you come across, as there are a lot of rookie developers out there giving poor advice like "edit some-file.php in wp-includes" (which will be overwritten when you update). Look at a couple of answers and see what the best solution is. In some cases hacking may be the only option, but when that is the case I usually step back and query what I am doing to begin with.

Hope that helps. :)

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Sandor

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In my experience Wordpress is far from easy for "non technical" people. You'd think it would be easy but I've seen many clients trying to use it and making a right mess of it.

 

I'd ask for the rationale of why Wordpress is "required".

 

Then look at something like Koken.

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the better twin

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  On 10/07/2013 at 15:48, Trollercoaster said:

In my experience Wordpress is far from easy for "non technical" people. You'd think it would be easy but I've seen many clients trying to use it and making a right mess of it.

 

I'd ask for the rationale of why Wordpress is "required".

 

Then look at something like Koken.

Its easier than some of the alternatives. People tend to mess up anything.

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Mandosis

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Drupal works great for websites if you would like to use a WYSIWYG editor (I recommend CKEditor) . I would start by finding a theme that is close to the layout you want and build off of it and change it how you want it. Drupal can be a bit daunting at first but is fun and very powerful. Also just find modules on the Drupal website or search Google to extend the functionality of the website. Drupal is great at making things but not as great at doing things and that is why modules come in handy.

 

Example of a site I built using Drupal 7: http://www.starwarsbattlecry.com/ or http://www.swbattlecry.com/

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Sandor

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  On 10/07/2013 at 16:06, Mandosis said:

Drupal works great for websites if you would like to use a WYSIWYG editor (I recommend CKEditor) . I would start by finding a theme that is close to the layout you want and build off of it and change it how you want it. Drupal can be a bit daunting at first but is fun and very powerful. Also just find modules on the Drupal website or search Google to extend the functionality of the website. Drupal is great at making things but not as great at doing things and that is why modules come in handy.

 

Example of a site I built using Drupal 7: http://www.starwarsbattlecry.com/ or http://www.swbattlecry.com/

 

Use CKEditor a lot in work. Would be nice if it was auto updating (maybe it is and we're doing it wrong lol). Have clients on older versions which are broken with IE10 - editor shows up blank box. So many calls about that.

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Eric Veteran

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  On 11/07/2013 at 04:04, Trollercoaster said:

Use CKEditor a lot in work. Would be nice if it was auto updating (maybe it is and we're doing it wrong lol). Have clients on older versions which are broken with IE10 - editor shows up blank box. So many calls about that.

It's causing issues here for IE10 and 11. I checked their forum and they have an umbrella ticket open for fixes. It does not auto-update AFAIK. :(

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Grand Master

Sandor

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  On 11/07/2013 at 04:20, GreyWolf said:

It's causing issues here for IE10 and 11. I checked their forum and they have an umbrella ticket open for fixes. It does not auto-update AFAIK. :(

Quickest fix I've found is to advise the person using IE10 to use a different browser.

 

When you get the "But I like IE" (facepalm) response I've found that using Compatibility mode works. Press F12 and then click on where it says Browser Mode: IE10 and change it to compatibility view or IE9.

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Grand Master

episode

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  On 10/07/2013 at 10:41, Max Norris said:

A mix of using static pages (not posts), widgets and a template that's geared for a CMS layout will get you this sort of look.  Takes a little extra work as WP is primarily a blog platform but it's totally doable. 

 

Completely false. WP was created as a blog platform, but now is used by many major websites, including CNN.com.

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Grand Master

Max Norris

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  On 11/07/2013 at 16:49, episode said:

Completely false. WP was created as a blog platform, but now is used by many major websites, including CNN.com.

Yea, I know, that's pretty much what I said. Primarily does not mean only, never mind saying how to get a CMS layout out of it...

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