My experiences with Wordpress.

Here is the link to Google Docs:

http://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=19B7u1_4itLU0monChIKiID6ZCZFwuWmjKPOwNM9yJdo

Here is the text:

MY EXPERIENCES WITH WORDPRESS

SHARON JONES

Getting used to Wordpress was a real challenge for me. Wordpress is the first Content Management System I have ever used. It is also the first time I have repurposed a website. Fortunately, I had the Wordpress tutorial to download and I referred to it constantly as I worked on the team’s blog page.

I broke the assignment into four parts: learning to write posts, learning to write pages, learning to install a themes, and learning to install plugins. I did not move on to the second step, until I had mastered the initial step.

Posts and pages are similar in some ways, but different in others. Posts are dynamic and pages are static (although I have learned that pages can be made dynamic). Posts are blog entries, and since I am familiar with blog entries, I had something to relate to. Pages are archived material that does not change.

The choice of themes, in Wordpress, was amazing The theme that I chose, for our team site, was Arjuna X. I chose it because it appealed to me with its organization. It took a number of tries for me to get it installed. I found that it is possible to change themes with the changing of pages. In other words, each page can have its own theme. Themes can be searched for by using keywords, so that the user gets just the right effect. Some themes come from Wordpress and some themes are developed by volunteers, for free.

The plugin that I chose, for our team site, was BuddyPress. I chose it because I thought it would be useful. From the material I read, most users don’t need to install plugins to make their site useful. The installation of plugins is difficult, because they are not part of the Wordpress core. Each developer is free to configure their plugin any way they choose.

I can see where Wordpress would be useful, but I would have to say that I prefer my blog site. Sometimes, I think software developers have too much time on their hands and are just looking for new “webspace” to conquer. I know this is probably not the class to downplay new technologies, but sometimes the “wheel” doesn’t need to be reinvented.

To view our Wordpress site, the URL is http://www.valdosta.edu/~foguz/7505/team7/

To view my blog, and the information on it about our Wordpress site, the URL is sharonjonessharonjones.blogspot.com

I created two categories for our Wordpress site: School and Workplace. I made an entry to School. I’ve asked the other team members to make an entry to Workplace.

Wordpress has been a challenge, but it is gratifying when you finally get “it”!