Anyone here know Wordpress?

[Black]

Considering it for a website with multiple contributors.
My priority is a flexible and functional event calendar.

Anyone here use it? Any words of advice? Any drawbacks?

Any links to sites using Wordpress?

Also, when I view source on a page what's the wording I'm looking for that lets me know it's using Wordpress?

Many thanks.

[M A V I C]

I know it a bit. I currently host 200+ WP sites, have built quite a few custom themes, own ~200 premium themes...

Your calendar request - calendars can be and usually are rather complex. I know at first they seem simple, but after you see 100 ways to a do a calendar that are all 15% different than what you want to do, then you realize the issue.

You have to realize it's not a 100% "top-down" approach (nor 100% bottom-up, though can be). It has its way of doing things, with a bunch of configurable ways of adjusting them, then there's a layer for plugins and they can enhance/modify how WP does things, then there's custom themes which are yet another layer of customization.

Don't use too many plugins. Don't use plugins with less than say 40k downloads. Don't use plugins that haven't been updated in a year.

Sites using WP: http://wordpress.org/showcase/

Sites that use WordPress will reference the theme files in the code. That will look like example.com/wp-content/themes/ By default themes also show the WP version number, but that's frequently disabled.

[deckeda]

Since the calendar seems to be the main driver here, is there somewhere he can see a comparison of the different solutions available first? Like a "best of Wordpress calendar plugins". And then if one looks right he can then decide to implement WP and use that solution.

Or for that matter, a similar comparison of calendars for other/CMS platforms. Seems the particular publishing platform isn't as crucial as it having the right calendar available.

Black: maybe outline some examples of how you envision the thing should work or be able to accomplish.

[Black]

Thanks, folks! The showcase archives help immensely.
The site architecture would be pretty standard-- I didn't mean to give the impression that it would primarily be a calendar but a functional and user friendly calendar module is essential.

Some things that are basic needs:

-robust and user-friendly interface that makes it hard to have mismatched fonts and things that don't line up visually
-Multiple contributors with adjustable access levels
-if possible, access by page or website section
-This is a website primarily for a Chicago effort but there will need to be pages/sections for "sister" cities, with their own event calendars.
-If users had their own profile pages, could set up their own blogs, and maybe even could "friend" each-other like on a social networking site it would be nice, but not essential.
-things like contact forms should be extremely easy to set up (assuming that's a given with any popular CMS, although I find it not user-friendly in drupal.)

Hope that helps . . .

[M A V I C]

Black wrote: -robust and user-friendly interface that makes it hard to have mismatched fonts and things that don't line up visually

Any decent theme on a CMS should be able to handle that. For a calendar however app, you'll probably up with a paid plugin/module to get that level of polish. Or you'll link to a web service that does it better.

-Multiple contributors with adjustable access levels
-if possible, access by page or website section

Can 'o worms. WordPress, Drupal, Joomla... don't do that by default. I heard Joomla has a hack for it but the core team said not to even try it because it'll likely break with updates. That concept is MUCH more complex than you might think. There is a module for Drupal that does that, but I think it's just in beta.

-If users had their own profile pages, could set up their own blogs, and maybe even could "friend" each-other like on a social networking site it would be nice, but not essential.

Honestly, to do that worth a darn takes more work than everything else you've mentioned, combined. I've put 100+ hours into a site that does that, and I got to pick and choose every last detail which meant I could choose to cut plenty of corners.

[Black]

Thanks much. When you say can of worms, are you referring to differing access levels or access by page/section? Because dialing in access/privileges by user was actually one of the things I've found easy in Drupal.


For the last bit-- there are no plug-ins to set those things up?
How about at least a profile page for each user that can have a pic, forget the friending and networking stuff?


And/or-- is there a CMS that comes ready-made with social networking features?

[M A V I C]

In Drupal, you can't give content level permissions, just module access restrictions. Eg, if a person can edit a Book, they can edit all books. You can't, by default, say Person A can edit Book only and Person B can edit Book B only. So if the default level of permissions works for you, then WordPress is fairly similar (though you may want to install a role manager plugin to fine tune it.)

For the last bit, that would require multiple plugins and depending on how you want it to work, it may or may not exist. You could, for example, use WordPress and enable multiuser so each person can create their own blog. You can probably create something so they create their own profile page - probably a plugin for that. But you have to be careful how you grant users permissions in the admin - if they've got permission to edit one page, they've got permission to edit all pages (by default.) Some plugins might get around this by not actually using "Pages"...

WordPress comes with and there are plugins for social networks like facebook. You might also look at buddypress (wp plugin). There are also social network apps you can buy that are more of a social network than a CMS. Or you can use a web service like http://www.ning.com/

[deckeda]

Black wrote:
-Multiple contributors with adjustable access levels
-if possible, access by page or website section

Take a look at what Seacrest mentioned, C5. There's a lot of that built in and configurable by user group, by page, by block (sections of a page, could be) and so on.

Starter info on permissions:
http://www.concrete5.org/documentation/g...rmissions/

Not sure what kind of time you want to invest in researching the plethora of CMSes out there, but C5 does have a documentation section finally on their site. Might be challenging to jump into their forums to clarify some things without already knowing the platform, but if you get hold of Franz or one of the other principals the response is likely to be positive/yes it can be done, but that's not the same as telling you how to accomplish it. As was already mentioned, the sophisticated plugins cost money and there will never be the selection that a WP, Drupal et all has. Whether or not that matters I dunno.

If it were me I'd go with WP or other well-documented, popular platform even if you know it's not got what you want and play with something like C5 on the side until you're comfortable with it. At least that way you've got something workable and can transition later if desired. Easier and faster than trying to birth the whole solution yourself outta the gate.

[Black]

M A V I C wrote:
In Drupal, you can't give content level permissions, just module access restrictions. Eg, if a person can edit a Book, they can edit all books. You can't, by default, say Person A can edit Book only and Person B can edit Book B only. So if the default level of permissions works for you, then WordPress is fairly similar (though you may want to install a role manager plugin to fine tune it.)

For the last bit, that would require multiple plugins and depending on how you want it to work, it may or may not exist. You could, for example, use WordPress and enable multiuser so each person can create their own blog. You can probably create something so they create their own profile page - probably a plugin for that. But you have to be careful how you grant users permissions in the admin - if they've got permission to edit one page, they've got permission to edit all pages (by default.) Some plugins might get around this by not actually using "Pages"...

WordPress comes with and there are plugins for social networks like facebook. You might also look at buddypress (wp plugin). There are also social network apps you can buy that are more of a social network than a CMS. Or you can use a web service like http://www.ning.com/

ThanX, franX-- alles klar. I'm very familiar with, (and frustrated by) NING-- it could almost be a contender if it was either still free, or if you got some kind of support for the current fees. I think it can be configured at the highest pay level to look like a "normal" website-- but it's next to impossible to integrate with other systems.

[Black]

deckeda wrote:
[quote=Black]
-Multiple contributors with adjustable access levels
-if possible, access by page or website section

Take a look at what Seacrest mentioned, C5. There's a lot of that built in and configurable by user group, by page, by block (sections of a page, could be) and so on.

Starter info on permissions:
http://www.concrete5.org/documentation/g...rmissions/

Not sure what kind of time you want to invest in researching the plethora of CMSes out there, but C5 does have a documentation section finally on their site. Might be challenging to jump into their forums to clarify some things without already knowing the platform, but if you get hold of Franz or one of the other principals the response is likely to be positive/yes it can be done, but that's not the same as telling you how to accomplish it. As was already mentioned, the sophiticated plugins cost money and there will never be the selection that a WP, Drupal et all has. Whether or not that matters I dunno.

If it were me I'd go with WP or other well-documented, popular platform even if you know it's not got what you want and play with something like C5 on the side until you're comfortable with it. At least that way you've got something workable and can transition later if desired. Easier and faster than trying to birth the whole solution yourself outta the gate.
Thanks--- I did explore C5 a bit on Seacrest's recommendation-- but with recent experience in Drupal I'm wary of anything that is not used widely enough that help/support/resources are not readily available, and for which plug-ins/modules may be sparse. Will probably give it another look though.