Over the years I’ve concentrated my learning towards the visual markup, management and promotion of web sites. I’m happy with this arrangement. I have the tools and experience to create a website mockup image, and then turn that image into a functional static website. Years ago, this arrangement had a huge downside. When I took on a client who needed a site he could update himself, I had limited options. Depending on the client’s budget, I either:

• Created text files on the server that the client could change. I’d include these files into various parts of the website to achieve a low cost solution.
• Researched into the various CMS systems to find a good fit. Once I found the right fit, I would have to install and customize it, then train the client to use it. Either I didn’t look hard enough or simple, customizable & flexible CMS systems did not exist.
• Hired a consultant to create a custom database and write the querys to store/display/edit the data.

That changed when WordPress came along. While it’s certainly not the end-all solution to every website need, it has drastically reduced my time spent, cost and general frustration associated with creating web sites. That’s right, web sites. Not just the websites that clients require the ability to edit themselves. I think it’s pretty standard that ALL sites are made so that the client can add and edit data.

WordPress simplified my life because:

• It takes less than 5 minutes to install. Plus many sites come with Fantastico, which automatically installs it.
• It works right out of the box. You can immediately start adding categories, creating pages, etc.
• It’s really simple to extend wordpress with plugins. They are easy to find, upload and install.
• It’s really simple to work with the template tags, which allow me to pretty much place whatever I want wherever I want, without the need of a programming background. Not to mention that the support community is huge and very helpful. If you cant find documentation, you can ask, and usually get what you’re looking for.
• And my favorite – the user interface. Not so much for myself, but for my clients. It’s very simple and people who aren’t technologically inclined (nerds) can pick it up pretty quickly. The control panel is powerful, centralized and fast. Posting news is fast, and adding media to posts is incredibly simple.

Basically, WordPress is so powerful, easy to work with and scalable that I can use it for many different applications. The more I work with it, the better I get at manipulating it. This means I spend less time wading around in code. Since I’m saving time (labor), I’m also charging less, which reduces the turnaround and cost of a web site. My clients kinda like this part. Plus there is plenty of online and offline documentation to help.

I just wanted to post this as a thanks to the WordPress team.