How to make WordPress a powerful content management system
Recently we did a review of the most popular open source content management systems, some questions came up as to why WordPress would be included in the list as a content management system, and I say why wouldn’t it be?
WordPress does a great job of providing business a basic content management system right after a fresh install. Since version 1.5, it has had the ability to manage pages. This allows users to manage a large static site with a central theme and consistent look. Now, WordPress is at version 3.2 and using it as a content management system is a great option for businesses.
To get the most out of WordPress as a content management system, we feel some slight tweaks make it great for any business site. First however, I will highlight some of the now standard features that make it a great choice for a content management system right out of the box.
Pages
[pquote_right]Pages are similar to Posts in the building and creating of them, the difference is that pages do not have a chronological context like posts and they do not appear in the feed.[/pquote_right]Pages are similar to Posts in the building and creating of them, the difference is that pages do not have a chronological context like posts and they do not appear in the feed. Pages also can be structured in a parent-child layout to organize your site content .This gives you the ability to breakdown products or services throughout your site. Pages can also have different page templates applied to them depending on the content that you are going to display.
Another nice addition is custom fields that allow you to customize posts and pages. You can insert call-outs, forms etc. simply buy using a custom field.
Custom Post Types
[pquote_right]With the addition of custom post types to WordPress you now have the power of a full content management system.[/pquote_right]With the addition of custom post types to WordPress you now have the power of a full content management system. Now to really use this you will really need to plan your site and how you can leverage the power of custom post types. Once implemented they are very powerful for creating and managing content on your site.
Suggested Tweaks if you need more!
Custom Post Formats
A new feature in WordPress 3.1 this allows you to use some standard formats for posts in your theme. Once enabled it sets up a new UI in WordPress to create the designated post.
The Standard Post Formats for WordPress
- Aside
- Audio
- Chat
- Gallery
- Image
- Link
- Quote
- Status
- Video
Some suggested Plugins
Business users might want so more functionality out of a content management system and with WordPress you have the ability to go the community to find plugins that will give you the power you need.
Suggested Plugins
- CMS Tree View – Give you a page tree view of your content for a better visual on your site structure.
- WordPress SEO – Optimize pages and posts with a powerful SEO plugin.
- Simple LDAP – Allows you to integrate WordPress login with your corporate network
- Salesforce Web-to-Lead – Salesforce CRM integration
- WP-CRM – Add complete Customer Relationship Management to WordPress
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