ucdblogs.org

Why Wordpress?

July 31st, 2007

This Blog is running on Wordpress 2.2 using the Blixkreig theme. Wordpress (.org as opposed to .com) was chosen because of the huge amount of flexibility and open source extras this platform offers. Having used blogger and moveable type in the past I’ve found that wordpress offers by far the highest level of customisability and support. One useful feature of WP that trumps most of the competition is it’s import function which allows you to import entire blogs from other platforms. So far we’ve only tested the blogger version, but it seems to work surprisingly smoothly. WP supports automatic importation from the following:

• Blogger
• Wordpress
• Moveable type
• Live journal
• Textpattern
• Blogware
• Dotclear
• Typepad
• Greymatter
• And even directly from an RSS feed.

Another great feature of this platform is the amount of open source resources. For example - have a look through the resources links in the sidebar for a taste of the staggering amount of plug-ins available. We are currently running the following, but are working to seek out more useful utilities that will make your blogging experience easier:

• Multiblix
• Snap Link preview
• 1pixelout audio player
• Advanced wysiwyg posting
• Askimet spam control (default)

If there is some functionality that is not already available here (such as surveys, avatars, comment managers etc…), please include this information when you contact us and we will seek out a suitable wordpress application that will do the job for you.

Once your blog is up and running, we will provide you with a FTP details to the UCDblogs server so you can add more plug-ins and widgets as you require them. The WP interface, though a little more complex than, say Blogger, is quite easy to use, and offers a lot more options for customisability. Once the correct file has been uploaded to the server, activating and editing widgets, plug-ins and sidebar options is simpy a case of pressing a few buttons and dragging and dropping. Some excellent online video tutorials on the Wordpress interface can be found here for those of you who want to familiarise yourselves with the system before you dive in. You can also access the clear and comprehensive Wordpress documentation here or try this more in depth downloadable tutorial video here (registration required).

If you are considering using this facility and are unclear about any of the above, or have further questions, please dont hesitate to contact us.

Entry Filed under: Project Info, Technical