Switching to Word Press: Pros and Cons

In the last two months, I've explored switching my entire site over to Word Press. Below are two pics of my site currently, and the WordPress version of my site for comparison. I will also post some of the pros and cons I've experienced about the process. If you are new and are thinking about looking at it, this may be for you.  At the moment, the Word Press version of my site can be viewed here...

http://randolfdimalanta.com/wordpress/

And here is a screenshot of the WordPress site I'm building, as well as a snapshot of my current site. The Word Press site is already pretty clean (The image with the red chrome bricks).

In teaching a web portfolio class for non web people, I've always recommended a simple method for designing websites, some of which can be found on this blog, and I knew about Word Press many years prior, but I never really got a grasp on how to install it, which for me, at the time was confusing. Perhaps the most confusing part was installing a database on your server. If I couldn't understand it, I don't think my students, who (a majority of them) were not web designers wouldn't understand it either. In a class of 30 beginners, that would tough to lead.

Nowadays however, depending on which hosting you choose, you can now bypass all of this, and if you look at the Admin Panel provided for you by your host, there is a single button you press that will install a database and Word Press for you. Once I got this up and running, I saw how easy it was and its been fun ever since.

In short, when it comes to Word Press sites, there seems to be more pros than cons and some that I've had about using it. Let's start with the cons because they aren't many:

1. Learning Curve: Word Press is free to install and use, the only price is that you have to learn how to use it. This can be done with a teacher, but seriously, there is so much to do and adjust that you have to spend time learning it on your own, so you can get the look you want. 
2. Virus Posts: About a week into using Word Press, I started to get robot spam who would put posts on my Word Press pages. At first, I saw two or three a week, and after a short amount of time, I started seeing ten or more. Not cool. To fix this, I disabled comments on my pages, and I downloaded the latest version of Word Press and this helped out a lot. Its seems that WP is so popular that it had become a nice target for virus writers...bad.
3. Learning Curve II: Depending on the theme you choose, steps to posting large images on sliders may not be so easy. I found this out through trial and error. If you use a free template, it may be hard. I ended up buying one and it was easier.
4. Free Theme Links: On some free WP themes offered on the internet, there are sponsored links found in the footer. I tried removing some of these, and because these links sponsored the template I was using and it was prohibited to remove, when I tried to remove the links, my entire Word Press theme crashed. I couldn't even logon anymore. Not cool. To fix the damage, I simply replaced the entire theme folder with a backup and I was up and running again in about 5 minutes. This was the worst feeling ever and it  prompted me to invest in a professionally designed WP template. I ended up buying a WP template from themeforest.net

And the Pros:

1. So Many Themes: I bought one for 40 bucks from Themeforest.net.  Be sure you choose one for its features, and most importantly, for its support. If you have a question, you should be able to send a message, logon to a forum to get an answer. Some of these theme writers seemed angry. Not cool. 
2. I used Striking Theme by Kaptinlin.
3. So Much Site Variety: In the theme mentioned above, you adjust colors fonts and where things are placed by moving sliders around and through control panels. 
4. Upload Anywhere: I like the fact that you can update your site from any computer. You don't have to use an FTP program or Dreamweaver.
5. Design: In our field, design is crucial to how you are perceived. In WP, since the design is fixed for you, you'll have an easier time creating something professional. Change and adjust things of course according to your style, but this part is already done for you. 
6. Homepage Variety: I'm a big fan of the main homepage image. It sets the tone for your site and its should be large enough to make an impression. I found so many templates on WP that have sliders, so now, you can show a variety main homepage images, and some of these are animated using JS - this is cool as it adds to the impression you can make on a person.
7. Everything is adjustable: This can make you crazy because of all the choices you have. Just be sure that the template you choose is the one you want. Start here for first. 
8. Switch Skins: If you want to change the look and feel of your site, buy a new template or change your current skin. WP will remember your settings, and you can easily switch to another skin.
9. New Pages: Are easily created. You can post pictures, videos, anything. 
10. Drop Down Menus: A featured I was looking for in order to keep my homepage clean and uncluttered. This is hard to do if you don't know CSS. In WP, its a simple drag and drop system.
11. Easily Scannable: All of the pages in WP are easily scannable by search engines.
12. Up to Date Content: Google searches for content on the web that is the most current. If you maintain your WP site on a regular basis, then you are keeping it current, making it possible for Google to serve up your content during a search. 
13. Its a valuable skill: Many companies are going down this route, so it might not be a bad idea to start your own WP site, so you can get used to the interface, maybe you can help a company maintain their own WP sites.
14. More Options = Creativity: Lastly, when I decided to switch to the Word Press format, it was apparent to me that you had more options available to you in the way we discussed, but it also opened up some creativity. All of a sudden, I had a flood of ideas: illustrations, tutorials, video video tutorials, animations, and interesting posts that I could include in this format. 

And that's the lowdown on Word Press from me. Overall, the switch is good, and if you are thinking about a site, I encourage you to try it out. 

Happy designing, and have fun with your Word Press sites.