WordPress is a name that has become synonymous with blogging, and rightfully so. It is a completely open source solution for bloggers who want to develop their own site, or just publish through a customizable web-based service. As interesting as they can be, we aren’t here to talk about blogs. What is perhaps more intriguing about WordPress is that it has become a popular platform by which one can build a full-service website with a content management system.

Sure, blogging is the primary intent of WordPress, but much like Drupal, Joomla, or any other open source CMS solution, the ability to customize the platform has made WordPress a tool that can be deployed just about any way the developer can think of.

Wordpress as the platform for a primary site has become a fairly common occurrence on the web. It is likely the simplicity of the WP interface and the overwhelming community support that have made it so popular.

A new WordPress build can be done with a default install of the WordPress developer’s kit, or with a theme to modify the style and layout. Themes can range from nearly complete sites to templates that strip your WordPress of all style so that you can design from the ground up.

A Google search for “WordPress themes” yields 29,600,000 results. That is a lot of people spending a lot of time talking about, building and modifying a lot of themes. The online support system is nothing short of enormous.

Also, WordPress is supported by a vast array of plug-ins. Plug-ins can be just about anything. Think of a feed that shows your latest Twitter update, or a PayPal-powered shopping cart for your retail site. Perhaps a meta data tool or a simple photo gallery? The possibilities are endless, and all are customizable within the site they are installed on.

To try and list the capabilities of WordPress would be daunting. It does everything short of walking your dog. Or, so it might seem. The caveat, of course, is that it is a simple CMS. Massive systems for managing inventory, large-scale purchasing, financial information, and other complex needs might be better managed on a CMS that was built from the ground up, or on a more rich development kit like the aforementioned Drupal. Still, for most people or small businesses looking for a solution that lets them edit their site, WordPress fits the bill.

It should come as no surprise that this article is published on a WordPress blog. Furthermore, Media Genesis has been advocating the implementation of WordPress as a blog and site management tools for years. If you think that WordPress might be right for you give us a shout.

You could stumble upon a great WP site and never know it. According to backendbattles.com, 2% of the top 10,000 sites on the web are powered with WordPress.

Here are a few of our favorites:

http://www.familymint.com/
http://flickout.com/
http://www.jefffinley.org/
http://healogix.com/
http://www.shutterboxphotobooth.com/
http://lombardchambers.com/

WordPress is a web log and simple content management system started by founding developer Matt Mullenweg. It is powered by PHP and MySQL. The current version is 2.9.1. You can learn a ton about it at the http://wordpress.org/

Additional Resources:
Conversation about whether WordPress is a CMS or not via WordPress.org:
http://wordpress.org/support/topic/343762

Go ahead, Google your company‘s name — do you like the results?

Organizations undergoing redesigns recognize the importance of their online presence, and managing it has become a full-time career for many. What’s the advantage of rooting social media directly into your website, anyway? Shouldn’t it be enough to show up in Google search results?

One advantage is centralizing and confirming all sources of your company’s online presence. This recognition enforces an image of complete transparency. Users need to know if they can trust you. They want to see how you interact with the public. By placing links to Wordpress, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. on your site, you’re showing you’ve got nothing to hide.

Get people to interact:

• Put icons right on your homepage – consider Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to be as necessary as the all-essential Home button. Don’t bury them in the design. If feedback and engagement is important to your organization, you should give people different options when it comes to talking.
• Our solution: Media Genesis has three icons that appear on every page with an invite to “Follow Media Genesis” as well as an invite to subscribe to our newsletter.

• Take advantage of Twitter – feature your updates in a Twitter feed on your site. Fresh content can only drive more people to find you and increase the number of people coming back for more.
• Our Solution: Media Genesis features Twitter updates right on our homepage, called “The Latest From Our Twitter” section. Including a time of posting signifies frequency to users.

• Incorporate your WordPress blog in your site – make it the news aggregator of your site, and feature recent news or ideas updated frequently.
• Our Solution: Media Genesis features top articles on our homepage. Our newsletter is linked as “News” on our website, and users can see fresh content every month as we generate new articles.