I’ve just switched from Dreamweaver to WordPress for the Wheal Associates website to give us more control over our site and to enable us to more easily update the site regularly.
We had a website long before most journalists, before content management systems (of which WordPress is an example) were commonplace and before either of us knew how to create one. Ours was created for us by designer Kurtz Design. It was lovely and it worked for years. But we hardly ever updated it.
Bad Dreamweaver
The old site was built using Dreamweaver and, although I had Dreamweaver installed and could make basic changes it was complex and far from user-friendly. I could not, for example, get pictures to go where I wanted them. This led to us sticking with old, out-of-date magazine covers on the site.
WordPress is more restrictive – you have to stick within its template themes – but it is much easier to use. What I am not is a designer, so I only tweak existing themes to suit my purposes as best I can. There are things I cannot do. I know my limits.
For example, the masthead on the site is simply and image taken from the old design and adapted. In an ideal world it would be wider, with the print registration marks outside the body of the site, as they would be on a print document and as they were on the original. If I find time to work out how to do that, I will.
Anytime, anyplace, anywhere
But the main thing is that both Kate and I can update the site and blog regularly from any computer, iPad, or phone anywhere and any time, without being tied to a specific piece of software. And, within WordPress, there is a lot you can do, which I will go into in more detail in future posts.