This sounds like a good “widget for wp-dash” candidate…. would be kind of a nifty thing, perhaps more flexible than the “asides” plugins out there….
I was also thinking it could be useful for defining bits of information for templates. Instead of modifying the template itself, the template would include a call to wp_bit(‘footer’).
I think the best way to accomplish this would be using the same method as asides (posting posts in a category) instead of trying to reinvent the posting system. You can have categories excluded from the main page, from the archives, etc., and then write your own functions to pull bits out of that category.
masquerade — That makes perfect sense although I was thinking about it more from an end user’s perspective that may not be too savvy. I create sites for clients that use WP to edit their content, usually pages for static pages and posts for news items. To me, it sees that it would be easier if the user had a specific place to edit ‘information bits,’ not Posts, not Pages. There are plenty of hacks to accomplish this, but I’d like to see something that is a bit more intuitive.
For example, if my client went to ‘Bits’ and saw one titled ‘home-sidebar’, they could edit it with whatever they wanted. Similarly if they wanted to add additional wording to the footer, they would go to ‘Bits’ and find ‘footer’ and edit the text there.
I think WP is a great platform for non-tech people.
Okay, so you’re actually referring to slicing the files into editable pieces from a “CMS” direction rather than what I was thinking you meant…. So that people can edit the content in various areas without messing with the php/html at all, rather like Contribute allows, correct?
Yeah. I guess I was thinking about it from a CMS perspective. To me the addition of Pages made WP a CMS more than just a blog. If you look at websites, there seems to be one more type of data block, something I am calling Bits.
Posts are large data (content) blocks that usually fall into a category. They are a part of a larger unit.
Pages are large data (content) blocks that are discrete.
Bits are smaller data (content) blocks that are also discrete.
Bits can be echoed anywhere within the page: inside the loop, outside the loop, in the sidebar, in the header, in the footer. Used in the template, Bits allow further separation of content and structure.
Again, I am looking at it from the non-tech, end-user’s perspective. I have some skills, so I don’t have a problem editing the template to add little content to the sidebar or change the footer. But I think it would be powerful if I could give this power to my clients.
vkaryl — Could you point me to ‘Contribute’? Thanks!
You also might like to see this article on adding asides:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Adding_Asides
Contribute is a Macromedia program. Head on over to their site at http://macromedia.com/ – there’ll be a link to Contribute there. Warning: it’s fairly pricy – and slow as hell on dialup.
What you’re describing is very possible while still storing content in the posts namespace (you just add a new post_status called bits) and then functions to pull out the bits based on args. I don’t have enough time for this, but someone else may.
Well that’s good news. Maybe someone else will find this idea has merit and take a shot at it. I think is would be a very useful addition to WP.
Does anyone with *free* time feel like taking a crack at this? I think ‘Bits’ would be very helpful.
This is a great idea, did anything ever come of it? “Bits” or “content blocks” is a very powerful concept that I think would work well with wordpress.
Kinda like putting those “bits” in their own category and styling them differently?
Like Asides! 🙂
Pages are large data (content) blocks that are discrete.
Bits are smaller data (content) blocks that are also discrete.
Your large could be small for me. And vice verse. What is more substantial difference?
Make specific category and hide it anywere on your site (‘Category Visibility’ or some other plugin may fit, or just custom template). Use this category posts as your bits.
The same could be done, but with pages approach. Hide part of them and use as needed to you bit purposes.
For me, even pages/posts separation is not necessary. BTW they are all records in the same DB table, if I remember correctly.
