Title: WP overrated?
Last modified: August 20, 2016

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# WP overrated?

 *  [Kartoony](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kartoony/)
 * (@kartoony)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/)
 * I know I’m going to get a lot of blowback on this, but I have to say, after fiddling
   and futzing around with WP for two days now – I’ve TWICE completely removed the
   WP install and attempted to again – I’ve attempted to use free templates but 
   can’t make heads nor tails out of the documentation I still do not have a working
   website . I’m not a coder, although I have written code and worked with the web
   since the early 80’s.
 * All I want to do is get content published – NOT futz around with PHP. Every post
   I read concerning problems I had, eventually, reverted to PHP code.
 * Thank heaven, Adobe has recently released MUSE. At first I thought it was a totally
   useless process with the apparent “ease” of using WP.
 * But I thank WP for all the problems because it simply points me back to MUSE.
   If I have to learn code and “work arounds” to get WP to do what I want then I’ll
   just continue my study of MUSE.
 * I realize WP was NOT intended to be a website creation tool – it was designed
   as a blogging tool. But the allusion given, on many, many websites is that you
   CAN use WP to create fully functional websites.
 * Perhaps that’s true and I’m just a flaming idiot, but I’m DONE with this foolishness.
 * Just my two cents.

Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 22 total)

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 *  [michael.mariart](https://wordpress.org/support/users/michaelmariart/)
 * (@michaelmariart)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218474)
 * I can understand your frustration. It does take a long time to learn any new 
   tool, and WordPress is just the same.
 * If you’re just looking to throw up a iste, set a theme and add a few pages/posts,
   then it’s easy. I get the feeling from what you’ve written that most of your 
   frustration comes from you wanting to do more then the standard core functionality,
   and finding out that you need to do modifications to achieve this? If that’s 
   the case, then that’s just how it goes with any tool. There’s never going to 
   be one single thing that will be able to do everything that you and everyone 
   else want it to – that’s just way to complex.
 * After two days of trying I would never consider you to be a “flaming idiot”. 
   I came into this with years of PHP work behind me, and it still took me a few
   months to get used to how it all worked and what I needed to do to really get
   my mods working correctly.
 *  Thread Starter [Kartoony](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kartoony/)
 * (@kartoony)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218513)
 * Thanks for your reply, Mike.
 * I had big hopes for WP at my school – that it could be a great teaching and collaboration
   tool. But if it’s this difficult for me to use, then I don’t think it’s going
   to work for them.
 * I’m not sure what to do at this point.
 *  [michael.mariart](https://wordpress.org/support/users/michaelmariart/)
 * (@michaelmariart)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218521)
 * Well, exactly how far do you want to change/modify things? Are you looking to
   put up a site with a basic theme and just add content, or do you want to do some
   extra modifications?
 * If you can stick to the standard functionality you can do a whole lot still. 
   If all you want to do is publish some content, install WP, throw on a theme, 
   and start writing.
 * I have built a couple of decent sites without anything more then a theme and 
   some HTML layouts in my pages/posts. It’s only when you want to do something 
   that’s not in the core functionality that you’ll need to start getting into the
   coding side of things. Remember that there’s a huge amount of plugins out there
   that can extend the functionality as well, os it’s worth looking through the 
   list to see if there’s anything that can help with what you are looking to do.
 *  Thread Starter [Kartoony](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kartoony/)
 * (@kartoony)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218523)
 * Well…I may have to eat some crow. I think I’m beginning to make sense of all 
   of this. I think my problem was I tried to do too much in too short a period 
   of time. Clearly this is something that takes some learning. But before I can
   work with the teachers I have to understand it myself. I don’t want them going
   through what I went through. We’ll see how it all works out.
 * I appreciate your follow-up and calming me down.
 * Thanks
 *  [etchedinpixels](https://wordpress.org/support/users/etchedinpixels/)
 * (@etchedinpixels)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218526)
 * Hi Kartoony,
 * I understand your frustration. WP still has a ways to go, particularly with the
   abysmal media organization (or lack of it). But I think it’s not that bad. In
   the last month I’ve made a pretty decent website from scratch. It’s not an obvious
   WP site, and didn’t require really any coding… but a tad bit of CSS.
 * Let me know if you have any questions. You can view it here:
 * [http://etchedinpixels.com/](http://etchedinpixels.com/)
 * I have a post where I list my recommended WP Plugins at the end. It might help
   
   [http://etchedinpixels.com/recommended/recommended_web-hosting/](http://etchedinpixels.com/recommended/recommended_web-hosting/)
 *  Thread Starter [Kartoony](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kartoony/)
 * (@kartoony)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218527)
 * Nice clean site – that’s what I like about WP. The only thing that concerns me
   is that WP sites all seem to look the same. Of course, it’s the content that 
   should set the site apart – nice images BTW – what filters do you use for post
   processing?
 * I agree about the media organization – that’s what led to my original frustration.
 * I’ve been looking at some Gallery software that my hosting company offers: Gallery,
   Piwigo, Coppermine, Zen Photo, etc. I’m thinking it would probably be pretty 
   easy to do some simple linking (well, shut my mouth – NOTHING is ever simple).
 * It appears to me that WP creates individual posts for each image and then, somehow
   links it all together into a Gallery – kind of kludgy??? I’m using a Free Template
   from Vandelaydesign.com.
 * I REALLY do NOT want to spend a lot of time “webmastering” – I want to focus 
   on my photography and post production work. I was hoping WP would help me achieve
   that goal, but it’s looking like that’s not going to happen.
 * OK – I take that back about those galleries – after perusing a couple of their
   sites, it looks like a lot of trouble – better stick with Flickr for now.
 * Let me restate what I said earlier – “nothing is easy”!
 *  [etchedinpixels](https://wordpress.org/support/users/etchedinpixels/)
 * (@etchedinpixels)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218531)
 * Thanks for taking a look. By “look the same” I assume you are referring to the
   similar layout that one is forced into using. Yes, one is forced into a general
   template and way of doing things.
 * For post-processing I have no one workflow. But generally I shoot RAW and do 
   color enhancement in Lightroom. I also do skin softening or sharpening in there
   for portraits. Lately I have been using Photoshop and Nik Efex Pro 4 to bring
   out more detail and drama. That’s been pretty effective.
 * I haven’t been satisfied with any of the WP media organization plugins. None 
   of them are plug-and-play, drag-and-drop. So instead I keep my photos on a separate
   service. When you go to[ gallery.etchedinpixels.com](http://gallery.etchedinpixels.com)
   you are actually going to my Smugmug gallery. But for new users I’d suggest **
   Zenfolio** (cheaper and better organized). Zenfolio even has blogging built in
   at no extra charge. You really should check them out. 14 day free trial.
 * You could also use Lightroom to export some pretty slick galleries, and just 
   upload them to a web server. It’s a nice solution but doesn’t have the ecommerce
   built in.
 * I prefer using some other site to host the photos because I can more easily reorganize
   them and update the development settings using a Zenfolio Lightroom plugin.
 * One thing though, if you go this route: I recommend you create local copies of
   your images on your WP site. You don’t want a broken image if you change something
   at Zenfolio.
 * Again, check out Zenfolio. It might save you the trouble of Webmastering. I didn’t
   use the blog feature but it seems like it might ameliorate the frustration you
   had with other services. ZF is also way more professional looking than Flickr.
   And more customizable as well.
 * I’m interested in taking a look at your images. Go ahead and add me at flickr:
   [http://www.flickr.com/photos/calleyne/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/calleyne/)
   
   or via WordPress if you have your blog online.
 *  Thread Starter [Kartoony](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kartoony/)
 * (@kartoony)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218532)
 * You know the story of the Shoemaker’s kids not having great shoes? My Flickr 
   site sucks right now – but I’m working on my [website](http://easternshoremedia.com).
 * It’s taken me a while to get my head wrapped around digital photography. I grew
   up with film – and a lot of B&W. My dad was a pro photog and I grew up on Speed
   Grafix. Heck color didn’t even come about until my teens? My mother did “oils”
   of my dad’s B&W work – many a night she’d be up until 3-4AM retouching and coloring
   senior portraits that dad was developing in the basement. I remember when he 
   processed his first roll of color film. That was back in the day when the “color
   lab” was the big thing – we used one in NJ I think.
 * I like the looks of Zenfolio but I really don’t want to sell stuff online. I’m
   not sure I even want to do a lot with ESM. I’m just trying to see if I can get
   that off the ground. Maybe pick up a couple of projects to work with along side
   my [day job](http://countryschool.org).
 * Here’s a link to my [school Flickr photo stream](http://www.flickr.com/photos/85010346@N06/sets/).
   I’m working on a project to get all the school photos of the last couple of years
   up on Flickr. Most of the 2012 stuff is mine – particularly the sports stuff.
   I don’t do much post processing since I shoot a lot of images. I’m doing a fair
   amount of multimedia work for the school particularly projects [like this](https://vimeo.com/53198772).
   Hope to do more promotional work for the school.
 * Yeah – backup is one reason I started looking at Flickr and SmugMug (I had an
   account). Right now I’m just letting CrashPlan (used to use Carbonite – but they
   won’t backup external drives) backup all my photos. I’ve got over two terrabytes
   with them so far.
 * ANYHOO…this is getting WAY off topic. If you want to continue talking shop feel
   free to email me @ john dot orban @ gmail.com. I LOVE talking photography. In
   fact, I think what you’re doing and what folks like [these guys ](http://artisticefex.com)
   are doing is the future of photography.
 * Although, [my photographer ](http://katiepegher.com)is doing some pretty good
   stuff without that “artsy-fartsy” stuff (but imagine what she COULD do). I just
   don’t think it’s good enough just to take good photos – capture great images –
   Ansel Adams did that in B&W 50+ years ago!!
 * I’m always looking (and trying to encourage others) to come up with the “next
   great thing”. It’s a constant learning (and growing) process.
 * Cheers,
    John
 *  [k_nitin_r](https://wordpress.org/support/users/k_nitin_r/)
 * (@k_nitin_r)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218533)
 * You should use the Quick Post interface on WordPress.com to give things a spin.
   WordPress.org is a very extensible platform that you can use for development 
   or build a quick-n-dirty website. There’s a reason why 55% of CMS systems on 
   the web run WordPress, and I discovered it after trying out stuff that was difficult
   to setup and configure. Installing plugins in WordPress is a breeze! So is developing
   widgets.
 *  Thread Starter [Kartoony](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kartoony/)
 * (@kartoony)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218544)
 * Yah – I’m beginning to believe. My thing is that I tend to get sidetracked and
   WP has some very attractive features that could do that – creating themes and
   developing widgets for example. I’m trying a couple of themes to see if they 
   will do what I want, but I fear, eventually, I’ll be drawn to the dark side of
   WP development.
 * I do believe, however, there there is great potential for folks to learn WP inside
   and out and help others develop websites to REALLY be drag and drop simple.
 * I’m thinking of a friend, for example, who has an incredible collection of B&
   W images his father took back in the 30’s in the Mid-West. He used very high 
   end equipment (for the time) and left behind a treasure trove of 4X5 negatives.
   John has been using Photoshop to bring these images back to life and it’s a shame
   that the only way you can see them is to stop by his office and see the gallery
   he has hanging up all over the place (which, BTW, is a GREAT way to display art).
 * There just is NO WAY he has the technical skills (nor does he want them, as far
   as I can tell) to do everything to create a website that we all just take for
   granted.
 * He could, very easily, upload images and write posts, but, let’s face it, for
   someone just starting out, the whole process of obtaining a domain name, buying
   hosting, setting up the templates and all that is daunting.
 * On one hand you could say, “Look, get with it. If you want to participate in 
   this technology – learn it!”
 * But that’s old skool high priest technology and is the reason why Facebook has
   a billion users.
 * I’d love to help him, but don’t know if I have the time to set it all up and 
   then field the phone calls I KNOW will be coming as he encounters issues.
 * Face it – NOTHING IS EASY (anymore). I’m finding WP is pretty slick, but there’s
   a learning curve (as with anything I suppose). I’ll figure it out, but can I 
   then transfer that knowledge to someone like John so he can do what he wants 
   to do, which is just display his art.
 * To be continued…
 *  [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/)
 * (@esmi)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218545)
 * > can I then transfer that knowledge to someone like John so he can do what he
   > wants to do
 * Assuming he is willing to learn, then yes. I have clients who are sculptors and
   clothes designers who have learnt, over time, to handle pretty much everything
   on their own WordPress sites. Yes – it takes time and there is a learning curve
   but theme there’s always a learning curve with any new technology. WordPress 
   is so much more powerful than Facebook – hence the learning curve is a little
   steeper. But there’s a lot of online documentation already available – and more
   coming soon specifically for non-technical users.
 * Why not get him started with a free wordpress.com site? The WP interface is identical
   but there’s no messing around with domain names or hosting. That way, he can 
   see if he can get used to WordPress with zero cash outlay.
 *  [etchedinpixels](https://wordpress.org/support/users/etchedinpixels/)
 * (@etchedinpixels)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218546)
 * [@kartoony](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kartoony/)
 * I’m really confused. There seem to be at least 2 people posting under your account:
   John and whoever made the last post referring to John. This unfortunately makes
   it hard to sort out the conversation. It would be good for you to create another
   account and post separately.
 * Which leads to a side note: WordPress supports multiple users. The different 
   people can make separate posts, and it will note the author. The separate users
   can also have their own WordPress.com/org commenting accounts and avatars.
 * If you guys/girls really can’t bear to use separate forum accounts, it would 
   be helpful if you at least signed your posts (although I’m afraid this will lead
   to even more confusion).
 *  Thread Starter [Kartoony](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kartoony/)
 * (@kartoony)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218547)
 * Sorry about that. I’m me – the John I was referring to was my friend who has 
   the photos. Actually he’s my dentist but we both share an interest in photography.
   He’s more into the post production end after discovering the old negatives. The
   photos adorn his dental office and are just fascinating to look at. Farm life
   in the 30’s – a real step back into history – the kind of stuff that was done
   for that WPA project, I believe, that sent photographers out around the country
   documenting life during the depression? These photos, however, were those taken
   by an advanced amateur. This guy knew what he was doing and had the equipment
   to back it up. I can’t remember what John said he did, but he had some kind of
   high level job – college professor or something like that. Point is, he had the
   bucks to buy the equipment he needed and the time and inclination to document
   his family.
 * Anyhow…I’m trying to figure out the easiest and best way for him to get a web
   presence so that he can share these photos. I can tell you, if the technology
   gets in the way, the project probably will die. I’ve got to make it easy for 
   him so that he can focus on restoring and developing those negatives rather than
   fiddling and futzing around with web sites and such.
 * As you and I have discussed before, the gallery properties of WP are kind of 
   clunky and I just don’t want that to be a problem for him.
 * But, sorry for the confusion – I could have been clearer.
 *  [esmi](https://wordpress.org/support/users/esmi/)
 * (@esmi)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218548)
 * WordPress + a suitable gallery plugin would seem to be the best way forward. 
   You might also want to look at using a photoblogging theme to show those images
   off to best advantage.
 *  Thread Starter [Kartoony](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kartoony/)
 * (@kartoony)
 * [13 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/#post-3218549)
 * What gallery plugin would you recommend?
 * I’ve looked at photoblogging themes and, quite frankly, they seem to complicate
   matters.
 * I’ve also looked at some open source gallery software which my ISP supports and
   thought I could easily link to, but that software is not very intuitive.
 * Chris has recommended ZenFolio and I have to admit that looks pretty good but
   it has a gazillion bells and whistles that have to be configured to make it work
   right – something I don’t have time to do for John or even myself. Those type
   of sites assume you want to sell photos and I know I don’t want to do that now
   and I’m not sure John would. And even if he does, there’s that whole piece to
   configure correctly and maintain.
 * Like I said, there is nothing easy.
 * But I would like some recommendations for gallery plugins. In my own case, something
   that will support video as well as images. The majority of what I do is video.
   Right now I’m posting everything I do to Vimeo with embed code on other sites.
 * There are absolutely no limits to storage and bandwidth with my current ISP –
   which I think is a great deal. Yeah, it’s a shared service, but I have the options
   to go to a virtual server or even my own hardware if and when the need arises.
 * Those of us who have been fiddling with this stuff just take it for granted. 
   When you start to break it all down – like you need to do to explain it to someone
   else, you realize how complex it all still is. As much as we’d like to **think**
   it’s simple, it really is not.

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 * In: [Requests and Feedback](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/requests-and-feedback/)
 * 22 replies
 * 7 participants
 * Last reply from: [Kartoony](https://wordpress.org/support/users/kartoony/)
 * Last activity: [13 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wp-overrated/page/2/#post-3218570)
 * Status: not resolved

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