Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I am looking to redo my website and building a better website with links to facebook and other social networks, are there any recommendations on using wordpress? Do you have any other recommendations??

Hello! I just started using wordpress and I am loving it!

When I started few months ago I had zero knowledge with websites, but I have few tips to share with you about your wordpress site!

1-    Theme is important: I would recommend you buy a professional theme, average $60. I got mine from these guys, http://www.gabfirethemes.com/category/themes/

a.       Professional themes load faster and give you more options as far as customizing the look of your site.

b.      You also get support from their admins if you join their forums.

2-     Plugins, try not to get into the habit of using too much plug-ins because they take time to load.

3-    Important plugins that you must have. You can choose similar to these plugins but you got to take advantage of their functionalities.

a.     W3 Total Cache

b.     WordPress SEO

This is a list of the plugins I have right now. I have deactivated few because I try to limit my plugins. Also, you may want to consider Wibiya Toolbar, but it does take a while to load. I had to deactivate it because it was giving me to many Internal Server Error every time I activated it .

Wordpress is definitely the way to go.  As mentioned by previous posters, it is a good idea to invest in a premium theme.  I would suggest StudioPress or WooThemes.  

Let us know if you have specific questions regarding WordPress.

I'd recommend studiopress, but you should consider what you what to accomplish with your wordpress site before selecting a the theme and theme source.

I find Studiopress has some nice features that enable me to controll the design of the site and display of content in the way I want.

~Roland

Along the same lines, what are the best plug-ins for wordpress when creating a membership site?  and for adding a photo gallery?  Adding a video gallery?

Along the same lines, what are the best plug-ins for wordpress when creating a membership site?  and for adding a photo gallery?  Adding a video gallery?

wordpress is the perfect platform to perform well looking dynamic website but it also depends on specific business requirement. If you have small website and just need a few changes, you don't need to do it with wordpress but if you have large dynamic website and want to have more way to upload content or to make a changes dynamically through user panel, word press is an ultimate option as there is a library of large plug-ins to make each and everything easier and effortless.

There's a wealth of great plugins for wordpress, take a look at the directory listing at http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/ , it's best to choose those that have good reviews and/or have been integrated a lot of times.  

If there's nothing suitable a good web developer will be able to either customise the plugins already available or build a custom one which fits perfectly the needs of your situation.  

Good luck