WordPress.com Forums » Tag: Using WordPress.com to Create a Website - Recent Posts

glennfraser on "Content Magaement System"

glennfraser — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 11:44:35 +0000

Thank you "Timethief"
It appears I've got a lot of reading to do.
I'll follow your suggestions and I feel confident I'll have my Content Management System up and running by December 31, 2029 !

Thanks again.

Glenn

timethief on "Content Magaement System"

timethief — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 14:47:02 +0000

Please don't get all worked up about "building a website" or "content management system". Everything you list above can be done on any theme here.

1. You can create a static front page and a page for posts.
Please be sure you fully understand the differences between Pages and Posts. http://en.support.wordpress.com/post-vs-page/

The front page of the blog by default will display your posts (not pages) in reverse chronological order, with the most recently published post on top. If you do not want all the posts to show on the front page, then you can create a static front page called for example “Welcome” for your site and a “Blog” page for posts.

To do that create two pages > http://en.support.wordpress.com/pages/ After you do that you go to > Settings > Reading and make the designation change and click “save changes”.
http://en.support.wordpress.com/pages/front-page

2. Most but not all themes have a top horizontal menu bar. This is where tabs to static pages are displayed. However, if we want to we can create a cusom menu and display links to externals sites, etc. http://en.support.wordpress.com/pages/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/menus/

3. There are themes with either right hand or left hand sidebars and some have both. Many themes provide the ability to select a page template that hides the sidebar(s).

4. The majority of themes have custom header and custom background features. Some have featured images in featured posts.
http://en.support.wordpress.com/themes/custom-header-image/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/themes/custom-backgrounds/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/featured-images/

On the bottom of your Admin page you will find a link to the Learn WordPress.com blogging Tutorial prepared by Staff. http://learn.wordpress.com/
The support documentation is all found at the Support link http://en.support.wordpress.com which is also on the bottom of your Admin page.

timethief on "Content Magaement System"

timethief — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 14:31:33 +0000

blog = post based structure
website = page based structure

A blog is a website and any WordPress blog can be restructured from being post based to being page based, but let's put that aside for the moment. Please read this entry carefully > http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

You can use any theme here at WordPress.com to create a page based structure ie. a website rather than a post based structure ie. a blog. http://wordpress.com/themes/

On one hand, none of the characteristic "blog" features like categories, tags, authors, dates, etc. can be removed from a free hosted WordPress.com blog, without purchasing an annually renewable custom design upgrade and doing the required CSS editing.
http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/#frequently-asked-questions
http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/editing-css/

On the other hand, one can edit a WordPress.org theme free of charge. That's why I suggested you read the comparison > WordPress.com and WordPress.org: The Differences

glennfraser on "Content Magaement System"

glennfraser — Sun, 02 Jun 2013 13:42:15 +0000

I want to create a website with a static page as the home page. On the left side I want to place a menu consisting of several items and sub-items. This side menu will be the main way of accessing the content of the website.

At the top I want to have a short menu bar with just a few items such as "Home", "Post", "Contact Us", etc.
The right side of the home page will be text.

The "Post" selection on the top of the main menu will take me to my "blog" page where people can add "their two cents worth".

The majority of the content pages do not have to appear with the same left-side menu of the homepage; but, if that is the only way to build it, I can live with it.

I cannot find a theme that seems to satisfy these criteria. Can I modify the sample themes?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

I'm new to WordPress, have heard so much about it, but having some frustration with the existing themes. There are several books on WordPress but very little coverage of how to build a website.

Let me repeat. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks

Glenn

timethief on "Website"

timethief — Thu, 30 May 2013 21:04:30 +0000

A blog is a website and any WordPress blog can be restructured from being post based to being page base, but let's put that aside for the moment. Please read this entry > http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

You can use any theme here at WordPress.com to create a page based structure ie. a website rather than a post based structure ie. a blog. Before you make any decisions at all read this comparison carefully please http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

Also note that no WordPress.com themes can be exported and used on WordPress.org software.

On the other hand, one can edit a WordPress.org theme free of charge. That's why I suggested you read the comparison > WordPress.com and WordPress.org: The Differences

timethief on "Website"

timethief — Thu, 30 May 2013 21:01:51 +0000

Why bother doing that and then transferring? It makes no sense at all. Why not set up yopur WordPress.org install and blog on?

yourreflectphoto on "Website"

yourreflectphoto — Thu, 30 May 2013 21:00:27 +0000

I have just signed up for a wordpress account and I would like to know, instead of using it as a blog, how can I use wordpress to make a website? Also, How can I add a photo gallery on my website using wordpress?

Secondly, Once I have created a website using wordpress, How do I transfer it over to bluehost.com where I host my website?

Best,

Jerry

Keep up the wonderful work!

yourreflectphoto on "Website"

yourreflectphoto — Thu, 30 May 2013 20:59:34 +0000

Secondly, Once I have created a website using wordpress, How do I transfer it over to bluehost.com where I host my website?

Best,

Jerry

Keep up the wonderful work!

justpi on "Theme for a static site"

justpi — Thu, 30 May 2013 13:43:16 +0000

You can also visit the Theme Showcase site, where you can read about all themes and see demos in action:
http://theme.wordpress.com/

raincoaster on "Theme for a static site"

raincoaster — Thu, 30 May 2013 13:04:12 +0000

On the Themes page of the dashboard, the search box has a filter, it's a drop down menu I believe, and you can click it to search for Dark themes or Three Column themes or whatever you want.

Note that newer themes are configurable and do not come out of the box looking the way they do in the previews. WHY the designers show previews of things that are not the default I will never know.

maurymarkowitz on "Theme for a static site"

maurymarkowitz — Thu, 30 May 2013 10:57:05 +0000

Thanks justpi, I'll go look at those!

raincoaster, how do you do such a search? Is there a tag or some way to find those? I can see the previews in the many pages of examples, but they aren't *really* what the blog looks like. Am I doing it wrong?

justpi on "Theme for a static site"

justpi — Thu, 30 May 2013 00:57:06 +0000

A few wide themes:
Adventure Journal *
Andrea (flexible option)
Bouquet *
Comet *
Fusion *
Modularity Lite *
Mystique *
Nishita (photoblog option) *
Stay
Sidekick

* if you don't add any sidebar widgets or if you select the no-sidebar layout.

raincoaster on "Theme for a static site"

raincoaster — Thu, 30 May 2013 00:32:30 +0000

Just do a search for themes with one column, ie no sidebars.

maurymarkowitz on "Theme for a static site"

maurymarkowitz — Thu, 30 May 2013 00:23:43 +0000

Let me put this differently…

All of the themes I am looking at now have a little text portion in the middle, and HUGE areas on either side for links.

I have no links. So my page ends up being mostly whitespace.

So does anyone have a suggestion on a theme that devotes more space to the body and less to the navigation areas?

maurymarkowitz on "Theme for a static site"

maurymarkowitz — Thu, 30 May 2013 00:20:51 +0000

Hmmm. I'm aware of the differences between COM and ORG, and I'd like to stick with COM.

There's a lot of links in your post and none of them seem to address this issue.

Are you saying that there are no suitable themes?

andrewcpht on "phone support available?"

andrewcpht — Sat, 04 May 2013 03:13:22 +0000

The article I mentioned does a pretty good job of explaining the pros and cons of each form of WordPress.

WordPress.com can put advertising on your blog (only viewable to logged out users, I believe), and they make money from Addons like Premium Themes, Domain Mapping, Custom Design, etc.

Which solution works best for you depends on your situation.

paulv36 on "phone support available?"

paulv36 — Sat, 04 May 2013 03:10:47 +0000

Interesting, I was not aware of the difference.
In your opinion, is it better to move to the WordPress.com site? I read the difference between the two, but wonder how the .com site can offer free hosting? is there a charge for anything?

andrewcpht on "phone support available?"

andrewcpht — Sat, 04 May 2013 02:46:17 +0000

It appears that your website at gpsnvision.com is hosted at 1and1 hosting using the free software available from WordPress.org. This forum is only for sites that are hosted at WordPress.com. Please post your questions regarding this site at http://www.wordpress.org/support.

For more information on the difference between WordPress.COM and WordPress.ORG, see this article: http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

paulv36 on "phone support available?"

paulv36 — Sat, 04 May 2013 02:41:05 +0000

Thank you for responding,

I have several pages in my website, in every page I have a contact form on the left side of the page. In some pages I like the option of not showing the contact form. You can see what I mean by going to gpsnvision.com and click on any page and will see the contact form.
I believe the designer made that form with a something named srf_prettylinks-include.

hope this clarifies what I'm trying to do.

andrewcpht on "phone support available?"

andrewcpht — Sat, 04 May 2013 02:02:47 +0000

To what site address are you referring, when you say "The contact form is showing in all the pages."?

Or do you mean the box entitled "Leave a Reply"? This is the comment box, which can be turned off by editing the specific page. While Editing the page, click Screen Options at the top right and turn on Discussion Box. The Discussion box will then appear, and you will be able to uncheck the two checkboxes, then save the page.

paulv36 on "phone support available?"

paulv36 — Sat, 04 May 2013 01:37:45 +0000

How can I choose where to show my contact form. The contact form is showing in all the pages, and I want to choose what pages show the contact form.

timethief on "Theme for a static site"

timethief — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:00:49 +0000

A blog is a website and any WordPress blog can be restructured from being post based to being page base, but let's put that aside for the moment. Before you make any decisions at all read this comparison carefully please http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

You can use any theme here http://wordpress.com/themes/ to create a page based structure ie. a website rather than a post based structure ie. a blog. Before you make any decisions at all read this comparison carefully please http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

On the other hand, one can edit a WordPress.org theme free of charge. That's why I suggested you read the comparison > WordPress.com and WordPress.org: The Differences

If you remaining at WordPress.com suits you see > Using WordPress.com to Create a Website http://en.support.wordpress.com/using-wordpress-to-create-a-website/

Here’s a link to a custom menu walk-through > http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2011/08/11/wordpress-com-custom-menu-walk-through/

There are many common errors, misunderstanding and misconceptions when creating custom menus and you can read about them here > http://wpbtips.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/custom-menus/

maurymarkowitz on "Theme for a static site"

maurymarkowitz — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:38:49 +0000

Hi everyone!

I'm bringing an old site of mine back up on WP. I'm using WP because it gives me easy online editing, ftp'ing is so 20th century.

But the themes I've seen are *strongly* oriented towards blogs. Perhaps someone might suggest one of the built-in themes that might work better for my site?

The site is http://gamesoffame.wordpress.com

janolynkeller on "Can I make a whole website?"

janolynkeller — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 14:57:01 +0000

Thank you for this information. I will check out the links that you gave me and see what I will do.

timethief on "How do I change domain name"

timethief — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:31:01 +0000

Also, I'm trying to set up a website and not a blog.

You can use any theme here to create a page based structure ie. a website rather than a post based structure ie. a blog. Before you make any decisions at all read this comparison carefully please http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

On the other hand, one can edit a WordPress.org theme free of charge. That's why I suggested you read the comparison > WordPress.com and WordPress.org: The Differences

If you remaining at WordPress.com suits you see > Using WordPress.com to Create a Website http://en.support.wordpress.com/using-wordpress-to-create-a-website/

Here’s a link to a custom menu walk-through > http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2011/08/11/wordpress-com-custom-menu-walk-through/

There are many common errors, misunderstanding and misconceptions when creating custom menus and you can read about them here > http://wpbtips.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/custom-menus/

timethief on "How do I change domain name"

timethief — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:28:58 +0000

A blog is a website and any WordPress blog can be restructured from being post based to being page base, but let's put that aside for the moment.

Follow these instructions as you already have a domain that you registered elsewhere, and you want to map that domain to your blog. http://support.wordpress.com/domain-mapping/map-existing-domain/

After you make the domain mapping purchase here > Dashboard > Store > My Upgrades and do the set up it can take between 24 - 72 hours for domain name propagation to take place throughout the internet. You can view the DNS changes here > http://www.whatsmydns.net/ What's important during that stage is to be patient.

jonathanhare on "How do I change domain name"

jonathanhare — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 23:25:39 +0000

domain name change
I recently purchased the WordPress Value Bundle. I also recently purchased the web domain: johnyounges.com from GoDaddy.com.
Can you please tell me how I go about changing the current domain name to johnyounges.com?
When I go to the dashboard I see no settings button for this option.
Also, I'm trying to set up a website and not a blog.
I'm technically challenged...

thistimethisspace on "Can I make a whole website?"

thistimethisspace — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 21:10:21 +0000

Yes you can use any theme here to create a page based structure ie. a website rather than a post based structure ie. a blog. Before you make any decisions at all read this comparison carefully please http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

On the other hand, one can edit a WordPress.org theme free of charge. That's why I suggested you read the comparison > WordPress.com and WordPress.org: The Differences

If remaining at WordPress.com suits you see > Using WordPress.com to Create a Website http://en.support.wordpress.com/using-wordpress-to-create-a-website/

Here’s a link to a custom menu walk-through > http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2011/08/11/wordpress-com-custom-menu-walk-through/

There are many common errors, misunderstanding and misconceptions when creating custom menus and you can read about them here > http://wpbtips.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/custom-menus/

janolynkeller on "Can I make a whole website?"

janolynkeller — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:56:12 +0000

Can I make a whole website around my blog template? I have a website that I am wanting to change significantly and was wondering if I can move it here. I have a domain name and all that already, but want to make my space a little more what I want to portray.

timethief on "Can I use wordpress.com as a hompage & remove blog look?"

timethief — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 22:23:15 +0000

Yes you can do that here.
See > Using WordPress.com to Create a Website http://en.support.wordpress.com/using-wordpress-to-create-a-website/

Here’s a link to a custom menu walk-through > http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2011/08/11/wordpress-com-custom-menu-walk-through/

There are many common errors, misunderstanding and misconceptions when creating custom menus and you can read about them here > http://wpbtips.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/custom-menus/

On one hand, none of the characteristic "blog" features like categories, tags, authors, dates, etc. can be removed from a free hosted WordPress.com blog without purchasing an annually renewable custom design upgrade and doing the required CSS editing.
http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/
http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/#frequently-asked-questions
http://en.support.wordpress.com/custom-design/editing-css/

On that other hand, one can edit a WordPress.org theme free of charge. That's why I suggested you read this comparison > WordPress.com and WordPress.org: The Differences http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/