Too often I get contacted by people who just spent a lot of either time and money to get a static HTML website setup who then want a WordPress blog theme to match their nice new website. Or those that want to start a website and then add a blog that will match. My question is always why? Why bother with both when WordPress can do it all?
Here is a list of things WordPress can do that you may want to know before you dump all that time and money into a static website with a blog added onto it.
- You can use a static front page with WordPress. With this option and WordPress setup on the root of your domain, your main website page will look just like the blog.
- You can create a different page template for the main or front page of your site that looks completely different than the blog. For example, you can create a page template without the sidebar or a sidebar different than the blog.
- You can add static pages just as easily as adding a blog post
- You can use the WordPress Links menu or what was called the Blogroll as your site navigation. Instead of showing the Pages of your site keep them off the sidebar and add links to your static pages in the Links menu under the category of your choice.
- Changing the look or theme of your WordPress Powered Site is very easily done with a few mouse clicks. No need to manually change every page because the content of your site is held within a database. Your WordPress theme isn’t tied to the pages or posts.
- Additional functionality can be added using plugins. If there is something you want your WordPress site to do, chances are a plugin is available for it. For example, a forum can be added by uploading the plugin and activating it.
The advantages of using WordPress to power a website are obvious once you understand the workings of WordPress and the power it has. If you are willing to learn how to customize WordPress to fit your needs all it takes is some time searching online. If it seems a bit intimidating to you there are many freelancers online that can set it up. Either way, there are not many reasons to pay to have someone create a static HTML template and then another to match a WordPress theme to it. That, in my opinion, is spending money twice on the same thing and really putting the cart before the horse.