TheMechanix
Newbie
- Sep 4, 2012
- 13
- 0
Is wordpress/joomla customization easy for 1 person to do. Can 1 person modify wordpress/joomla to look unique for his website? and is it worth the time?
Customize the cms
- Thread starter TheMechanix
- Start date
Endire
Elite Member
- Mar 27, 2012
- 1,756
- 1,075
TheMechanix,
This is a great question. The short answer to your question is yes, modifying these CMS's is easy for one person to do and they can be made to look nothing like their "out of the box" appearance. In fact, if you download a separate template for Joomla or Wordpress, you wouldn't need much modification to make it not look like a site build on one of these platforms. I suppose it would depend on whom you are trying to fool because a savvy person who looks at your source code will be able to tell pretty quickly what you are using.
Whether or not it is worth your time is a pretty subjective question. It would depend on what your goals are. CMS's are great for speeding up the programming process, making it easier for novices to change or add content, and automating tasks that mostly have to be done manually with a traditional website. If these things are important to you then it seems like you should go with a CMS.
If you have little or no programming knowledge I would venture to say that it won't matter what you choose to do because everything will take you a long time. You can be up and running faster with a CMS with little programming knowledge but modifying a template is another story.
Here is a piece of Joomla documentation on modifying a template. It may give you an idea of what you are in for,
http://docs.joomla.org/How_do_you_modify_a_template%3F
Here is a link to an intro on Wordpress templates,
http://codex.wordpress.org/Stepping_Into_Templates
Here is an interesting piece on the pros and cons of using a CMS,
http://www.digitalmousedesigns.com/...-you-really-need-a-content-management-system/
Hope this helps,
Shawn
This is a great question. The short answer to your question is yes, modifying these CMS's is easy for one person to do and they can be made to look nothing like their "out of the box" appearance. In fact, if you download a separate template for Joomla or Wordpress, you wouldn't need much modification to make it not look like a site build on one of these platforms. I suppose it would depend on whom you are trying to fool because a savvy person who looks at your source code will be able to tell pretty quickly what you are using.
Whether or not it is worth your time is a pretty subjective question. It would depend on what your goals are. CMS's are great for speeding up the programming process, making it easier for novices to change or add content, and automating tasks that mostly have to be done manually with a traditional website. If these things are important to you then it seems like you should go with a CMS.
If you have little or no programming knowledge I would venture to say that it won't matter what you choose to do because everything will take you a long time. You can be up and running faster with a CMS with little programming knowledge but modifying a template is another story.
Here is a piece of Joomla documentation on modifying a template. It may give you an idea of what you are in for,
http://docs.joomla.org/How_do_you_modify_a_template%3F
Here is a link to an intro on Wordpress templates,
http://codex.wordpress.org/Stepping_Into_Templates
Here is an interesting piece on the pros and cons of using a CMS,
http://www.digitalmousedesigns.com/...-you-really-need-a-content-management-system/
Hope this helps,
Shawn
QualityContentWriter
Junior Member
- Aug 24, 2012
- 151
- 77
I can't speak about Joomla (no experience there) but I use Wordpress for everything BECAUSE it's so easy for one person to customize, update, and maintain. Whenever I develop websites for local clients, they love that they don't have to call and wait for a webmaster to add new pictures or information... because I train them how to do it themselves.
I know what you meant is for initial development, and the best tip I have there is not to use a free theme or generic template. Those can be customized easily too, even without ever needing to touch the CSS (for the most part) but premium templates offer much more opportunity for customization. My favorite is the Builder framework by iThemes. (Sorry, I can't link yet) and that seems to be the easiest solution for complete customization of everything. No coding experience needed either.
I know what you meant is for initial development, and the best tip I have there is not to use a free theme or generic template. Those can be customized easily too, even without ever needing to touch the CSS (for the most part) but premium templates offer much more opportunity for customization. My favorite is the Builder framework by iThemes. (Sorry, I can't link yet) and that seems to be the easiest solution for complete customization of everything. No coding experience needed either.