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  • #190022
    justaguy
    Participant

    Recommitting myself, after a long hiatus, to getting a hold on RWD, or “Adaptive Web Design.” Thanks for your patience. As I recall the search function here isn’t all that “precise” shall we say?

    I have been reading for weeks it seems, taking notes getting a handle on a few important concepts. I thought I’d turn to you guys for some rather elemental questions, hope you don’t mind. I know you guys are a valuable resource!

    Starting simple:

    Question #1

    I am at a loss here, distinguishing the overall benefits to either using WordPress to build my first RWD site on, or should I tackle it with “just” HTML5 & CSS3? I have a very general understanding of PHP, would it be worth my time and energy in becoming more “intimate” with it. I hesitate to use any of the zillions of themes out there, because I feel they would be self-limiting. I have the most recent version of “Bones” for it’s mobile first bells and whistles because ………. I think that’s what I might need if you tell me to “Go WordPress!”

    I realize the answer is dependent upon the content, naturally. My site is “static” in nature, nothing that would required a database per se, nor it is a “blog” in the classic sense.

    Can I get someone to help steer me in the right direction? Or point me to a resource that is all encompassing for my dilemma?

    Thanks & Cheers

    #190025
    justaguy
    Participant

    Thanks chrisburton for your very prompt response. Much appreciated.

    I will check into both Kirby & Statamic.

    I had the same thoughts, but was guilty of over thinking it by rationalizing it would be 2X the work. It’s difficult at best to find articles, etc. touting the benefits of any alternate CMS outside WordPress on the web. It has been my experience at least.

    Ahhh, solid direction! Many thanx.

    #190028
    justaguy
    Participant

    Wow, chris, am impressed with your support.

    I am doing a precursory review of both Kirby & Statamic as I type this. Google search results for a comparison of the 2 informs me of both Pico and Monstra, with flot thrown in as well. You can see where I’m “headed,” I’ll leave it at that for the moment. :)

    It pays to ask, have never heard of “flat file CMS” before this. However, my focus has been on “other” fish though ……

    Thanks again mate!

    #190068
    justaguy
    Participant

    Thanks for your input Shikkediel

    My intention, though perhaps unclear, is to make a decision if a CMS solution is even necessary –> the topic of my thread. My limited experience has been in working on static sites only. Now is the time I need to start thinking about the future, and the skills necessary to build dynamic sites as well, hence approaching the idea of the potential necessity of a CMS.

    Let me digress. I am (reasonably) comfortable with HTML and CSS, though no guru. I have decided to put in the time to hone my skills and approach RWD. I figure there is no better time than the present to take the “plunge” as RWD is the “new” standard.

    Since I am starting at square one, I am faced with important decisions that should be made now before going much further. Rather than recreating the wheel, it is my current belief that I should become familiar with a workable, non-bloated, well supported and efficient CMS that will support static and dynamic sites and work within that. Though the idea of being dependent on a proprietary solution has me confused and cautious. It is beginning to sound as though WordPress is not the “be all and end all” that I thought it was. Wouldn’t my time be better spent learning to work with a CMS, with it’s robust pre-existing framework than have to learn the components, and build my own?

    I welcome all commentary and input.

    Thanks

    #190069
    Alen
    Participant

    There is nothing wrong with WordPress. It’s by far the most popular CMS. So many resources and tutorials, other frameworks can’t even come close. To say that WP is not for beginners is ludacris. From the resources perspective, I bet Kirby or others would be far more difficult to get a handle on as a beginner.

    and the skills necessary to build dynamic sites

    Just get up and going with WordPress on DigitalOcean. And start coding. You are contemplating way too much. Just make a decision and go with it. Paralysis by analysis.

    I am faced with important decisions that should be made now before going much further

    There is no wrong decision, the only wrong decision is to not make a decision.

    As you learn and get familiar with all things related to web development, your opinion will change over time. And you’ll likely rewrite 50 times whatever you are about to write now. This is why I say, just pick something and roll with it.

    #190073
    justaguy
    Participant

    Alen

    There is nothing wrong with WordPress. It’s by far the most popular CMS. So many resources and tutorials, other frameworks can’t even come close. To say that WP is not for beginners is ludacris. From the resources perspective, I bet Kirby or others would be far more difficult to get a handle on as a beginner.

    Quickly coming to the very same conclusion. I am thinking Bones?

    You are contemplating way too much. Just make a decision and go with it. Paralysis by analysis.
    There is no wrong decision, the only wrong decision is to not make a decision.

    #190077
    justaguy
    Participant

    chrisburton

    It seems some of us are disagreeing on something that you don’t seem ready for. RWD is a part of HTML and CSS. You need to understand the very basics before getting involved in any CMS. That’s just my opinion.

    Currently, I have spent a considerable amount of time coming to learn and understand the essentials and foundations of RWD. Again, I point out I am not a guru in this area either. You might say I know enough to realize it is not rocket science, the documentation is more plentiful than it was when in its infancy. That has been part of my approach until I felt that I needed further assistance in my decision-making before I started on my “test” project. No harm, no foul. I guess I should warn all, it will be a learning process for now and the immediate future, and I fully anticipate coming back with questions on RWD that research has either been unable to solve on my own, or has left me uncertain as to solutions which fall under best practices. We all are aware, “there is more than one way to skin a cat,” so to speak.

    I anticipated, as with most forums, a heated debate may result. Guys, please keep a level-head. It would be my loss if resentments between those posting to assist me were to occur because of differing opinions.

    #190080
    __
    Participant

    To say that WP is not for beginners is ludacris. From the resources perspective, I bet Kirby or others would be far more difficult to get a handle on as a beginner.

    It depends of the beginner. You can’t really look at (e.g.) WP and Kirby and decide which is better “for beginners.” Better at what? What beginner? I f you want a platform that handles all the CMS duties, and you can find stuff that does anything you want premade, and allows you to focus on your content, then WP is probably “better for beginners” than Kirby.

    If you want to learn PHP, then no way, steer clear of WP.
    (TBC, WP isn’t flat-out “bad.” It’s got two main problems: first, it was written a long time ago, and has built up considerably since then. This means there is a lot of stuff tacked-on to a legacy code. It’s very hard to learn modern programming approaches and best practices by exploring the WP codebase.

    Second, WP is (by and large) a community of beginners. This isn’t bad in and of itself (in fact, it’s a result of being so successful and fairly easy to use). But, a lot of third-party developers are basically beginners themselves. Almost anything you want is available as a WP plugin, but almost all of it is terribly coded. WP uses (…should be) very very picky, lest they install a plugin that is buggy, excessively slow, introduces security vulnerabilities, or is outright malicious.

    I have decided to put in the time to hone my skills and approach RWD.

    See, you’ve been saying this all along. Leave the CMS question aside: whip out your plain text editor and start writing HTML+CSS. RWD has nothing to do with content management. What with html-ipsum and placekitten, you don’t need content at all to practice design.

    #190082
    __
    Participant

    Guys, please keep a level-head. It would be my loss if resentments between those posting to assist me were to occur because of differing opinions.

    no worries.

    WE ALL HATE EACH OTHER ANYWAY. right folks? I think chris is getting a restraining order against me (I recommended learning python in another thread)

    #190086
    justaguy
    Participant

    Thanx all, seriously.

    I was afraid I would have been labeled as some fly-by-night “newbie” and not taken to be the serious sort of person that I am.

    RWD has nothing to do with content management.

    I am aware of that, thanks for reaffirming that point for me. RWD can stand alone.

    It’s always best to get perspectives from both sides to that you can at least come to your own conclusion.

    That’s why I’m here. I realize the consequences of asking for opinions.

    I apologize if it came off as anything but a respectful disagreement.

    No apologies necessary. I just don’t want to lose a valuable resource. I’m selfish like that.

    #190093
    justaguy
    Participant

    Are there questions we haven’t addressed yet?

    Not to my knowledge, Chris.

    Thanks for asking.

    I would hope my anticipated requests for assistance in the future are met with equal satisfaction.

    #190100
    Alen
    Participant

    I get that you use WordPress so you have some sort of loyalty to it

    I use many tools. WP is one of them. I’m not loyal to anything, but you are loyal to dumping on WP whenever you get a chance and you always steer people from it. Religiously. That my friend is disservice to this community.

    My overall point was to just pick something and start learning. It doesn’t matter what he chooses, one way or another he’ll have to explore things on his own.

    And I guess millions of businesses running on WP are stooopid for making $$$.

    #190102
    Alen
    Participant

    I’ll agree with concentrating on one thing to learn at a time. Learn RWD, then see how that fits in with whatever CMS you decide to go with.

    #190128
    __
    Participant

    maybe I can get a restraining order from Alen too:

    And I guess millions of businesses running on WP are stooopid for making $$$.

    I’m sorry. I don’t exactly disagree with anything you’ve expressed (not with anything chris has, either), but this is just a silly argument.

    #190141
    Robby
    Participant

    Just wanted to throw in my two cents.

    Responsive web design is all CSS regardless of what content management system you choose, learn to create a responsive website statically first. You can integrate a CMS afterwards if you want.

    I’m with some of the others here, WordPress is horrible (I used to use it for everything too). Its cool if you have no idea what your doing and just want to install themes and plugins, but the more involved with web design and development you get the more your realize how much better options there are out there. If you do decide to use a CMS I’d recommend trying out some other systems that fit the needs of the website your building.

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