Best platform for publishing news stories/articles?

[NameVerve]

Hi guys,

I'm relatively new to the forum but really interested in developing a website based around interesting stories of current relevance but also articles on topics of interest...going into more detail than your regular "viral" site, more science/tech/history etc but anyway...

I have VERY limited programming knowledge so user friendly is a must...after a little research its become pretty clear that if I have to upload articles/update/tweak everyday then a CMS like WordPress could be the answer? ...Is this my best option?...could I realistically sit down after say 2 weeks to a month of learning and build a professional looking website through WP using available themes/plugins?...how user friendly is it?

If I wanted to expand later, how easy would it be to add forums/store etc or would I have to migrate to another platform in which case should I be looking to go down that route by hiring someone from the start and skipping WP altogether which would be a shame as I really want to be hands on?

Sorry for the long post...just need a bit of help finding my bearings O.o

 

[D. Wells]

It'll take you a few days to get comfortable using WordPress as an end user. You can build nearly anything with themes and plugins from the repository. It's as simple as searching and clicking, nothing more.

Now, if you're interested in WordPress development that's an entirely different ball game and you'll have to become comfortable with PHP and Javascript at the very least. Good luck.

 

[NameVerve]

Thanks for your reply..

I think that's the problem...It's not understanding the limitations of whats involved...however much I would love to learn the basics of both PHP and Javascript I just don't believe I could find the time to learn them to such a standard for the sake of one website as to warrant going down that route...

You say I should be comfortable in few days but how comfortable?...enough to publish a basic WP site reminiscent of millions of other blogs on line? Do you think it would worth speaking to a developer first and getting them to customise /install themes etc from the beginning so that I can upload articles as I go along or would I only need some paid help at a later date like adding forums etc?

I used to love reading www . iflscience . com ...still do sometimes, but how difficult would it be to recreate that quality in WP?


Really appreciate your help!

 

[iowadawg]

Wordpress has many excellent plugins to use to grab news, articles, etc.
See:
https://wordpress.org/plugins/tags/news
https://wordpress.org/plugins/ahn-feedsyndicate-news-content-plugin/
https://wordpress.org/plugins/newsplugin/
And more at wordpress.
All you really need is the theme you want for all this.

 

[NameVerve]

@iowadawg

Thanks! ...I actually visited your site yesterday, made me laugh...in a good way!
Is it WP as well? Looks good and I'm sure there are plenty of themes/plugins that I could use to personlise mine with minimal programing knowledge...how easy is it to maintain? ...and how about developing it later on?...just a case of adding a forum or e-commerce plugin?

 

[iowadawg]

Thank you for dropping by!
WP for sure.
Easy for me to maintain.
Again, wordpress has plugins for forums, ecommerce, etc.

 

[NameVerve]

Your welcome...looks like it's WP then...time to do some homework, get some content written and think up my "Ten rules of this blog" post