PHP or Wordpress, which I should choose?

[Simon46]

I want to make a website for communication with the philharmonics, which means I need to upload some music and build a system for music lovers to comment using, I also need a forum for them to post threads about music, I am not professional when it comes to building websites, my PC already has the PHP and MySQL as I ordered a web server, but I don't know how to use it, I google the procedures of set up a web, it make me overwhelmed, I want to choose Wordpress as it seems easy to use, I don't know which is better for me to use to build the web I mentioned, if the PHP is necessary, I am afraid I have to spend a lot of time to learn it.

 

[EpicGlobalWeb]

First, you should know that WordPress is mostly written in PHP.

Second, go WordPress because you'll have an easier time with it from the sounds of things. While you're using WordPress though, I recommend reading some basic programming books. Google "Free Computer Books" and you'll find a useful resource at the top. While you're building your WordPress site up, you should prepare yourself to code if you want a custom solution down the road.

Mike has some good tutorials I hear.

And other Mike (me) builds good custom websites I hear.

Otherwise, go ahead and focus on getting some visitors first. Read these posts and apply. You aren't ready for a custom one yet anyway so it's better to just take action right now and you'll do that quickly with WordPress, don't you think?

 

[EpicGlobalWeb]

Before I started rambling an answer I probably should have asked you, why do you feel you need PHP in your website to begin with? What is so custom that can't be solved with a plug in?

 

[Rob Whisonant]

You mentioned you are getting overwhelmed with it all. Another option is to partner with a programmer/tech guy and split the profits the site makes.

Each of you would bring your particular expertise to the table.

 

[Mike001]

I have to agree with Epic, based on your requirements it doesn't really sound like you need a dynamic site, so PHP would really not be needed.

There are ways to handle a comment system, especially with a limited audience that would not require a database.

Lock down your requirements, think through what you really need, be realistic in the requirements, never under estimate, always over estimate, it is always easier to scale down if needed then it is to scale up.

Once you have a true list of requirements bounce the list off a few of us and we can probably point you in the right direction as to what you will need. Based on your initial comments, in my opinion WordPress would be overkill, way too big and bloated for what it appears you are trying to do. But that is just an opinion and being honest I have never liked WordPress.

Let us know thew requirements and we can help.

 

[SenseiSteve]

I want to make a website for communication with the philharmonics, which means I need to upload some music and build a system for music lovers to comment using, I also need a forum for them to post threads about music, I am not professional when it comes to building websites, my PC already has the PHP and MySQL as I ordered a web server, but I don't know how to use it, I google the procedures of set up a web, it make me overwhelmed, I want to choose Wordpress as it seems easy to use, I don't know which is better for me to use to build the web I mentioned, if the PHP is necessary, I am afraid I have to spend a lot of time to learn it.

I wouldn't be afraid of the learning curve for WordPress. Get the WP Edit plug in so you can design your content a little easier and make sure it's secure. Maybe use the WordFence plugin for security.

 

[mellisas]

If you know about php,mysql coding then you can use it else its always good to use Wordpress because with Wordpress no need to write any code, you can simply use any wordpress themes and plugins to create new websites but make sure that you are using secured theme and plugin else you will face hacking issues in future.

 

[UWH-David]

With so many HTML5 templates out there you could really drag and drop a website together farely quickly without all the security risks of WordPress/PHP and then utilize a system like Disqus to manage comments for you remotely. In the case you must have a forum, you may want to use myBB or vBulletin (like this forum) to do most the work for you instead. There are a couple plugins where you can put in your pages with it to contain your audio files.