Sep | 11 | 2006

Creating your home.php quite easily on WordPress

Posted by Professor as Blog Tutorial, Blogging Tools, Plugins, Templates, Tips

home If you have been thinking of using WordPress as a CMS aside from a blog, or if you just want a static front page on your blog, it’s not difficult. There are actually at least two easy ways to go about this.

Method 1:
You could try using plugins for the job. One of them is the Semiologic static front page plugin. Basically you make a new page and call it “Home” and the plugin will do everything else for you. You will just see it as a front page. Convenient, right?

Pros:
It is easy to install a plugin, activate it and create a new Page via the wp-admin dashboard.
You don’t have to create a separate one altogether.

Cons:
You cannot control what it would look like. You are stuck with the default page layout. Unless you have a theme you that has the kind of static front page layout you like.

Method 2:
You just have to make a home.php in your wp-content/themes/ directory. The nice thing about this is that it’s easier to customize your home.php and you don’t need an extra plugin for that. Apparently, WordPress could do that instantly.

Pros:
It is more customizable. Whatever you want your static front page to look like is something you can control.

Cons:
For those who are new to template creation, it might seem a bit daunting. You would have to learn what WordPress tags you have to use first in order to make one.

Whether you are a new blogger, a problogger or someone who has been blogging for ages, the moment you decide that you would like a static front page is another step in deciding on how creative you could be when it comes to presenting your blog. Make sure that you could find a nice design for it, not just any other kind of static front page.

[tags]blogging,blogs,wordpress[/tags]

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