Hey.
We have XF2 for forums and custom PHP for everything else. We've been using a forum for blogs. It works, sort of, but requires custom coding each time we upgrade forums, it's a hassle, plus I want more features. So I think it's time to move blogs to a different software solution, bridge them with forums (so that blogs would use our users database), but have them run independently otherwise, so that blogs aren't affected/limited by forums software. I'm thinking WordPress, but not really sure why; never used it. Clueless on what the options are, hoping for pointers/suggestions.
Here's what I want:
1. Ability to integrate blogs with whatever forums we have. Not looking for an add-on (I saw there's one for XF/Wordpress), looking for a blogs solution that is capable of integration, theoretically, with whatever we do with forums. Maybe we'll switch to IPS in five years, who knows, I want blogs that are theoretically capable of integrating with whatever. I have users' info in PHP (am using it for the rest of the site), so I can pass it along to blogs. I want blogs to be capable of taking it, one way or another. A ready-made add-on is nice, but I need to trust that we'll be able to integrate blogs and forums even if there's no add-on, if we need to custom-code it worst-case scenario.
2. Ability to export/download/transfer/migrate blogs elsewhere, should we choose to. We're very conservative with software and rarely change anything, believe in not fixing what ain't broke. But I don't want to be stuck without options, should we need to migrate, in some remote future and/or unforeseeable circumstances.
3. Users belonging to one usergroup should be able to create a blog, post in it, read blogs by other users, and comment on them (but not post in them, and not create more than one blog per user). I don't want them creating a private blog for their personal viewing only, or for friends only; all blogs should be visible to all users belonging to this usergroup. No custom titles, the title of a blog is "username's blog". I don't want other usergroups creating/posting in/commenting on blogs, or reading blogs by other users (but I want them to be able to read their own blog, that they created while they belonged to the usergroup with blogging access).
4. Ability to limit options of users, what exactly they can do with their blog. E.g. choose/edit theme, language, upload attachments, embed media, change font size, etc. I probably want them to edit nothing, upload nothing, and post text only, but might allow a little more, depending on details.
5. Report button on every post and every comment. Can custom-code it worst case scenario, but the blogs solution needs to accommodate it.
6. Ability to moderate, i.e. that admins/mods should be able to edit/delete/move/merge/lock/sticky blogs/posts/comments.
7. No social networking of any sort. No sharing, no liking, no pinning, etc. I need to be able to block it all, to have no trace of it.
8. Nice front page, with latest entries, featured blogs, top bloggers, etc.
9. Would be sweet to use our forums header, footer, css, and user links/menus, without having to manually copy it all. OK if not.
10. Would be sweet to be able to add some php widgets to sidebar. OK if not.
11. No clue if it's possible at all, but it would be nice to allow users to transfer their off-site blogs to us, or on-site blog to them. I.e. they had a blog before they created an account with us, now they want their old blog moved to our site, to continue posting in it as our site's user. Or they used to be our user, now cancelled their membership, but want to take their blog and continue it elsewhere. These transfers shouldn't include styling or comments made by other users, and it's OK if it can only be done by admins (e.g. export their blog as csv and email it to them). They definitely shouldn't be able to export/download other users' blogs. It's OK if this whole feature is not possible at all.
12. SEO is not a concern; blogs will be private, accessible to members of one usergroup only.
Overall I want the least features possible. We have solutions for other things (like media galleries, articles, etc). All we need is a way for our users to blog comfortably, in plain text, with ability to browse and comment on each others blogs, without it turning into a dialogue (like a thread does), and with a nice front page (unlike a thread list). And I'm sick of trying to make forums do this, because each time we upgrade forums we spend weeks trying to fix blogs, and each time the tech options/solutions are different, so policies keep changing, and it's frustrating to users. I want blogs to use our users database but work independently of forums otherwise.
Is this possible with WordPress? Is WordPress the right choice? Is there anything I'm missing and should consider?
Thank you very much!
We have XF2 for forums and custom PHP for everything else. We've been using a forum for blogs. It works, sort of, but requires custom coding each time we upgrade forums, it's a hassle, plus I want more features. So I think it's time to move blogs to a different software solution, bridge them with forums (so that blogs would use our users database), but have them run independently otherwise, so that blogs aren't affected/limited by forums software. I'm thinking WordPress, but not really sure why; never used it. Clueless on what the options are, hoping for pointers/suggestions.
Here's what I want:
1. Ability to integrate blogs with whatever forums we have. Not looking for an add-on (I saw there's one for XF/Wordpress), looking for a blogs solution that is capable of integration, theoretically, with whatever we do with forums. Maybe we'll switch to IPS in five years, who knows, I want blogs that are theoretically capable of integrating with whatever. I have users' info in PHP (am using it for the rest of the site), so I can pass it along to blogs. I want blogs to be capable of taking it, one way or another. A ready-made add-on is nice, but I need to trust that we'll be able to integrate blogs and forums even if there's no add-on, if we need to custom-code it worst-case scenario.
2. Ability to export/download/transfer/migrate blogs elsewhere, should we choose to. We're very conservative with software and rarely change anything, believe in not fixing what ain't broke. But I don't want to be stuck without options, should we need to migrate, in some remote future and/or unforeseeable circumstances.
3. Users belonging to one usergroup should be able to create a blog, post in it, read blogs by other users, and comment on them (but not post in them, and not create more than one blog per user). I don't want them creating a private blog for their personal viewing only, or for friends only; all blogs should be visible to all users belonging to this usergroup. No custom titles, the title of a blog is "username's blog". I don't want other usergroups creating/posting in/commenting on blogs, or reading blogs by other users (but I want them to be able to read their own blog, that they created while they belonged to the usergroup with blogging access).
4. Ability to limit options of users, what exactly they can do with their blog. E.g. choose/edit theme, language, upload attachments, embed media, change font size, etc. I probably want them to edit nothing, upload nothing, and post text only, but might allow a little more, depending on details.
5. Report button on every post and every comment. Can custom-code it worst case scenario, but the blogs solution needs to accommodate it.
6. Ability to moderate, i.e. that admins/mods should be able to edit/delete/move/merge/lock/sticky blogs/posts/comments.
7. No social networking of any sort. No sharing, no liking, no pinning, etc. I need to be able to block it all, to have no trace of it.
8. Nice front page, with latest entries, featured blogs, top bloggers, etc.
9. Would be sweet to use our forums header, footer, css, and user links/menus, without having to manually copy it all. OK if not.
10. Would be sweet to be able to add some php widgets to sidebar. OK if not.
11. No clue if it's possible at all, but it would be nice to allow users to transfer their off-site blogs to us, or on-site blog to them. I.e. they had a blog before they created an account with us, now they want their old blog moved to our site, to continue posting in it as our site's user. Or they used to be our user, now cancelled their membership, but want to take their blog and continue it elsewhere. These transfers shouldn't include styling or comments made by other users, and it's OK if it can only be done by admins (e.g. export their blog as csv and email it to them). They definitely shouldn't be able to export/download other users' blogs. It's OK if this whole feature is not possible at all.
12. SEO is not a concern; blogs will be private, accessible to members of one usergroup only.
Overall I want the least features possible. We have solutions for other things (like media galleries, articles, etc). All we need is a way for our users to blog comfortably, in plain text, with ability to browse and comment on each others blogs, without it turning into a dialogue (like a thread does), and with a nice front page (unlike a thread list). And I'm sick of trying to make forums do this, because each time we upgrade forums we spend weeks trying to fix blogs, and each time the tech options/solutions are different, so policies keep changing, and it's frustrating to users. I want blogs to use our users database but work independently of forums otherwise.
Is this possible with WordPress? Is WordPress the right choice? Is there anything I'm missing and should consider?
Thank you very much!
