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#1 2007-08-17 20:22:04
- dreamer
- Member
- Registered: 2007-06-08
- Posts: 242
how much more is needed to add blogging functionality to TXP?
I’ve relied on Wordpress most of this time for my client’s needs. I have a realtor who has a need for both blogging and a regular website CMS. I want to test out TXP as both a CMS and a blogging platform.
I’d like to know how much work is needed to add the core functionality of a blog (ie; trackback, comments, etc…) to a TXP site? How much more of the templates do I need to edit in order to give a client blogging functionality?
Last edited by dreamer (2007-08-17 20:38:19)
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Re: how much more is needed to add blogging functionality to TXP?
txp is a blogging engine just like wordpress – just enable commenting in the prefs. Tracksbacks are possible with a plug-in but they are notoriously susceptible to spamming and so not standard.
Take a look at textplates.com or textgarden – the vast majority of templates are blog templates.
TXP Builders – finely-crafted code, design and txp
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#3 2007-08-18 14:02:16
- Mary
- Sock Enthusiast
- Registered: 2004-06-27
- Posts: 6,236
Re: how much more is needed to add blogging functionality to TXP?
Actually, it is a CMS, that happens to be used by a lot of bloggers (there’s a bit of difference).
You’ll need to be specific about what other things you consider “core blog functionality”.
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#4 2007-08-18 16:01:22
- dreamer
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- Registered: 2007-06-08
- Posts: 242
Re: how much more is needed to add blogging functionality to TXP?
Well, when i say core blog functionality, I mean;
-trackback, comments, plugins to help spamming of comments
and then make sure that archives and category sections are set up properly. I want to decide how much more time is put into getting that aspect set up so I know how I’ll charge appropriately as well.
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Re: how much more is needed to add blogging functionality to TXP?
have you taken a look at a textpattern installation or the frontpage of textpattern.com?
yes, you can use textpattern as a blog. the only thing i can think of that is not built-in are trackbacks which, as mentioned, is basically spam. though if you really wanted to, a simple plugin will enable this ‘feature’.
archives? yes.
categories? yes. (though depending on your needs, a plugin will enable you to have unlimited categories as opposed to txps built-in limitation of 2 per article)
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Re: how much more is needed to add blogging functionality to TXP?
Well, basically Textpattern can do almost everything – from blogs to even forums, profilepages and other. When you use little imagion, plugins and time-to-time paid coder or own coding-skills. Er — but not everything: you can’t eat Textpattern, or talk with it about politics. So you need something else if you want to do those.
Just install textpattern, look it, read manual and try plugins
Cheers!
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Re: how much more is needed to add blogging functionality to TXP?
Hi dreamer,
- comments are in the core, and they are a lot more flexible than what you may be used to, when it comes to placing and styling them.
- plugin-API against comment spamming is also in core. There are a few plugins that exist, and plenty of open possibilites for enhancement, if you want to port or write new ones. Search the weblog and textbook for more information.
- trackbacks is not in core and won’t be, we have explained in the textpattern faq wh we made that decision. Like others said there are plugins for it, but I cannot say how well they work and7or how well they are maintained. I think a bit of an issue may be, that with those plugins (AFAIK) there is no built-in way of spam-handling (with plugins), which might be something of an issue.
- archives – of course there are archives, but they are not data-based (the popularity of which is a total mystery to me, it’s a clearly a feature that only website owners “like” [as in like to check of a feature list], but is hardly ever used by visitors of a site). There are however ways of creating date-based archives, with plugins or with core tags depending on how exactly you want them to work and look. Again, FAQ, Textbook and a search in the forums might give you some ideas.
- categories – yes they are there and they can be used. Not sure what you expected there. ;)
I want to decide how much more time is put into getting that aspect set up so I know how I’ll charge appropriately as well.
If those aspects are pretty standard features o the sites you built, the best of course of action is to install and try it out, before making client quotes. If you’ve never worked with textpattern before, there is a bit of a learning curve and a “mental jump”. Textpattern doesn’t try and doesn’t want to be a drop-in replacement for wordpress or other bloggingengines, and you’ll get best results and happiness when you work textpattern the textpattern way, rather than try to shoehorn it into a wordpress-clone. Personally I think, that textpattern lends itself very well to blogging and blogging-related features, if you work from the actual goals and attributes of blogging, rather than that start out with a “checklist of features that are believed to be common”, as set by random features of movabletype or nowadays wordpress. And that may also require you to adapt your sales pitch, depending on where you’re clients are coming from and what they want and/or need.
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