WordPress is a friend of mine. But while I always knew I’d be using the blogging platform for the blog component of the Rum Database website, I was convinced that I would have to use something else – probably hand-code – the guts of the user interface. I even build a handful of data management screens for myself which worked pretty well. But then I stopped and though, “Before I go whole hog into developing this thing from scratch, I’d better at least do a little research.”
And so I did.
As it turns out, there are two things that WordPress does very well that I had not yet gotten around to pondering with respect to the Rum Database project: Permalinks and Post Types.
First, Permalinks. I consider customizable Permalinks to be a foundational element in making specific information on a website find-able to search engines. Why I thought “view-rum-detail.php?id=72” would be an acceptable “page name” for a premium Caribbean spirit I don’t know. I know I can create my own URL rewrite rules…but it’s more complicated and error-prone than I like. WordPress does it reliably and well – i’d be foolish not to take advantage that that capability. Furthermore, there are plenty of other SEO optimization techniques that become super-easy with custom WP templates and plugins.
Second, Post Types. Post Types are relatively new to WordPress and I hadn’t really spent much time with them in the past. However, I do spend a lot of time with their equivalents in other, enterprise content management systems. I know the power of normalized content and streamlined data entry. As I looked into Post Types further, I saw that they were every bit as flexible as I needed them to be. I can search, sort, filter on the different types of things that will be in the database – rums, producers, locations, etc. – no problem.
Add in the fact that I know the platform pretty well, there’s an excellent developer community (of potential rum enthusiasts, I’d reckon!), and it’s infinitely themeable…
That, as they say, is that.
Drink up, me hearties!