Wordpress more marketable?
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- bort
I finally quit my fulltime job in print this week. I've been slowly building my web development skills in my off time, but after a year of stunted progress, I recognize that major changes are necessary if I hope to actually do this properly. So that's it. A clean break. Goodbye points, hello pixels.
Up to this point my only experience with CMSs has been Textpattern. I like Textpattern, a lot, and I plan on continuing working with it regardless. That being said, I never see Textpattern listed in the necessary skills in job postings. Most often it's Wordpress and Drupal. I know Drupal is a much bigger beast, and something I'm not really ready to tackle yet. But I can't help thinking that I'm doing myself a disservice by not working with Wordpress -- if only because everyone seems to want it.
So would you say working with a lesser-known CMS like Textpattern is going to hurt job prospects/possible freelance gigs? How much PHP knowledge is required to manipulate Wordpress themes effectively?
- NotByHand0
I have no idea... but wishes you good luck with your 'new career'.
- 3point141590
Good luck, probably the worst time in recent history to quit a full-time job and dive into the web arena where there are hundreds if not thousands of web savvy designers & developers desperate for work in this global recession which is going to get much worst of the next couple of years.
Your are one bold and brave soul or extremely naive.
Best wishes & best of luck Bort!
- You're harshing my vibes!bort
- I love poverty.bort
- worry wort, with that kind of thinking no wonder your still slaving awayblackspade
- ukit0
What kind of job are you aiming for? Not sure what CMS you use will matter much either way.
- bort0
I'm not really aiming for any job at the moment or in the near future. Basically I'm home schooling myself and trying to repair some of the psychological damage incurred over the last year at my (previous) job. I guess I'm just trying to get a feel for whether I'm working/learning a dying CMS that will hurt me in the long run. Or maybe I just wanted to talk about quitting. But now I think I'm going to take a lot of shit for it.
And no more fear mongering. I understand we're nearing a global recession, and I don't give a fart.
- welded0
WordPress is really easy to theme and the documentation is pretty good so it's not to tough to move beyond the basics.
- sublocked0
@bort - Wordpress seems like the defacto these days - but really does it matter to your clients? If you're chasing one-off clients and not going for agency work it really doesn't matter what you use. What matters are the results you can give them.
Clients want solutions, not technology. Don't get too geeky with it.
What matters is that you can deliver a great, quality site that performs well within a short timeframe.
However you achieve that is up to you. Wordpress, Drupal, custom Rails solution or whatever. Of course, you should have an upgrade path and it _does_ help to have something widely supported if you aren't that technical of a person.
Use what works for you and learn it inside out.
- bort0
Word. Thanks mate!
- 3point141590
Your competition is designing Wordpress templates for free, I hope that you can beat that price.
- Stugoo0
good luck mate, as a web designer i feel confident in this recession that web is the best medium for design. and secure in my job.
learn the standards keep it tight and do some good work and you wil be great.
- cosmoo0
come join epill and I in bored thread.
- jamble0
Wordpress is a means to an end like many other tools. I usually offer it to clients as a simple way to control their content when they don't have the budget for something bespoke. It's easy to customise, there's lots of plugins and it's easy for clients to use but as I said, don't get too wound up in it, make sure it's a tool you have a use for and learn as you go.
- threadpost0
Did you get your name, Bort, from that simpsons episode? "We're all out of Bort license plates here!" Its just funny cause that's the nickname my sister and I call each other.
Happy birthday Bort! thanks Bort! I think she was about 8 when we started saying that to one another and it's just sorta stuck through the years.