Static files or dynamic WP pages for “static content”?

by

Ok = I’ve looked around a lot for a clear answer to this, but find very few real answers. I would really appreciate some info from experienced individuals.

A tiny bit of background. I’ve worked content generation (among other thing) on a largeish website for many years, and it follows the pretty basic file system and discreet html (.aspx) pages for content. You want a new page, you make a new file and build your content. Done. I’ve built a dozen or so brochure sites like this as well. This is the system that makes sense to me, and I find myself a little hesitant to veer away.

CMS systems, like WP, obviously do not work like this. I am not inexperienced with wordpress. I’ve built and implemented a couple custom themes, but have “tried” to make the above file structure work “along side” of a wordpress install – mostly leading to headaches.

That is where I currently sit, having spent a couple of months of weekends building my new personal site (which is almost finished). The format of the site is pretty straightforward – its a developer blog (I do a lot of AS3), a portfolio for artwork, and a main intro page that contains a bit of both.

My file structure looks a bit like so:

 mysite.com-
     /css/ 
     /home/ 
     /images/ 
     /javascript/
     /portfolio/ 
     /php/ (holds a lot of php snippets that is included elsewhere)
     /swf/
     /wordpress/../theme/ (draws upon img/css/php in external folders)
     index.php

While I do very much like the familiarity of this structure, the cross sharing of assets between static files and dynamic wordpress content is a pain. My option is to turn all static files into templates, and make use of WP’s database driven page system.

What do I stand to gain from “buying into” the WP system completely? Or, conversely, is a static file structure external to wordpress “workable” – and are there preferred methods of doing so?

I realize this question is somewhat subjective, however, the proper handling of static content is, I think, a quite valid point of inquiry (tho… you might not think it, considering how little info there is to be found on the subject).

Thanks

2 Answers
2

Put everything into WordPress. This way, you can search your entire content from the built-in search engine, and you can edit each piece.

If you need pages with special markup create templates for your theme.

Naked Template

<?php
/*
 * Template Name: Naked
 *
 * That’s the complete template!
 */

Basic HTML5

<?php
/*
 * Template Name: Basic HTML5
 */
?>
<!doctype html>
<meta charset="<?php bloginfo( 'charset' ); ?>">
<title><?php wp_title( '' ); ?></title>
<?php
while ( have_posts() )
{
    the_post();
    ?>
    <h1><a href="https://wordpress.stackexchange.com/questions/18080/<?php the_permalink(); ?>"><?php the_title(); ?></a></h1>
    <?php
    the_content();
}

Import

To import your old HTML pages use the plugin Import HTML Pages.

Leave a Comment