25 Unique uses of WordPress as CMS
- By Noupe Editorial Team
- Posted in WORDPRESS
- 94 comments
WordPress is often thought of as little more than a blogging platform. But it’s capable of so much more. Through a little customization and the use of plugins, WordPress can easily be transformed into a full-featured content management system. Here are more than 25 sites who have done just that (and done it well).
This is the second article in the three-part series, “The Comprehensive Guide for a Powerful CMS using WordPress”.
The Comprehensive Guide for a Powerful CMS using WordPress – Part 1
The Comprehensive Guide for a Powerful CMS using WordPress – Part 3
UGSMAG
UGSMAG is a Canadian hip hop magazine. The home page is laid out in a grid, with featured articles along the left two columns and news on the right. The color scheme and design choices reflect the young, independent audience they attract. The lack of a category list (other than the top nav, which simply lists “News,” “Features,” and “Interviews”) and archives lend the page to looking more like a traditional news or magazine website than a blog.
Subtle changes to individual article pages, such as removing the category labels, the use of a drop cap initial character, and moving the date from it’s usual blog-centric location under the title to the upper-right hand corner of the page all also contribute to the site looking more like a magazine and less like your standard blog.
The Weather Pops
The Weather Pops are a group of weather-related characters available for licensing. The site is simple and straightforward, and an excellent example of how WordPress can be used to build a simple yet powerful website. The pages included on the site offer great examples of how you can incorporate a gallery, contact form, and standard pages into a WP site.
The integration of plugins, such as the NextGEN Gallery plugin used on the gallery page, further improves the functionality of the site. Unless you looked at the code of the site, it’s unlikely anyone would have any idea this site was built using WP.
Temple Bar TradFest
The Temple Bar TradFest is an Irish music and culture festival held each year. The home page of this site bears absolutely no resemblance to a blog. The same can be said for internal pages, too. Individual pages within the site have no date or timestamp, no category or other tags, and otherwise look nothing like a traditional blog post.
Good use of plugins for the gallery and other pages further improves the functionality of this WP installation. This is another site where your average visitor would have no clue it was built on WP unless they checked the source code.
Table Talk
Table Talk is an online store selling dining furniture, tableware, and similar products. The home page features a product gallery with rotating images and the product pages show products laid out in a grid format. The site was built using the WP e-Commerce plugin for the online store functionality. E-commerce plugins greatly increase WP’s ability to be used as a CMS for virtually any kind of site.
Pages within the Table Talk site are set up without comments, date and time stamps, and categories. Categories are used for products, instead.
TP Hire
TPs is a teepee rental company serving Sussex and South East England. This site is actually a great example of using WordPress as a CMS. In addition to the standard pages found on most business sites (news, information, about us, etc.), there’s also a really great gallery page that uses the Lightbox formatting for viewing larger images and the option to view images in a slideshow. The layout of the events page is also an excellent example of how pages can be thoroughly customized within WP to suit the needs of the individual site.
The Art of Catalin Bridinel
The Art of Catalin Bridinel is your basic portfolio site. This site is a bit more blog-ish than most of the others here, but still offers up a good example of how to use WordPress for something other than your traditional blog. Paintings are listed in blog posts, with a large image appearing immediately under the title and a brief description under that. Comments are enabled here, unlike on many other CMS sites. The overall design, lack of sidebars, and other stylistic elements make this look more like a traditional portfolio site than a blog.
Search Inside Video
Search Inside Video is a service that provides searchable transcripts for online video content. Their site is one of the more innovative uses of WordPress as a CMS that I’ve seen. The overall site design is very simple, basically consisting of one long page with anchor tags for different content. Not exactly a revolutionary idea. But the implementation of it is very slick. It’s a great example of thinking outside the box in using WP as a CMS.
P2P Rescue
P2P Rescue is a non-profit organization working to help Sri Lanka and other Southeast Asian countries. The home page offers up basic information and articles about the organization and their cause. The overall site architecture is very simple, but again, bears little resemblance to a regular WP blog. Use of plugins for allowing donations to be made through PayPal further increases WP’s base functionality. The site also includes an online store powered by WP e-Commerce. Other pages include basic information about the organization and a blog (under the “Voices” section).
Myshli
Myshli is the portfolio of Danil Kryvoruchko. The home page of the site offers a gallery of designs, including a JavaScript slideshow of selected works. Individual pages on the site include galleries for each different type of work they do (web, print, etc.) along with an about page. Pages for individual projects show a variety of screenshots and images. The site also includes a blog with a different theme from the rest of the site (the main site has a black background whereas the blog has a white background).
Little White Lies
Little White lies is a website that revolves around movies. The home page is not unlike many other news and magazine websites, offering up links to current content, including interviews and reviews of upcoming and recently released films. Category pages (such as for interviews or reviews) use a different layout than the home page, though it does make them feel a bit more blog-like.
The article pages have stripped out the majority of blog-centric features, but have left in the comments section (many newspapers and magazines have added comment functionality to their articles both in and outside of blogs). The shop section on the blog appears to be the only section not powered by WordPress. Why this is is unclear, as there are some great plugins for e-commerce on WP.
KMX Karts
KMX Karts are manufacturers of recumbent trikes. The home page bears no resemblance to a blog, with the exception of the presence of a somewhat blog-like footer. The site includes a number of different kinds of page templates. There are pages for the different Kart models, pages for accessories, and pages for general company information. Each type of page, because they have their own unique functions, is slightly different from the other pages. The theme, though, is consistent throughout the site. The e-commerce aspects of the site are powered by the Shopp plugin.
IconDock
IconDock sells stock icons to designers. This is one of the prettiest sites I’ve seen using WP as a CMS. The home page is simple while still offering up plenty of content and some icons for sale right on the home page. Navigation is easy, with top nav and links placed within the content (such as the “Browse Icon Library” in the main image on the home page). The e-commerce portion of the site is powered by the WP e-Commerce plugin. The product pages offer up plenty of information about individual icon sets as well as different pricing options.
One of the coolest features on this site, though, is the drag-and-drop shopping cart (just drag an icon or set to the box on the left-hand side of the screen to add it to your cart). The box on the side shows your cart’s contents and removing an item is as simple as clicking the “x” in the corner. It’s definitely one of the slicker shopping cart UIs I’ve seen.
Ginger Restaurant
Ginger is a restaurant in South Africa. The overall site design and architecture are very simple while also being very attractive. The home page offers up basic information, including their hours and phone number. Other pages include more information about the restaurant, an online menu, and a gallery of the restaurant and their food. The gallery uses the JavaScript Thickbox functionality for displaying photos. There’s also a slideshow in the header of their offerings.
A couple of features that really set this site apart from similar sites, though, are their addition of links to their Facebook page and a page that lets you tell friends about Ginger. This kind of functionality is rarely seen on local business sites but should be utilized more often.
Fraai Magazine
Fraai Magazine is a free online magazine offering up creative inspiration. The site uses a the FLV Embed plugin to embed the Flash magazine into the site. (FYI: There is also a plugin available for WordPress, Page Flip Image Gallery, that allows you to create a flip-book style magazine right within WP.)
Other pages on the site include a visual index of articles and a page listing the issues available. The overall site is very simple but it’s an effective implementation of WP and appears to work well for what they’re doing.
Ford Motor Company—Global Auto Shows
This is the site of Ford Motor Company’s global auto show coverage. This is another site where you’d never guess it was powered by WordPress if you didn’t look at the source code. The home page offers up a gallery of featured vehicles, links to the different Ford brands, and a list of recent articles. Other pages on the site include a show schedule, information on concept cars (including a gallery) and information on vehicle types. From the looks of it, there’s a lot of custom programming going on on the site, including some custom Flash modules.
Executive Warfare
This is the site for Executive Warfare, a book by David F. D’Alessandro with Michele Owens. The basic layout of the site is very simple, as is the site architecture. The home page features some basic information about the book as well as a couple of sample articles. Pages contained on the site include a sample chapter, “10 Rules”, Reviews, an “About the Authors” page, and a video page.
The site also has a blog. The page templates are all the same, though the use of images and block quotes gives them each a unique look. Overall, it’s a great site that offers up its content in a way that is both aesthetically pleasing and practical.
Cubicle Ninjas
Cubicle Ninjas is a design firm offering up web design and development, graphic design and illustration services. The overall design is bold while still being simple. Their portfolio pages are some of the best I’ve seen, offering up embedded video on some pages in addition to images of individual projects. The Cforms2 plugin (which offers great customization options) is used for their “Request a Quote” page.
Camacho Cigars
This is the site of the Camacho Cigars company. The site architecture is completely un-blog-like. For example, the “Our Story” page contains subpages (“History of Camacho,” “Tobacco in Honduras,” and “Production Tour” linked with icons from the page itself. Other pages on the site include a page detailing their cigars, a “Where to Buy” page, a “Press Room” and a contact page. This is another site that does well by linking their social network profiles right from their home page.
Alpha Multimedia Solutions, Inc.
This is the online portfolio of Alpha Multimedia Solutions. The site’s design is simple and elegant, as is the architecture and navigation. The offer up case studies for their different clients and the pages for these use a slightly different template than their other pages. The use of slideshows for each project in the header also add to the overall look of the site very nicely.
Gaijin Film & Sound
Gaijin Film & Sound is a film, sound and new media production and consultancy company. Their home page offers up basic information about the company, including contact information in the sidebar, a list of services, and an abbreviated list of clients.
The top nav on the site is very effective and includes links to “About,” “Portfolio,” “Production,” and other pages. Their portfolio page is one of the nicest on the site, offering up links to videos within a very aesthetically pleasing layout.
Frisk Design
Frisk Design is a web design company. Their site makes great use of pages within WP for offering up information about the company, their services, portfolio, and contact. A blog is also included, though it’s not the focus of the site. The portfolio has a very elegant layout that offers up information about each site without having to click through to individual project pages.
Feedback Audio
Feedback Audio provides music production, film audio production, and live sound production services. The home page of the site offers up a great overview of the company, their services, and ongoing projects. It’s an elegant design that offers some great visual pop. The individual page templates are simple and the lack of a sidebar keeps this from looking anything like a blog.
Eye-Fi
Eye-Fi is a company that provides SD cards for digital cameras with built-in wifi for transferring photos to your computer. The site has an excellent layout that is at once visually interesting and easy to navigate. There’s no blog on the site, only pages that offer up information about the products, including where to buy and how they work. Overall, it’s an excellent example of a WP-powered site.
Earth911.com
Earth911.com is an environmental information site. The top navigation is one of the best I’ve seen, offering intelligent drop down menus that are only there when you want them to be. The overall site design is exceptional, simple while still be visually pleasing. Individual category pages are also beautifully designed, offering up basic information at the top along with articles related to the topic below. Overall, the site is one of the better designed portals I’ve seen powered by WP.
OriginOne
OriginOne is a clothing company that celebrates human oneness and connectedness. The site design is edgy and complex while still being very user-friendly and easy to navigate. The online store is powered by the Shopp plugin for WP. There’s no blog present on the site. Individual pages are kept simple, with the content as king. The shop itself is beautifully laid out and works well for a shop without a ton of products.
Basilakis, 10 May 2009
Great resources as Always! Cheers!
Freddie, 05 January 2010
yeah noupe never come up disappointing articles.
JohnONolan, 10 May 2009
2 others would be youlove.us and lyricalmedia.com
Christopher Ross, 10 May 2009
Sweet collection, I love the Design Ninja’s website. They have a great looking page dedicated to website designs and an even cooler portfolio layout.
James Bowman, 10 May 2009
I like the Ford Motor Company Global Auto Shows site. Very nice use of the blue hues on there. Clean and easy to read as well.
Brandon Cox, 10 May 2009
Seems like WordPress is virtually limitless in its extendability. I don’t know of very many sites that can be built, one way or another, on WordPress. Cool post!
Robert, 10 May 2009
I think WordPress is great as a CMS. It is very flexible and easy to work with. We integrated WordPress with Magento and are very pleased with the results.
Josh of Cubicle Ninjas, 10 May 2009
Wow – thank you for the kind words Cameron! It is an honor for Cubicle Ninjas to be part of your amazing list. :D
AainaA, 11 May 2009
Hey.. great list .. maybe you’d add some great NGO sites using WP too.
Have a great week !
Vince, 11 May 2009
Great collection. I also love to use WordPress for everything, always a challenge to properly customize it to make it easy to work with.
Callum Chapman, 11 May 2009
Nice roundup! I agree, WordPress is capable of virtually anything if you have the skill to do it!
steve, 01 September 2010
Anything is capable of doing anything if you have the skill to do it…..
Mario, 11 May 2009
My website is also fully powered by WP, what do you think? (http://www.seekandhit.com
Jorge, 11 May 2009
They’re magical. I was thinking this kind of websites were impossible with wordpress, but impossible is nothing. Our website too
Mark Bloomfield, 11 May 2009
Thanks guys! I designed the Ginger Restaurant site showcased above… Appreciate the mention!
:)
Patternhead, 11 May 2009
WordPress rocks!
I think your examples show just how powerful WP can be in the right hands.
Printing Company Atlanta | DesignsnPrint.com, 11 May 2009
Nice information thanks for sharing
Fabiano R.C., 11 May 2009
Great post! Many references.
Eibon, 11 May 2009
Great exemples of how WP is amazingly flexible.
Even with just a change of the them, you can give you blog a more web-site look.
This is just what I’ve done on our website
stk, 11 May 2009
This is exactly the kind of thing we do, but we use b2evolution.
Putting the power of a multi-lingual, multi-blog and multi-author blog engine behind a “regular website” empowers clients to manage and add relevant content to their own websites, long after we’ve handed them their bill.
Nice post.
Jurgen, 11 May 2009
These are amazing examples of creativity. Great inspiration.
Sam Cranwell, 11 May 2009
Great sites. WordPress has to be becoming the most powerful CMS out there. Our clients love it’s functionality and easy of use. It just lets us pour our magic all over it. Another site you may have never guessed was WordPress was our efforts at: The European Business Awards
Pablo, 11 May 2009
Great examples of WordPress as CMS!
It doesn’t matter if WP is a CMS or not. The division between ecommerce, CMS and blogging platforms is becoming more and more blurry.
Jacques, 12 May 2009
Nice line up indeed – thanks for sharing. We use WP in a similar way on our company site – (www.sumsera.com) work is posted to our portfolio, which results in a ‘dynamic’ home page – provided we update it regularly. But it shows clients they can combine a ‘normal’ site with a blog – something many people don’t think of when mentioning WP. Version 2.7.1. is really a big improvement, making it much easier to convince prospects.
The logorunner, 13 May 2009
Some amazing sites, good stuff. I love developing with WordPress
Sklep Zoologiczny, 13 May 2009
I expected some more e-commerce WP sites like IconDock… If someone know such websites post them in comments please. Thanks anyway!
Gabe Diaz, 13 May 2009
Great list!
WP is very powerful, with custom page templates, static home pages, custom categories and custom posts within categories you can definitely style your WP theme to almost any need.
Wallace, 14 May 2009
thanks for the list~!
Tinkerbell, 14 May 2009
You can add Tonight’s Bedtime Story (http://www.tonightsbedtimestory.com/) to the list, it’s 100% wordpress.
Al, 15 May 2009
Sweet collection, I’m working on WP site right now, this will definitely come in handy.
Nixx, 15 May 2009
Recently I’ve came across something quite interesting but perfectly fitting to the subject of this article… yellowpress.sofarider.com
Earth911.com Programmer Wanted, 16 May 2009
Thanks for sharing the list. I have to admit that Earth911.com has by far the best design and features I have seen on a wordpress powered CMS. I have been looking around for a while to get some programmer to build something similar (local search feature) tied in to wordpress.
Jan, 19 May 2009
A great collection. It is interesting to see how versatile WordPress is.
Anthony, 20 May 2009
Wow, that’s a good collection.
Here is my contribution Konoban.com.
Rudi, 20 May 2009
Mmmm nice collection, i think wordpress will do more in the future ….
dvdmovies, 23 May 2009
It great,the post is very nice,i think is summer movie season is in full swing and today two more highly anticipated films can be added to the list of movies to watch this weekend
Pet Snakes, 27 May 2009
Very interesting post, I love finding a good quality blog thats not full of rubbish. I would love to do a link exchange.
wayne golliday, 27 May 2009
I agree that good sites are few and far between. I know because I do Real Estate SEO for a living
brisket, 29 May 2009
Great collections of wordpress designs
Sweet Pixels Web Design, 02 June 2009
I’m just about to enter the world of CMS with WordPress. I’ve been using a tool called KenticoCMS which is asp.net written, however it’s not very lightweight and would probably fit larger organisations. Does anyone know If I can run one instance/installation of WP as both a CMS tool and blog engine?
That Guy, 11 June 2009
I love this site
Okey, 14 June 2009
was a very nice article thank you I’d put my archive
Jason, 18 June 2009
Very Nice Article.
I have displayed this link on my Instantsite4u.com sales page to show an example of the the sites that can be made with wordpress.
In my this package i teach people all about webhosting and building wordpress based websites for any kind of purpose.
rgds
jason
Pricchecker, 21 June 2009
Thanks for share .This is cool.
moviex, 23 June 2009
nice stuff i was looking for this thanks for sharing
tom, 24 June 2009
gooddd
Dining Tables Dave, 25 June 2009
Nice work, i used wordpress for the first time the other day to write on online press release for my business and it was so easy to use and the end result was very proffesional. It was so good that I’ve even managed to get the press release about Top Furniture Ltd listed in Google News in the UK.
Jamie Allsop, 25 June 2009
This is a really nice collection of sites using WordPress as CMS and is a very informative. Thanks for sharing.
Cliff Posey, 28 June 2009
I really enjoyed reading you blog. I am always looking for new information because as the old saying goes “Knowledge is power”
bie, 30 June 2009
Very useful for me Thanks.
joded, 03 July 2009
Nicely article
farene, 03 July 2009
good info.
baron78, 03 July 2009
Without Doubt WordPress is the Best platform for most of us looking for a free,easy,user friendly,flexible and ever evolving system.
Above all Interface is just rocking with ability to put any user made /custom theme…
Anyway, Nice Article with such a wide variety of options using wordpress:)
Thanks
baron78
Mr.Job, 04 July 2009
Thank you very much, I was looking for this!
public relations branding, 07 July 2009
This was really helpful! Thank you!
Kenneth, 15 October 2009
I use press releases daily…I can
Margaret G. Deloney, 17 October 2009
Good luck with your blog).Thank you for detailed information. Also you can learn from this service on this issue.
Training, 30 October 2009
I found your article whilst searching for some background material on training. I’m doing research for my next management game. You have made me curious in reading more. I’ll follow you and see if you are able to provide some more interesting thoughts on this subject. Kind regards, Susan, professional training games developer.
kevin, 01 November 2009
very nice! i like here.
black friday, 03 November 2009
Great post. thank for this share. I like tis and agree with you :)
ceceparif, 11 November 2009
Great collections website, I think there pretty much things than can do with wordpress, Bravo WP
Tony, 23 November 2009
The link for the “comprehensive guide” is not longer working.
I would love to read the guide, could someone assist?
Cheers,
Tony
kurye, 23 November 2009
very nice great article thanks
Frank Tompkins, 13 January 2010
Thank you so much for providing this great information. That was just what I was looking for, keep the great info coming.
Rainbow Skill, 17 January 2010
Really helpful information u mentioned in your blog. Thank you for the post.
Mino BuG', 10 March 2010
Nice demo list.wordpress now as the best
chandan dutta, 15 March 2010
web designer
Thanks for resources.Its very useful for me.
technical author uk, 29 March 2010
When I searched on Monday for articles and posts about technical author uk I came across 25 Unique uses of WordPress as CMS – Noupe, not sure how relevant it is to me but it made interesting reading all the same. I might even come back to see what else follows and what others think of it.
rachaelraycookware, 21 April 2010
Hold working ,great employment!
cam mozaik, 22 May 2010
I am just learning Information.
And php and this was very easy to follow and helped a lot.
You really took time to explain every little bit.
Thanks again…
Carlos Kelly, 23 May 2010
I always like Sunny weather and disliked gloomy rainy weather…:
imaria, 22 June 2010
Thanks for the wonderful resources and bits of inspiration.
Lime Web Design, 17 July 2010
Awesome info. So many great examples of how WordPress is can be used. I will definately be trying it out as a CMS. Thanks
Alyssa Thompson, 02 August 2010
the weather these days is hotter than the previous decades, i guess it is the effect of global warming-”
Robbie, 13 August 2010
Fantastic collection! WordPress is becoming so popular being CMS, I am seeing sites on wordpress, whether a gaming arcade, movie site, or even a video site!
Todd S Jones, 25 August 2010
These are great articles. Thanks.
Esme Fisher, 29 September 2010
i just wish that there is always sunny weather because i love the sun.-~
Benk Oke @Wordpress Hostgator, 03 October 2010
very nice customize wordpress
john, 05 October 2010
I visited the Cubicle Ninja site. NASA, we have a problem!
On their site, under the web design portfolio, I started looking close. All of their examples are screen shots that contain Lorem Ipsum text. I then visited a few sites they claim to have built, such as kCura and clickeffects, and none of those sites are using their services or design.
Cubicle Ninja has a crafty site, but, from what I see they are posting screen shots of supposed client sites that don’t actually reflect any work that they have done.
Vova, 02 November 2010
??? ?????? ? ??? ?? ????? ?? ????
Jane Jefcoat, 01 December 2010
Great story:D Going to want a decent amount of time to ponder your writing:)
Prakash, 04 December 2010
Most likely Wonderful post again with amazing list of sites & with the list of uses on wordpress as CMS. More informative & impressive. Thank you for this post.
http://www.beautifulwordpress.com/
Consider the above link to refer more wordpress website designs & for wordpress themes.
Carmen, 14 January 2011
Fantastic collection! WordPress is becoming so popular being CMS, I am seeing sites on wordpress, whether a gaming arcade, movie site, or even a video site!Hotel
Max Sandoval, 30 January 2011
Earth911.com is an amazing site and the great thing is they are right here in Scottsdale, AZ. More and more I see business moving to WordPress sites. I am not only a fan but a user as well. – Max Sandoval
Hassan Mehmood, 09 February 2011
http://www.shawndill.com
Its also a very good example
Rahul, 16 February 2011
WordPress is the next big thing after Google.
Fantastic collection mate!
Chris Amling, 21 February 2011
WordPress has become a very popular CMS. I am building a new site that needs a CMS and I’m leaning towards using WordPress, not only because I think it is a capable software solution, but because it has such a huge developer base.
website development, 17 March 2011
WordPress is one of the best CMS i have used … its such a ease with so many contributors to help you get on with it … its a well capable software .
Thanks for thr collection mate.
rob steele, 23 March 2011
wordpress is the best cms tool, love using it :)
Art Director, 29 March 2011
nice list…i love using wordpress….
Anita Decraene, 22 April 2011
I’ve been reading your blog for a long time now, seems like everyday I learn something new :-) Thanks
Morton Schroeter, 31 May 2011
I’m very glad I discovered your weblog on stumbleupon. Thanks for the sensible critique. Me and my girlfriend were just making ready to do a little analysis about this. I am very glad to see such good data being shared freely out there.
Katharine J. Tobal, 01 November 2011
Great one! thank u!
Kiki Rose, 06 May 2012
The problem I am having is while I made it CMS styled, my blog is all messed up. Can anyone guide me into making the blog so it has SEPARATE entries? Right now, I literally edit blog, add in new line spaces, new date, save. It’s really ugly and frankly unprofessional.
The website is AuthorKikiRose.com (its adult, so you have been warned). Visit the blog section and you will see what I mean. I want the CMS design but I want a regular blog. Someone please help!