Successful website built off of Wordpress? and where to begin

[atotttoz]

Hi im really new here and have an idea for a website.
My dilemma is that I have barley any knowledge of coding(but really trying to learn) and even the terminology is still difficult.

Problem is that i really want my site to be original and I know wordpress is not the best at that. The site(without giving to much away) will be a type of polling website with social capabilities.

What im really trying to get at is that do you guys think, i should take the time to learn a language(if so which one) or use a site like wordpress. My main concern with wordpress is that i cannot think of a site that is highly successful built off of wordpress.
Btw i dont have the money to hire a programmer and designer so thats out of the question.

If you think i should go the learning a language root, how do i attack it, like i said before im very unfamiliar with this whole world (even with alot of the basic terms) but im willing to learn, just need a push in the right direction. Thanks!

Oh and im a mac user btw

[teedoff]

My main concern with wordpress is that i cannot think of a site that is highly successful built off of wordpress.

How do you know this? How would you know if a site used Wordpress strickly as a CMS.

If you dont have the money to hire designers/developers, then you do have the option to learn how to do this yourself, however, with wordpress all that is done for you. You can find a theme you like, or if you feel like you can handle it, you can design your own theme. Then install plugins for your needs, such as databases, shopping carts, social network links, and the like, and you're all set.

By the time you got a good grasp on the different aspects you would need, the idea may be outdated or worse, already done, provided its a really great, unique, and marketable idea.

[NoeG]

I was in your shoes about 5 months ago...I barely knew basic XHTML and I tackled wordpress by myself..but you said that you cannot think of a website that is highly successful built of wordpress your dead wrong...the successful sites use WP as a CMS(Content Managment System) rather than a blog...My advice, and this is coming from someone who was in the same situation not too long ago btw my first site I created from scratch and used wordpress to power it...learn XHTML, CSS and then learn wordpress from the bottom up...if you know those three things about web devlopment you could put almost any project on the web... this is only if you're really serious and commited to learning it..

[nelson22]

I think you can get pretty original with Wordpress. It all depends on how creative you can get with the coding and how much in debt you're willing to learn and try out new methods. I think since you have the intiative to learn on your own first instead of hiring someone, you should just go for it. You can also just create something based off Wordpress, but still have your own twist to it.

Here's a few tutorials that may be helpful to you:

• http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Lessons - just some basic codex and step-by-step tutorials on implementing WP to your website

• http://www.webdesignerwall.com/tutor...rdpress-theme/ - if you're a visual person, this is a good tutorial that's pretty simple to follow and give you the basics on WP themes

• http://www.onlinecomputersciencedegree.com/ - will give you a good insight on more web development tools if you are wanting to pursue computer science and gain a greater knowledge of its applications

• http://net.tutsplus.com/articles/web...ess-tutorials/ - and this includes the top 50 WP tutorials out on the web, which I'm sure you'll find what you need here

All in all, I think Wordpress is a great place to start, and actually some of the websites are WP themes, but you just don't know it because they've created something totally original and it can be done with lots of searching and willingness to learn!

[ashodisb]

Wordpress is a very good platform to use especially for webmasters without in-depth coding knowledge. There are also thousands of free ready-made plugins that can easily meet your specific needs. I suggest you first sign up for a free wordpress blog on wordpress.com and test out the backend yourself to get familiar with using it.