Having made about 8 websites using WordPress in 4 or so months up until I went away, I was a litte fed up of the system, having to find increasingly complex solutions to some of the more advanced CMS functions required of each site. I was pretty glad when I came back that I didn’t have to dive straight into another one, as much as I love the system. But I’ve been using it again for the new version of the website of the company I’m with, and the 2.5 version no less, and I’ve embraced it once more, implementing it in a tight efficient manner.

It’s a wonderful feeling as you pull the knowledge out of your head from all that experience without even realizing it, and the hugely impressive improved documentation really helps. One of the reasons it’s become easier is I’ve just discovered a few new functions to utilize. First one is get_page, which does exactly what is said on the tin and returns an array or object with the ID specified. Very useful, especially as before I was always using the WP_Query system, which was nice and bulky, not to mention buggy if I ever used more than two on the same page.

Another great function is get_avatar, which is a new feature as of 2.5, and this little beauty actually get the Gravatar that matches the e-mail you put in. And all because the same sharp minds built both WordPress and Gravatar. I just feel sorry for all those people who made the plug-ins before it was included.

Last one I’m going to document isn’t actually new, but I’ve only just discovered it: wp_tag_cloud. Now, I’m not the biggest purveyor of tag clouds when it comes to my own sites, but the amount of times clients have seem them and gone ‘I want that one’ is endless. Always talked them out of it mindEither that or they realize there’s not really much to tag in their 10 page CMS site with no blogbut it’s nice to know that the option (with lots of settings too) is now there without having to search for a plug-in for it.

So yeah, all this rediscovery of this wonderful system has really lightened me up. The improved documentation has quite a bit to do with it, as for the last 2 months I’ve either been creating my own system, or using a shopping cart with no documentation. Good on you, WordPress!