Wordpress - as a website developer, is it worth learning?

Question

I've always made websites with Dreamweaver using HTML, CSS, and Jquery. If the client wanted a CMS, I used CushyCMS or Pagelime. I haven't done an eCommerce website, but if I was called upon to do one, I guess I would have installed Shopify or something similar. 
I've been thinking I should learn how to create custom websites for my clients powered with Wordpress. My reasoning for that was that it provides a free CMS and shopping cart solution for them, plus who knows what other goodies are available?? I imagine a plethora of fabulous stuff that I can put on their websites very easily, like discussion forum pages and opt-in newsletter buttons and other magic widget thingies.
I have a new client who has specifically requested a Wordpress site, so now seems to be the time to learn. However, having spent a whole day already trying to get my head around Wordpress, and reading a few comments on the forums here, I've realised it's actually not that easy! Certainly not the magic carpet ride it says it is! I think it'll be quite a learning curve for the client, and maybe Cushy is a better option for clients who just want a simple CMS for their business website.
What do others on the forum think? Is it worth a developer going to the effort to learn Wordpress? Is there any advantage to my clients? Does it have a free shopping cart solution?

Answer 1

Yes it's worth at least investigation Wordpress. No, it's not that easy to get your head around.
What you have to do is determine what it is you want your client to have the ability to do. Personally I can't see a reason to give a client FULL CMS control of a website because they will create a train wreck in only a few days. No CMS is a subsitute for a professional web developer.
What I'm leaning towards is implementing Wordpress into sites of say 20-30 pages or less, where specific area/pages of the site can be updated by the client. Anything bigger then its my opinion that the company probably needs help updating the site and should employ a professional to do so. 
You don't need to take onboard the FULL capabilities of Wordpress just isolate the bits that fit in with YOUR workflow NOT Wordpresses workflow.
With this in mind my approach (at the moment) is to build a site as normal in Dreamweaver and then integrate Wordpress into it so I have control rather than what is the normal procedure where Wordpress takes control and you have to jump through hoops manipulating other peoples themes and css files.
Many Wordpress tutorial you'll find on the net are outdated or assume you know more than you do about Wordpress and leave you 'hanging'
After Googling around I found what I believe to be one which is fairly easy to follow and shows you how to turn a static html website into a Wordpress CMS website.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o2XcHqQbRY&list=UU0f9NbKjUUbnL2cOa12ENIQ&index=81&feature= plcp
The tutorial above is very basic BUT very understandable, you have to then build on it to take advantage of more Wordpress features like adding new editable 'content blocks' and 'global post areas'.
Wordpress in its original form is very powerful but rather complex to understand as the pages are made up from compiling a number of other files into one page. If you have been used to building in Dreamweaver then this will most likey NOT be a comfortable workflow for you. The video link above shows you how to avoid this and yet still get some CMS fetaures into your site.
Personally I think Wordpress 'out of the box' is either for amateurs or those who are extremely advanced in html,css and php. Those inbetween are well advised to sift through Wordpress and disregard the bits that will cause issues. Take for instance the automated menu system. May sound good but what happens when your client adds more menu buttons to your carefully crafted horizontal menu bar. Depending on the space it could we'll break it very very easily. So you need to know what bits of Wordpress to include and what bits not to.