The convention seems to be thus: if there’s an image that you’d like to use in one (or even a handful) of pages, but not all, just use WordPress’s support for uploading and embedding images (through the ‘Add Media’ button). If you’re working with an image that needs to go on every page (such as a header or footer image) then it should be hard coded in your PHP template files.

It’s making more sense now, but I’ve just remembered what prompted me to ask in the first place! I copied my code across, but it doesn’t like the PHP parts – I used PHP to call the root directory, so I could make pseudo relative image links. Again, probably not the correct terminology, but essentially it fills in the root directory of the theme, so I can choose the image from there.

I guess this could be easily changed by choosing the exact URLs to the images. How do people normally work around these PHP limitations when putting together more complex static arrangements!?

Jim.

I would recommend your first solution: create the static content using WordPress’s built in support for pages.

You can prevent your girlfriend (or any other future users) from editing the pages you create by making them an Author. Authors can only edit pages/posts that they created. Check out the Codex on ‘Roles and Capabilities’: http://codex.wordpress.org/Roles_and_Capabilities

I’ve just stumbled across this post in a search for some guidance. I am a relative beginner to WordPress theming, but I am currently setting up a site for my girlfriend to showcase her design work. I wonder if you might provide your thoughts around this conundrum?

I would like the majority of the site to be ‘static’ content, with some elements (pages) maintained in a dynamic fashion – namely a gallery and blog page. After first putting the site together in HTML, when it came to recreating it with WordPress I was faced with the dilemma of how to add the ‘static’ sections of the site.

It feels like I have two options:

1.) Add the static content within WordPress. My nervousness, which I believe is also the theme of your post, is that this content could (completely by accident) be messed up, when the client (aka my girlfriend), is maintaining the site.

2.) ‘Hard Code’ the static content. Probably not the correct terminology, but I’m thinking it is possible to actually write the code into a specific page template and let WordPress call on that template only for that page. I’m not sure how this works yet, but does it sound viable?

The latter feels like a more solid, unbreakable approach, but I’m not quite sure how you do it yet – I guess I just need to suss out custom page templates.

Thoughts?

Jim.