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I am looking for a PHP blog engine which needs to be easy to redesign (CSS, HTML). It also needs to be free and have simple user interface so that the client doesn't struggle to add posts. Any suggestions?

Paul D
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Wordpress - I keep trying other blogs and I keep going back to wordpress. It's definitely the easiest I've used for customizing templates, and the admin UI is very nice.

Loren Segal
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  • That was my initial thought, and I think your quick answer has confirmed that's the way to go. Thanks! – Paul D Sep 18 '08 at 07:54
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    -1 wordpress is a security hazard. – rook Apr 23 '10 at 06:05
  • @corymathews Why can't you stand WordPress anymore? What would you recommend instead? – James M. Greene Jun 29 '13 at 05:20
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    @Rook Why is WordPress a security hazard? What would you recommend instead? – James M. Greene Jun 29 '13 at 05:20
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    @James M. Greene Drupal has a better design, but in all cases the modules you choose will be the weakest link. Wordpress is a security hazard because of culture, they have a poor reaction to security threats and their security team isn't effective. Whitehouse.gov uses Drupal, a lot more money has been spent on securing this platform, and its code quality is a lot better. – rook Jun 29 '13 at 15:29
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I kinda like b2evo we used it on our site and modded it to great effect.

chrissie1
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I hear Chyrp is nice. Textpattern gets some praise too.

Aeon
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I am using flatpress for over a year and i am not going to change it for nothing. Flat text files, simply admin panel, a lot of useful plugins, templates, widgets, static pages, rss2-atom, categories, upload mechanism.

It's easy and super simply. And if your want backups, make a tar. If you want to transfer it, just copy the tar.

http://flatpress.org

ebal
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I have been very impressed with WordPress since I started using it.

I have had a look at the CSS that sits behind and it has a good structure in my view. There are lots of templates and good information on building your own.

I have recently started looking at NetTuts mainly for the Ruby on Rails tutorial but there is lot of good tutorials on extented WordPress at http://nettuts.com/category/working-with-cmss/

Norman
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Simple PHP Blog. very, VERY simple. Very lightweight. Completely customizable. you dont have to worry about using a database! I find it great! http://sourceforge.net/projects/sphpblog/

Go get it!

Sam
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Well, it's hard not to suggest Wordpress. Redesigning it isn't too terribly difficult, a monkey could use it, the admin interface is simple and easy on the eyes, and it has great community support. I'd recommend using the Automatic Upgrade plugin with it as well, so that your customer can always stay up to date as well (for security reasons).

f4nt
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It is not exactly a blog engine but you may find Typolight interesting. It is very easy to use and fairly extensible.

artificialidiot
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Wordpress is definately the answer here. It's got a large community that can assist, with a lot of available free themes you can use and customize to build your own template. It is also easy to extend with a wide range of plugins.

There are a lot of Linux hosted servers that come with Wordpress preinstalled already to make it even easier, but the installation of it is simple and straight forward.

Tsahi Levent-Levi
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Only one answer, Wordpress. I have used it only a few times to customise but simply found that it can be done by editing the header and footer files along with the stylesheet.

What can be simpler.

I suggest you just give it a go before you look at others as you could deliberate for ages just to come back to it :)

Paddy Callaghan
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In the blog specific package area I have used: Textpattern, Typolight, Nucleus, Serendipity and Wordpress. Hands down, Wordpress is the easiest for end-users to manage and, frankly, it is one of the easiest to template. The userbase for Wordpress is so large that you can easily find resources to help you out when you get stuck on something.

My only practical complaint about it is the need to set up caching so that it doesn't get bogged down by a Digg/Reddit/Etc. overload. However, if you set the cacheing up, you are good to go and can handle significant traffic.

rg88
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