Cursor

There’s plenty of WordPress-powered online properties in Government right now and some very busy freelancers building them. For a while now, I’ve been trying to compile a list of useful people, agencies, tools and resources for WordPress, so I thought I’d kick it off here. It’s obviously incomplete, and mention here does not necessarily constitute personal recommendation.

Please add any additions, amendments or feedback in the comments and I’ll amend this post over time so it becomes a bit of a living resource. If you’re an agency/developer and have client permission, I’m happy to add some portfolio URLs to your entry below.

Agencies & freelance developers

Worth also joining & asking on the WordCampUK mailing list. More info about WordCamp.

Hosting providers

  • Bytemark (seems to assume slightly more command-line savvy than some hosts)
  • Eduserv
  • WebFusion
  • Memset
  • uRevised
  • I seriously need more options in this category. Please recommend good UK-based WP hosts.

Useful themes & plug-ins

Training & tutorials

UK Government examples (as of September 2009)

See also Puffbox’s archive of reports on WordPress use in Government

Get notified of new blog posts by email

Comments

Jeff – I suspect that’s fighting talk around here, and no doubt SimonD will be along in a second to explain how you’re only scratching the surface of WordPress capability… 😉

Steph – for our part, I’d chuck in Defra’s Third Sector blog, managed by Simon Berry and team, at http://blogs.defra.gov.uk/3rd-sector. On the plug-ins section, I’d add the TinyMCE Advanced, which we’re using (planning to use/whatever) to limit the damage content editors can do – no more underline or font controls! Hosting wise, we’ve been successfully using Zen Internet since our first WordPress blog a year or so ago.

Good stuff, and some things (and people) I’m going to check out almost straight away! Still looking for a magical automated backup system though…

Cheers,
Simon

This is a really helpful list of resources.

There are still a number of people I come across in Whitehall that are nervous about using WordPress as a platform, so it’s useful to pull together the examples of where it has been done previously.

Simon, you are correct – there are some other cracking sites based on WordPress that much more than we do at G2010. Here’s an excellent client site (not government) based on WordPress: http://replify.com

Whitehall Webby – you are correct also. But then again the http://G2010.co.uk team are shameless self-publicists. We want you all to watch on October 22nd.

Jeff

Hi Steph,

Hope people find a lot of use from the resource you’re building here.

May I add TANDOT to your list, a boutique agency providing strategic planning and WordPress-backed CMS solutions with a community and angagement focus?

We’re at tandot.co.uk.

You’re only scratching the surface of… etc. (Is that what you were after, Simon E?)

There’s not a lot WordPress can’t do; I hope we’ve (collectively) proven that. But as I wrote on my own blog recently, I think we’re moving from ‘proof of concept’ to sustainable WP-based solutions. That’s why I think Steph’s right to flag up the issue of quality hosting/support. And it’s something I hope to be able to help with shortly.

I wouldn’t recommend podpress as it doesn’t not work with the current release of WordPress without serious adjustments. PowerPress from Blubrry, Podcasting and even 1 Pixel Out’s Audio Player currently function well with 2.8.4, but you seem to have listed the one podcasting plugin that isn’t compatible anymore.