I found an html template I really like, and have been building a site around it, by hand, in a program called Notepad++. I really don't have a fraction of the content up that I should, because it's really a pain to work this way. So I'd really like to use a "CMS" of one kind or another ... and if I don't have to write it myself, all the better.

I need to write "static" pages, and I know you can do that. I'm pretty sure I can do that and keep the links along the top navigation. But I need the second-level navigation to change depending on the context. From my home page I like to all the software I'm going to make available through the site; from the freeware page it's a subset of this, and from each individual software package, there's a landing page about the software, a features page, a download page, version history and bug list. I have a different folder named after each app, and the same set of files in each of them, so the structure really won't change that much, but needs to be at least a little flexible.

So, is WP up to the job? I haven't looked into other systems, Joomla or whatever else my host offers, but have the template in html/css and WP format, so even though it seems to rewrite some of your markup, it's really easy to work with... I'm not sure how I would go about building something like a swappable control, though?

The site I'm trying to replace is:

http://exo-brain.com/WebDomViewer/About.html
and
http://exo-brain.com/

Personally, I've got issues with the flexibility of WordPress. I've been able to do what I wanted to do with it in the end...it just takes me twice as long to get to my final destination because of the way in which it's coded.

I'm not sure how a variable submenu would work though; I personally can't see a way to do it other than by hand unless you get your hack on, and hacking WordPress isn't a lot of fun at the best of times.

Originally Posted by ADAM Web Design

I'm not sure how a variable submenu would work though; I personally can't see a way to do it other than by hand unless you get your hack on, and hacking WordPress isn't a lot of fun at the best of times.

I really don't want to put in the time to learn how their db schema works to figure out where to put in my own custom data. Is there any concept like widgets or drop in controls? If I set the "search friendly url" option, would it understand relative links under that? If I create a "page" called WebMaestro, and have some static code for that and other products, linking to "Features.html" and "Version-History.html" under this virtual url? I'm guessing those don't work like folders in the way I'd want them to.

So it sounds like my options are xml+xslt, an asp hosting account, or building out something custom that would be too much work. I guess I could do it in php, but I'd rather use asp. Any suggestions on a good .net host?