Hey everyone!
I need some help. I've seen a few folks respond to newbies with a suggestion that they "run, don't walk" to wordpress.com if they can't figure out how to code, etc. I am no php/css expert, but I've been having pretty good success figuring it out. I do have several things I'd like to do with my site, and I'm really not sure how to even begin. I've been pouring over the plugins database for solutions, but I thought I'd ask here and maybe some kind soul will take me under their wing. My website is http://www.scribeseeker.com.
My concept for my website is that it be a social networking site with the added functionality of being an article submission site. I want to essentially build something like eHow or Infobarrel that will pay a much better AdSense rate to users while building an amazing directory listing with well-written, useful articles.
1. I would like to have the posting page not look like a dashboard page - i.e. I'd like to have a "skin" or some such where contributors post their articles without actually looking like they're in the dashboard. This isn't essential, but something I think would lend credibility to the site from a writer's standpoint.
2. In the nav bar, I would like to eliminate the link for "blogs" since the only blog is the one in the root directory, I won't be allowing users to create their own blogs. I would also like to rename "blog" for the main blog "articles".
3. If you click on the drop down, you'll see there is exactly one article in my database (for testing purposes). The URL puts the article in the /blog directory. I want to change that to /articles but I don't know how to redirect everything that direction. I know how to create a directory, I can create a new blog in the /articles directory, but I can't figure out how to just change /blog to /articles and still have everything work.
4. I want to show a link to the contributor's profile essentially giving a byline and allowing readers to contact the author if they want to commission a private request for an article. (I don't want to micromanage contributors - I want it to be an avenue for folks to connect with web devs looking for freelance content writers and I'm not interested in getting a part of that pie.
5. I'm not sure if this would even work in a blog format, but I'd like readers to only ever be able to see ONE article at a time (not a blog page with multiple posts).
My plan is to get the site running through Wordpress/Buddypress and once it becomes profitable (I'll be adding my own content for adsense revenues that would go to me) I will hire someone who is far more talented than I to create exactly what I'm imagining. Unfortunately, I'm now operating on a negligible budget, so that will have to come down the line.
I would REALLY appreciate anyone who is generous enough to help me out with any of these questions. I'm a bit of a bipolar, and I tend to get excited about things and then let them drop, but this project has held my attention like super glue, and I really want it to succeed. Thanks in advance for your help!
