With the release of WordPress® 3.0, the popular Blogging platform has taken another step toward becoming a full-fledged CMS (Content Management System) along the lines of Joomla® and Drupal®.

The first thing a user will notice about 3.0 is the new default theme. “Kubrick” has been replaced by “Twentyten.” Twentyten allows you to choose your own header image, and with the click of a mouse, you can determine whether a Page layout should be one or two columns. WordPress 3.0 also includes a greatly improved menu management system, so that a non-technical user can create customized menus on a Page-by-Page basis.

Version 3.0 has not changed the fact that WordPress allows you to choose from a wide array of plug-ins. Again, with a few clicks of a mouse, you can download and install a plug-in that will give you a contact form, manage comment spam, optimize your Pages for SEO, and even go so far as to provide you with an e-commerce solution.

The role of a website is changing. It is no longer the unique representation of a company or individual on the Internet. Today you can follow a company or individual on Twitter or and Facebook, connect on Linkedin, and post comments to a Blog.

For each Page you build in a WordPress website, you have to confront the questions–is this a Page or a Blog? Do I allow comments or not?  In a way, it provokes the question: what is now a Website vs. what is now a Blog? With modern tools available, a Website should no longer be just an online brochure. It should, similarly to the example cited above about the use and “conversational” aspects of Social Media platforms, encourage active dialogue with site users, including information seekers, consumers, those who are interested in what you have to say and what you show/demonstrate on your site, and more. Because WordPress started out as a Blogging platform, it is highly suited for this interactive world.

Mitra Creative is proud to announce the launch of a new website for DEEP RIVER TECHNOLOGIES, a Greensboro, North Carolina-based Microsoft® Managed and Certified Partner. Deep River’s specialization is in providing real-world business solutions surrounding the Microsoft® Dynamics® NAV ERP software suite to clients in the Consumer Packaged Goods, Industrial Equipment and Medical Device manufacturing, distribution, warehousing and sales disciplines, as well as others.

VISIT THE NEW DEEP RIVER TECHNOLOGIES WEBSITE BY CLICKING HERE.

• Deep River’s new site was produced as part of a complete re-branding/corporate identity effort for the company, including a renaming (they were formerly known as SoftBytes LLC).
• Among the virtues of the rebranding is the highlight of the Deep River team’s core values, the ways in which they engage with their clients (creating true long-term relationships), their extensive knowledge of the vertical industries to which they provide solutions, the ways they use the Microsoft software suite to solve business problems by industry and by their clients’ roles.

Illustration of the SoftBytes LLC Website Home Page (the client’s former website)

• Mitra Creative collaborated on the entire initiative with The Nurture Institute™, an innovative, forward-thinking marketing solution provider and think-tank that founded and delivers the Microsoft® Partner Essentials marketing program and the Microsoft® Partner Marketing Roundtables.
• The new, fully Web 2.0-enabled website encompasses Deep River’s new name, logo, messaging, as well as uplifted, professionalized visual branding and fresh new written content, and is supported by a custom-programmed/implemented content management system (CMS) and database framework.
• While the Deep River team will continue to engage both Mitra Creative and The Nurture Institute for projects comprising the website (development of new graphics, new site modules, etc.) and other marketing, branding and promotional efforts, they will be self-empowered through the use of the CMS to keep fresh across the site text content, material downloads, embedded video and audio clips, simple graphics, and much more.