Site Design: Anything that can be done in WP can be done in SMF... HOW?

[PenelopeQ]

I am not sure where to post this, so I apoligze beforehand and of course understand that it will be moved to the most appropriate location--at which point someone may delete this initial sentence.

Anything that can be done in WP can be done (IMO, better and better coded) in SMF.

I believe Kindred has said this over and over, but how?
I would love it if I could get my forum to have a look more like my Wordpress blog. I am not a web designer, developer or coder or whatever you call people who know what they are doing with a computer...
I believe you when you say that smf is better coded and I understand that something being popular can still be messily coded...somethings became popular years ago and they stuck, but people like me use Wordpress because it is easy:

• I don't have to know how to code; I don't have to go into the CSS... those skills are certainly helpful, but the platform can be used without such skills.
• I can go into my wp-admin and choose my colors of various fonts, background, button, widget, link...
• I can upload my own header with the push of a button
• There is a place to store my images.
• I can customize my menu--linking to other sites from a main menu so that two separate domains feel seemless when going from one to the other
  Why is that important, because starting out I didn't use a blog platform and I want to keep that site because the hosting is the only one where I have had zero issues. Upgrading is a button push--plugin and wp

I don't know how high demand for a bridge to wp is...and high is relative anyway. Is 100 not high, and 1000 requests high...and maybe there have only been 20. I would love a wp-bridge mod that is kept up. But I digress...

Can someone give me some directions as to how to manipulate/design an smf site with the same custoimization available to  unskilled wordpress users like me? Basically, how do I get my smf forum to look like my wordpress blog or my main site for that matter--they don't look exactly alike, but somewhat. I fear I am asking something too big--maybe not too big for someone with the technical skills, but too big for me. A tutorial would be awesome!

You may not like the look of my site, but so what...it's my site. I love smf...I mean love it. I love this forum because you guys here pay attention when we post questions. I can wait days or years for a response at the wordpress forums, but here I get multiple people helping me and sometimes within minutes and even when I get lost you stick with me.

I love the features--the subscription feature as a core feature was why I chose smf. I have recently looked at bbpress just to see what it's all about and just from my cursory look I can tell that it is not even close to smf in what it can do. Maybe some things can be brought closer with plugins (though I am doubtful), but core features are important...plugin developers stop developing and important plugins become dysfunctional as software is upgraded.

I wish my sites were integrated so my smf users could login once and be logged into both my sites--I'm expanding to e-courses and would like to add a chat for my subscribers, but the smf chats mods are few and I am wary, whereas at WP there are several to choose from and it appears they (some) are coming from companies rather than individuals who are tinkering in their spare time and so I feel more reassured that development will continue as WP upgrades.
I also wish I could (easily) customize some menus--a forum menu as you have here is great, but another top menu for some of my other pages would be great too. But I don't know how to do that.
So how do I choose my own colours (for various things), fonts, add and change menus, side widgets, add my own header--I have an image now, but it just sort of sits on top of the theme design.

[Deaks]

How do I integrate SMF into my PHP coded website?
SSI Readme
How to use the SMF user system outside of SMF

These are prob the best links I can find, to do what Kindred suggest you would need to use the SSI, also have a wee bit of knowledge of code even basic HTML, so best advice is read, practice using a WAMP (google the term) and play around, use sites like w3 school to help you

[Antes]

Let me correct Kindred,

Anything that can be done in WP can be done (IMO, better and better coded) in ANYWHERE*.

* only if you know how to code it.

No its not true for people have basic or no php knowledge. BUT here is my but...

- You can find dozens of cool themes in our site or search around (some people likes to host their themes on their own site)
- SMF does not use header image option (yet means you need a mod or coding to add it).
- You can use gallery modification (which you should since SMF is a forum software not a AiO CMS).
- Probably that's one of the discussed things (or wanted or etc...), team members (dev team) decided not to add it that feature to this version, maybe in next? maybe never? but surely adding new menu item to main menu is too easy.

[margarett]

Each person will have a different view, and this is mine...

SMF, even with MODs and custom themes, will NEVER "look like WP" (keeping in mind that WP itself can have many, many different "looks")

What Kindred says is that you can do "everything" what's usually done in WP with some MODs. True, some coding skills won't hurt

A portal would allow you (amongst other things) to have side blocks like most site do. There is a simple blogging MOD for SMF
http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=793

WP *is* easier to customize for the average user, no doubt about that.
SMF is faster, safer (or at least has a much lower hacking rate) and better coded (and this is debatable - and totally irrelevant for most users )

WP is a tool for a job, and can be modified to an extent
SMF is a tool for another job, and can be modified to an extent

[jms1989]

I'm not a programmer but I poses basic knowledge to change the appearance of SMF and WP. I've been working on theming both systems to look like one website and so far, it has worked out. SMF has a lot more colors to work out and change to follow the style I'm after. I consider myself good enough for html and css and can recognize much of the php, just can never make it from scratch. why should I when there are brilliant programmers for both systems.

Mimicking appearances seems to be the easiest way to integrate them. I know wordpress has a plugin to connect the users together but I find them annoying in the way they operate. I prefer the two to be separate in that regard.

[Kindred]

I prefer not to use WordPress at all - when I have SMF on the site....