Trumblog

WordPress is probably the dominant blogging platform used today as well as an acceptable content management system. One of the aspects of WordPress that has led to its broad use is that it is open source, the code is free and updated and extended by users so that not only is it an affordable option, but it also has been enhanced through design (themes) and feature specific modules (plugins) to do just about anything that you’d want it to.

Despite that, WordPress did not have a BlackBerry application until last summerwhen a beta was released. It was a bit buggy and had some UI issues, but since then updates to the WordPress BlackBerry application have been rapid, developing a useful application for managing your blog. That part is key. WordPress for the BlackBerry is for existing blogs only.  Setting up a blog and refining the design and functionality of an existing blog are beyond the capabilities of this app (that will go without saying for most bloggers, but it’s worthwhile to point out to the newbies).  This app is for managing a blog that you already have, writing new content, editing existing content and reviewing comments.

Before you get started with the app you’ll need to set up your blog (the app supports multiple blogs either self hosted or on WordPress.com) with your log in information in order to download and sync your content changes. That’s how the app works; download content from you webserver, edit or create and then synchronize.

The app has four areas of functionality:

• Posts - blog posts,
• Pages - pages on your WordPress site,
• Comments - reader comments on posts and pages,  and
• Options - application settings.

Posts

The posts section of the app is of course for writing and editing blog posts. By syncing this section (each section of the app can be synchronized independently, which is a benefit for memory and time or causes unnecessary repetition depending on how you work) the number of posts that you pre-set are downloaded from the server. Those posts can then be edited and re-synched.

The landing page displays your recently posted and submitted posts with the title and date. Using the pencil icon at the top of the screen you can open a new post, the folder icon displays drafts, both local (on your BlackBerry or on the server) and when they were last saved. The icon with two arrows refreshes the list of posts.

The edit screen has the same basic content fields as the online version of WordPress: Title, Tags, Categories, Status and Content. The post title is naturally whatever you want to name your post. The tags (words that describe the post) are added as a comma separated list. Existing categories on your blog are imported to the app for selection and new categories can also be created from the app as well. The status refers to the status of the blog post in regards to it’s being posted. With some statuses not yet posted and others posted in different ways I don’t understand the logic behind their order.  Status options are:

• Pending Review – a post that has been uploaded to the web server, marked for review, but has not been published,
• Private - a post that has been uploaded to the web server, published and marked private,
• Draft - a post that has been uploaded to the web server, but not published,
• Published - a post that has been uploaded to the server, published and is currently live, and
• Local Draft – a post that only exists on the BlackBerry app and has not yet been uploaded to the web server.

Finally there is the post content, which is the HTML text for the post. I find it burdensome to write HTML markup on the BlackBerry so I tend to just write posts and then add the markup online later. But you may be more proficient with HTML.

I prefer to do the same with media. In the application image files from your BlackBerry can be inserted into posts and you can add a title, description, caption, etc., but the media can only be positioned at the top or bottom of the post. More precise positioning must be done online.

Once the post is complete it must be submitted to the web server. The status selected for the post determines whether the post is immediately public, is a draft, etc. Personally I prefer to submit posts written on my BlackBerry as a draft so that I can review the spelling, grammar, formatting and media before I promote it to live, but you can push posts live directly from your BlackBerry.

Pages

The pages section of the app functions basicaly the same as the post section. The main difference is that you can set the options for Parent Page, Page Template and Page Order instead of Tags and Categories. Parent Page and Page Template are drop down menues with data pulled from the live site. The Page Order option allows you to determine where in the order of pages on the site the new one will go by using a numbering system. Other than that the structure, submission and content entry functionality is the same.

Comments

Managing comments on a blog seems like a small thing, but it’s critical to maintaining a community and can be rather difficult with a mobile browser. WordPress for BlackBerry app makes managing comments easy allowing you to spam, hold, approve, delete and reply to multiple comments or individually with little time or effort.

Options

The WordPress application doesn’t allow for much customization and the options screen just gives you the ability to change the blog username and password for logging in, the number of posts that are downloaded and an option for uploading images at a smaller size. More options for things like memory usage, default location of media, etc would be nice add-ons in the future, but for now this will do.

Verdict

This application is a must have for any WordPress blogger with a BlackBerry.  It simply provides the primary features that bloggers need for writing and editing content on the go as well as managing their blog’s community.  It is everything that you expect from WordPress, stable, clean user interface, simple to use.  I find it extremely useful for blogging on the go (this post was written in subways during my commute and a parked car waiting for my daughter’s plane to arrive) or capturing an idea before it gets away.  I’ve published a couple posts directly from my BlackBerry, but for the most part I feel that some extra polish is required that this app really can’t do without a more feature rich text editor and finer media placement control.  With that and some memory management this application would be perfect. But even without it I am very pleased with the app.