[wp-hackers] Let's discuss custom post types and taxonomies.

[Kris Young]

I've finished working on this as part of a project, and I would like to
give my feedback for others to discuss.

I saw this brand new module as potentially ground-breaking - a feature
that would turn general opinion on WordPress away from 'blogging
platform' to 'full-blown CMS'. It gives you scope to do virtually
anything with this software, from a mini-portfolio to a major corporate
website (I know, I've done both). You aren't limited with the
opportunities within this either, whether your portal concerns real
estate, shopping, music or television. Perhaps with a little SSL
integration and a strong server configuration, you can create your own
Amazon.

However, this defining invention in the WordPress package isn't good
enough. Firstly, it's buried deep in the code where only one of two
types of people can freely access it. If you're not an advanced PHP
developer, then you need to be equally as good at copy-pasting from the
few decent tutorials around on this subject or being adept at searching
for plugins. If you're one of those that needs to learn by doing, these
last two options aren't really worth trying. In addition, the
information the Codex gave... didn't seem to even work.

I imagined this whole process to be a lot like Brad Williams' plugin -
an option tucked away in the Settings panel that creates new top-level
nav items for each post type / taxonomy. Free cataloguing of these
items, but with the additional intuitiveness (that nobody has done yet)
added by widgets that easily display the results on any page or sidebar
you want. Would it be unreasonable to ask for something like this as an
addition to the next gold release of WP?

The problem was explaining how to use this feature to idiots like
myself. This was not easy to use at all, and it should be. What are
everyone elses' opinions?

Kris