Michael Fields

But I wanted to know if it’s possible to use WordPress as a CMS?

Yes, WordPress is a Content Management System.

For eg, can I have a static page as my front page and the actual blog residing in the /blog folder on my web host?

Yes, Please read this.

You can just set the array in your first foreach loop:

<?php

$display_categories = false;
$categories = get_categories( 'child_of=20' );

foreach ( $categories as $cat )
	$display_categories[] = $cat->cat_ID;

if( $display_categories ) {
	foreach ( $display_categories as $category ) {
		query_posts( "showposts=1&amp;orderby=rand&amp;cat=$category" );
		while ( have_posts() ) {
			the_post(); ?>
			<div class="cat-3content">
				<div align="center"><a href="<?php echo get_category_link($category);?>"><?php echo the_excerpt(); ?></a></div>
				<h6><a href="<?php echo get_category_link($category);?>"><?php single_cat_title(); ?></a></h6>
			</div>
	  <?php
		}
	}
}
?>

I think that is Joomla. Try posting here: http://forum.joomla.org/

I would suggest that you make a Custom Page Template. The only php you will need to use is a comment at the top of the document, after that you can put any html that you want:

<?php
/*
Template Name: Custom HTML Page
*/
?><ENTER YOUR HTML HERE>

Upload this file to your current themes directory. Log into WordPress. Create a new page, enter a title and apply this Template. All there is left to do is Publish. Using this method, you can have a static html page that will still show up in wp_list_pages();

Here’s a couple of links. None are exact, but something might work for you.

http://myblogit.net/2008/01/31/free-wordpress-themepolitical-politics/
http://jeremysarber.com/2008/08/01/new-patriot-wordpress-theme-for-sale/
http://demos.jeremybuff.com/conservative/
http://ithemes.com/free-wordpress-themes/ (scroll down)

Not sure… I was able to copy it and paste in a blank document which I saved to my desktop. When I opened this file in my web browser – everything seemed to work fine. I was even able to put it on my MySpace profile without a problem…

The problem seems like it has to do with google’s filtering of your content. A few questions:

• Where did you post it on goolge?
• Are you able to post other images there like this one?
• Can you provide a link?
• Have you tried to use the code on a page other than Google?

Nope, I did not mean to imply that at all. When I said

I would be absolutely lost without knowledge of php and mysql

I completely meant it. What I meant to communicate in #3 – is that it may be possible to find a theme that does the job well enough needing only minor adjustment from an expert developer… it may also be pretty hard… it all depends on the how “custom” you need to get with things. It may also be pretty easy… really, it all depends.

If I werre to offer you advice, it would be to set up a WordPress “Sandbox” and get a feel for it and see what you can or can’t do with it before you offer it as a professional service.

Best of luck,
-Mike