When extending WordPress functionality for your existing site, you can find dozen of plugins that can help you add-on features without the hassle of changing to another platform. All you have to do is to find the right plugin(s) that you need and install it into WordPress. With the combination of plugins, hacks and creativity, WordPress has been often used in different unique and unconventional ways.

Below we will share with you some of the different unique uses of WordPress and the plugins or themes used.

18 Unique Uses of WordPress

Twitter Site

If you are a twitter fan, and love to build a twitter-like site, the easiest way is to use WordPress with Prologue theme. Go to “Add New Theme” at the admin, do a search for P2 install and activate it.

WordPress P2 Theme

Forum

If you need to add a simple and light-weight forum to your existing WordPress site, you can try adding 1 of the following forums built for WordPress, instead of installing the full pledged forum which can be overkill or bloated.

Bbpress

More Resources:

• WordPress Forum Server
• Simplepressforum

Tumblelog

Turn WordPress into a Tumblelog which allows you to make short and quick posts like publishing posts, sharing links, videos, images or whatever little scribbles you want to make online.

Quick Post

More Resources:

• Tumblelog WordPress Theme by Themeshaper
• Pockett by Nyssa J. Brown

CSS Gallery

Most of the CSS Galleries you find online are powered by WordPress. It helps to collect and archive nice websites that can inspire you for your next project.

CSS Gallery Theme by Os Designer

More Resources:

• Css Gallery Theme 2.0 by UrbanTrash
• Snapshot by WooThemes

Community News Site

Building a community news site that aggregate news among your niche help you bring community news to one place.

FV Community News

More Resources:

• TDO Mini Forms

Photoblog

A photo speaks a thousand words. The use of a photoblog focuses on the photographs rather than text. It helps photo lovers and photographers to share their photos easily, and at the same time has the capabilities of a blog. Simple, no text!

Yet Another Photoblog

More Resources:

• Photoq

eCommerce Site

WordPress is used as a blog, but what if you need to sell some products, build another eCommerce system? To save trouble, there are some great eCommerce plugins that you can integrate into your existing WordPress system and start selling right away.

WP e-Commerce

More Resources:

• Shopp
• eShop

Invoice System

As your business grows, you might need to send itemized invoices to your clients. Having an invoice system helps you to keep track of your client’s billing and allows your clients to pay using their credit card.

WP-Invoice

Job Board

Many established blogs offer job board listing among their niche when they have huge readerships. You can turn WordPress into a Job Board that lists the available jobs, and charge job posters for posting their entry.

Job Press Theme

More Resources:

• WP Job Board

Business Directory

Easily turn a WordPress site or blog into a simple directory where people can submit their links, and you can moderate those submissions.

Business Directory

Membership Subscription Site

To have pay-to-view, membership-oriented, subscription-based content publishing platform, you can turn a WordPress into a membership subscription site that only paid members can enter.

Sumaplugin

More Resources:

• MemberWing – Multifunctional WordPress Membership Site Plugin

Contacts and Company Manager

Turn your WordPress into a contacts and company manager to keep track of phone numbers, email addresses, websites, social networks and other types of information regarding your clients.

More Resources:

• Rolopress

Digg-like Voting Site

Like the voting system from Reddit of Digg? You can add the voting functionality to your site for visitors to use. With more changes to the themes, you can clone a Digg-like voting site.

Vote it Up

Newsletter Mailing System

Sending Newsletters or Electronic Direct Mail has been part of online email marketing. With Feedburner or WordPress plugin you can add the newsletter mailing function into your existing WordPress System.

WordBurner – Newsletter Manager Using WordPress and Feedburner

More Resources:

• MailPress
• Newsletter

Wiki

Need a Wiki for your WordPress site? Use this plugin to transform WordPress into a custom, knowledge based application to power your documentation needs. You’ll be able to add articles and frequently asked questions, rate content, show related articles, and much more!

WP-Wiki

Auction Site

It’s a breath of fresh air for the WordPress community. Turn WordPress into a site that hosts auctions on your blog.

WP Auctions

Review site

Turn WordPress into a powerful review site engine, allowing you to easily create user-powered review sites on virtually anything – to review products, services or add star ratings to your existing website or blog.

WP Review Site

Social Networking Site

Add a social networking layer to a new or existing installation of WordPress MU. This transforms your network of blogs into a social networking site, so each blogger can interact and get to know more about one another.

BuddyPress

More Resources:

• WordPress MU

Other WordPress Use?

There are many different ways we can extend WordPress. Just note that WordPress can only help you to extend to a certain level of functionality. If you need more features, consider other alternatives for your requirements. Remember, it is still a blogging platform.

Have more unique uses of WordPress? Share it in our comments section below.