WordPress setup to replace Evernote?

June 29, 2016 5:15 PM

I use Evernote for storing a combination of random reference bits (including photos) and writing ideas. Now that they're switching the basic version to only access by two devices, I'm wondering if I should use my webhosting and a WordPress install to achieve the same thing. I had a general idea of what I might do, but could use specific recommendations from anyone who's tried to do something similar.

A bit more about how I use Evernote:

* Rough drafts of writing that might go into my actual blog or be submitted to some other site.
* Bits of knitting instructions; sometimes it's easier to read on my phone in Evernote than from a PDF or another website.
* Photos of interesting knitting patterns in books from the library.
* Odd little reference things: a photo of a mailing address I may or may not use, the price of something from Home Depot, the home router details....
* A few recipes.
* Journaling.
* Home improvement research notes.

It's helped to have at least two notebooks and several tags, although I've been erratic about it. I think using categories as notebooks and tags as, well, tags will work pretty well.

I don't use the to-do list functionality; a combo of Wunderlist & Google Keep does the job pretty well for me.

I use the 4x1 Evernote widget for Android quite a bit, especially the photo and quick note buttons. Is there anything similar for WordPress?

For a private site, I've used and appreciated the Absolute Privacy plugin. (It still works!)

Is there anything else I'm not thinking of?

posted by epersonae to Technology (6 answers total)

If you're looking for an Evernote replacement without the restrictions you might want to try OneNote. I switched about a year ago and have been very satisfied with it.
posted by doctord at 5:40 PM on June 29, 2016 [2 favorites]

Is this possible? Yes. But WP is a completely different tool from Evernote. I'm struggling to see how to translate Evernote to WP, and I think you might come up against missing features or complicated setup because WP just isn't intended to do what you're looking for. I think OneNote or another notebook-based system might make more sense.
posted by anotheraccount at 6:07 PM on June 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

Using WP to replace the featureset of Evernote sounds exhausting to me, so allow me to nth unrecommending that option. If it helps you make up your mind, there's even an importer for OneNote. This list of alternatives to Evernote might also be useful; I see a few open-source options if that's more your speed.
posted by Aleyn at 8:08 PM on June 29, 2016 [1 favorite]

I have to echo all of the supporters of Microsoft's OneNote. I've used it for many many things and found it versatile and able to meet my needs every time. It has the cache` and support of the Microsof suite, which was a pull for me over Evernote.
posted by metazen at 9:28 PM on June 29, 2016

I don't remember where exactly I came across this, but Warren Ellis at one point was using Tumblr as a morgue file for various ideas and pictures.

I was using Evernote myself for a while, but I find I would much rather create my own archive rather than use a cloud service. I've been using Ulysses for the iPad, and was using Apple's Notes app for a suprisingly long time before switching. A couple of friends of mine rave about Scrivener.
posted by Eikonaut at 11:11 PM on June 29, 2016

Response by poster: Apparently whatever I've been doing with Evernote isn't really Evernote-like?

I started using a WordPress site for my miscellaneous note-taking etc about a month ago, and so far I'm actually quite pleased.

Categories as notebooks is perfect for me, combined with search & tags, for finding things later.

I'm loving the Carton theme for layout.

And the WordPress Android app integrates really well with sending photo notes and making little quick notations.
posted by epersonae at 4:50 PM on August 4, 2016