wordpress 101 - foundation friday at wordcamp chicago 2014 #wcchi
DESCRIPTION
This talk that I delivered at WordCamp Chicago introduces WordPress to people that have never touched the platform. People want to know what their getting into! What kind of commitment does this mean? What things can it do for me on social media? A quick look at the dashboard and take questions that people have. Why would people use WordPress?TRANSCRIPT
WordPress 101
Shanta R. Nathwani
Agenda
About Me
Introduction
.COM vs .ORG
Themes & Plugins
Pages & Posts
Categories & Tags
FAQ’s & Tips
Q & A’s
About Me• Instructor, Sheridan College
• Joint program with University of Toronto at Mississauga: Institute of Culture, Communication, Information and Technology
• Web Design and Capstone Project
• Independent IT and Social Media Consultant
• Clients include NPOs, Real Estate, Software Development, Financial and Political Sectors
• Bachelor of Commerce in Info Tech Mgmt., Ryerson University
What Is WordPress? Why Should I Use It?
WordPress used be known as a blogging tool. Now, it is a platform for creating websites.
Currently powers 22% of the world’s websites, including The Huffington Post. This has been increasing at a rate of approximately 2-3% per year over the last 3-4 years. It’s not going away any time soon.
Easy to use, can have multiple contributors at different levels of access and much of the time, doesn’t need code.
.COM vs .ORG
.COM Hosted by WordPress/Automattic
FREE!
Typically has a set domain made up of your username and “.wordpress.com”. i.e., http://tantienhime.wordpress.com
Can have your own domain or modify themes, but costs extra
No Plugins
.ORG Also referred to as “Self-Hosted”.
Hosted by a third-party (such as Bluehost)
FREE for the software. You will pay for hosting.
Can have whatever domain you want. i.e., http://shanta.ca, http://tantienhime.com
Can modify themes, add plugins and much more!
Themes
The “Look and Feel” of your website
Might include some functionality,
The “Front End” or what people see
From Graph Paper Press
Plugins
Plugins extend the usefulness of your website
Some examples are Backup Buddy and Jetpack
The “Back End” or what people don’t see
Which One Should I Use? It Depends…
Personal If you just want to use it for a personal
website and more of a blog, use the .COM version
Business If you are going to run your business off
of this site, use .ORG
IN MY HUMBLE OPINION
Pages vs Posts
Pages Static information for the most part
“About Us” is a great example
Does not use Categories
Can have sub-pages
Posts Dynamic information
Time sensitive
Uses Categories & Tags
“Upcoming Events” or “Events Attended” are good examples
Categories vs. Tags
Categories Major classifications for information
“Events” is a great example
Can have sub-categories (much like pages)
Tags Describes the content using keywords
WordPress recommends 5-7 per post
Coding Tips & Tricks
No matter what your discipline, learn a bit of HTML and CSS. This will help you modify your themes
Use Firebug to target what you need to find in your webpages.
Never go live (Thank you Al Davis). Always back up your work, and I don’t recommend making changes to the code through the WordPress Dashboard. This is the ONLY think I don’t recommend doing through the Dashboard.
You can probably learn more about this topic at numerous talks throughout the weekend.
Common Questions
And maybe some common answers
1. Do I have to download WordPress to my computer?
Short Answer: NO
Long Answer:
WordPress.org is hosted on a hosting server running a number of different services, including MySQL Server. You could run it on your computer, but it’s complicated.
My advice:
Unless you have to do a lot of testing, such as a developer or designer, don’t bother running it locally.
2. Where can I get themes and plugins?
Short Answer: Many places
Long Answer
Do NOT use either themes or plugins from an unreliable source
My Advice
Start with themes and plugins from WordPress itself. These can be downloaded directly through your Dashboard or from WordPress.org
3. Okay, you’ve convinced me. How do I move from .COM to .ORG?
Short Answer: It can be done, but it isn’t easy.
Long Answer:
WordPress offers a premium service for about $150 that will migrate your site over to your new hosting company. This includes redirects and SEO.
My Advice:
Let the pros handle it.
Questions?
Tweet Me:
@TantienHime
Email:
My Web Site:
http://shanta.ca