PIMP YOUR SITEAn Introduction to Themes and Plugins

WordPress Melbourne User Group April 2013

Warren Denley

http://diywebsitecoach.com

https://www.facebook.com/diywebsitecoach

WHAT ARE THEMES?

• Control the way content is displayed on your site

• Allow you to easily change the look of your site

• Can add functionality to your site

WHERE DO I GET THEMES?

• WordPress repository (wordpress.org/extend/themes)

• Theme Forest (themeforest.net)

• Genesis (studiopress.com)

• Other premium themes (Thesis, Headway, etc)

HOW DO I SELECT A THEME?

• Start with your content requirements

• Consider your layout preferences

• What additional functionality do you need?

• How easy is it to customise?

• Can it grow with your site?

HOW DO I INSTAL THEMES?

• From your WordPress dashboard (FTP not required)

• Directly from the WordPress repository

• Upload from your computer

WHAT ABOUT CUSTOMISATION?

• Most themes provide an options panel in the dashboard

• Level of customisation varies between themes

• Widgets

• Custom CSS

• Custom functions (hooks and filters)

WHAT ARE PLUGINS?

• Simple way to add functionality to your site

• May be as simple as adding a “Pin It” button

• Can be as complex as a full blown e-commerce solution

• Generally don’t change the overall styling of your site

WHERE DO I GET PLUGINS?

• WordPress repository (wordpress.org/extend/plugins)

• Code Canyon (codecanyon.net)

• Premium vendors

HOW DO I SELECT PLUGINS?

• Be clear about your requirements

• Sometimes it is worth paying

• Check reviews

• Don’t go overboard

HOW DO I INSTAL PLUGINS?

• From your WordPress dashboard (FTP not required)

• Directly from the WordPress repository

• Upload from your computer

HOW DO I USE A PLUGIN?

• Some plugins require a licence key

• Options pages

• Widgets

• Shortcodes (eg, [button]Click here![/button])

• background only

TOP 10 SUGGESTED PLUGINS

GRAVITY FORMS

• Cost: $39 - $199

• What it does:

Simple visual editor for creating and managing forms on your site.

• Key Features:

Multi-page forms, huge range of field types, conditional fields, Paypal integration, aWeber/MailChimp integration, spam protection

(gravityforms.com)

BACKUP BUDDY

• Cost: $75 - $150

• What it does:

Scheduled and manual site backups. Restore or migrate your site

• Key Features:

Range of offsite storage locations, backup scheduling, full site backup or database only, easy site migration & restore

(ithemes.com/purchase/backupbuddy/)

SOCIAL SHARING TOOLKIT

• Cost: FREE

• What it does:

Add social sharing functionality to your posts and pages

• Key Features:

Wide range of social media connections, integration with Bit.ly for link shortening

(wordpress.org/extend/plugins/social-sharing-toolkit/)

LINK WITHIN

• Cost: FREE

• What it does:

Show related stories under each post

• Key Features:

Customisable factors to determine related stories

(linkwithin.com)

SEEDPROD COMING SOON

• Cost: $29 - $99

• What it does:

Create professional “coming soon” and “maintenance mode” pages

• Key Features:

email list integration, responsive design, social sharing, site access controls

(seedprod.com)

WORDPRESS SEO BY YOAST

• Cost: Free

• What it does:

Helps optimise your pages for the search engines

• Key Features:

meta data management, page analysis, XML sitemap

(yoast.com/wordpress/seo/)

SUCURI

• Cost: $90 - $290 per year

• What it does:

Constantly monitors and protect your site against malware and hacker attacks

• Key Features:

Plugin help “harden” your site, server side monitoring, malware removal included

(sucuri.net)

POPUP DOMINATION

• Cost: $77

• What it does:

Lightbox style email optin

• Key Features:

Proven customisable designs, page targeting, A/B split testing, comprehensive analytics

(popupdomination.com)

WOO COMMERCE

• Cost: Freemium

• What it does:

Turns your WordPress site into a full eCommerce site

• Key Features:

Multiple payment gateways, product management, sales tracking, inventory management, extensible

(woothemes.com/woocommerce)

S2MEMBER

• Cost: Fremium

• What it does:

Membership site management

• Key Features:

access control, multiple membership levels, PayPal integration

(s2member.com)