WordPress 101 - WordCamp Minneapolis 2016

WORDPRESS 101SHANTA R. NATHWANIWORDCAMP MINNEAPOLIS 2016

Shanta R. Nathwani - http://shanta.ca - @ShantaDotCa 2

AGENDAAbout MeIntroductionWordPressHiring someoneFAQ’s & TipsQ & A’s


FIND ME!Tweet Me:

@ShantaDotCa

Email:[email protected]

My Web Site:http://shanta.ca

http://twitter.com/shantadotca


mailto:[email protected]?subject=From%20WordPress%20101

http://shanta.ca/

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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• Co-Founder, Web Weapons

• Clients include NPOs, Real Estate, Software Development, Financial and Political Sectors

• Bachelor of Commerce in Info Tech Mgmt., Ryerson University

• Serial WordCamper. Went to 7 in 2014 and crowdsourced my tour last year for 7 more and even did WordCamp Mumbai in March, 2016.

• Co-organizer, WordCamp Hamilton, 2015-6

Shanta R. Nathwani - http://shanta.ca - @ShantaDotCa

http://webweapons.com/


FOR OUR CONTENT TODAYOur Foundation Friday collaborative space:• http://smartypress.com/

My demo site:• http://wcmpls.samuraiwp.com/

On Twitter:• #WCMPLSIntro

http://smartypress.com/

http://smartypress.com/

http://wcmpls.samuraiwp.com/

http://wcmpls.samuraiwp.com/


DISCLAIMER• Please excuse all the text.

I’m used to using this for my students, but they make great notes!

• I’m going to upload these after the session to my website. So you don’t have to write this all down.

• Please ask questions! I’ll try and add them to the slides after the fact. And you never know what kind of prizes might be in store…


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 24% 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.Easy to integrate with numerous other platforms, especially Social Media.


.COM VS .ORG WORDPRESS.COM (FREE-ISH)

Hosted by WordPress/AutomatticTypically has a set domain made up of your username and “.wordpress.com”. i.e., http://tantienhime.wordpress.comCan have your own domain or modify themes, but costs extraNo Plugins

WORDPRESS.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://webweapons.com Can modify themes, add plugins and much more!

http://tantienhime.wordpress.com/

http://tantienhime.wordpress.com/

http://shanta.ca/

http://webweapons.com/


THEMES

The “Look and Feel” of your websiteMight include some functionalityThe “Front End” or what people see From Graph Paper Press

http://graphpaperpress.com/themes/


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PLUGINSPlugins extend the usefulness of your websiteSome examples are Backup Buddy and JetpackThe “Back End” or what people don’t typically see


https://ithemes.com/purchase/backupbuddy/

https://en-ca.wordpress.org/plugins/jetpack/



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


CODING TIPS & TRICKSNo matter what your discipline, learn a bit of HTML and CSS. This will help you modify your themes and include things in your postUse Firebug (add-on for FireFox) to target what you need to find in your webpages. You can also use ”Inspect Element” in Chrome.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 thing I don’t recommend doing through the Dashboard.You can probably learn more about these topics at numerous talks online and at WordCamps

http://aldavis.org/


RECOMMENDATIONSDon’t use your social media as your primary channel (such as Facebook)• I recommend using at least Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

(depending on the focus of the org)Keep it current. Use Galleries and stories. (which are going to be many of our examples today.Automate to Social Media and Email Lists (Mailchimp, for example)Monitor all the channels that you are onPay the money when you need to!

14Shanta R. Nathwani - http://shanta.ca - @ShantaDotCa

COMMON QUESTIONS…AND MAYBE SOME COMMON ANSWERS


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1. Do I have to download WordPress to my computer?Long Answer:WordPress.org is hosted on a server running a number of different services, including MySQL Server. You could run it on your computer, but it’s complicated for many beginnersMy advice: Unless you have to do a lot of testing, such as a developer or designer, don’t bother running it locally.

Short Answer: NO


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2. Where can I get themes and plugins?

Long AnswerDo NOT use either themes or plugins from an unreliable source. Do NOT Google “Free WordPress Themes”

My AdviceStart with themes and plugins from WordPress itself. These can be downloaded directly through your Dashboard or from WordPress.org

Short Answer: Many places

http://wordcamp.org/


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3. Okay, you’ve convinced me. How do I move from .COM to .ORG?

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.

Short Answer: It can be done, but it isn’t easy.


EXTRA RESOURCESCodecademy.com: Lessons on learning how to codeLynda.com: Videos as well as starter files included (paid service, but sometimes free through in your education institution)W3Schools: Great lookup resource for code. We don’t memorize every piece of code, we look it upWordPress: This is where you can learn almost everything I’ve just talked about! There is also one for .ORG, but this will get you about 90% of the way there. Skip the “Getting Started” part if you are using the .ORGLucas Cherkewski: Great advice on hiring a developer! (More on this in WordPress 102)

http://codecademy.com/

http://lynda.com/

http://www.w3schools.com/

http://learn.wordpress.com/

https://speakerdeck.com/lchski/be-the-perfect-client


FINAL THOUGHTSGet involved!Do your research, as with anything, especially hostingHave an idea of what you want going into a relationship with a designer or developer, both look and functionality.


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QUESTIONS?

Tweet Me:@ShantaDotCa

Email:[email protected]

My Web Site:http://shanta.ca





http://shanta.ca/

http://shanta.ca/