WORDPRESS WORKSHOPUWWD

In our quest to eliminate bad websites, we present….

HALLELUJAH!!

AGENDA

The Structure of a Website What is Wordpress? Why do we use it? Static versus Dynamic Content Server-side versus Client-side Code FTP and other basics Installing WordPress Basic Configuration Adding/Editing Pages and Posts Uploading/Changing themes Plugins

BASIC STRUCTURE

Two parts YOU (and your web browser) The web server

YOUSERVER

WHAT IS WORDPRESS?

WordPress is a CMS CMS – Content Management System A CMS is a piece of software that allows

multiple users to create, edit and publish web content.

Wordpress itself is a blogging platform! But it can be extended to do much

more with themes and plugins

WHY DO WE USE WORDPRESS?

The internet before CMS/Wordpress:

loads of boring HTML

You sit there and write HTML and CSS code all day to make web pages that never change unless you write more HTML.

WHY DO WE USE WORDPRESS?

The internet after CMS/Wordpress:

Sunshine and rainbows (pink elephants too)!!

Well not really, but something just as nice…

WHY DO WE USE WORDPRESS?

It looked more like…

WHY DO WE USE WORDPRESS?

Easy to create/edit content No coding, HTML or other technical knowledge is

required. No need to upload/download HTML files, just point

and click Allows one to create dynamic content

Customizable!! You can make almost any type of site with Wordpress

painlessly EASY TO USE!!!!!!

STATIC VERSUS DYNAMIC CONTENT

Static Content Content that does not change unless the user

specifically makes changes to it. E.g. pure HTML and CSS pages No user interaction

Dynamic Content Content changes depending on the situation. Usually, the content is generated on the fly as the

user accesses a web page. E.g. CMS, Facebook, etc

WordPress falls into both categories

CLIENT SIDE VERSUS SERVER SIDE CODE Client Side Code

Code/markup that is processed by your computer and web browser

E.g. HTML, CSS, Javascript Basically server sends markup/code, which your

computer processes and turns into a nice web page

YOUSERVER

CLIENT SIDE VERSUS SERVER SIDE CODE Server Side Code

Code/markup which is processed by the web server.

The web server sends the results of this processing as client side code to your computer.

VERY POWERFUL – is the foundation of WordPress and sites like Facebook

CLIENT SIDE VERSUS SERVER SIDE

Server Side Code (WordPress)

Client Side Code (HTML)

Web Page on your screen

BASIC THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR WORDPRESS

FTP – File Transfer Protocol Used to upload files to your website Needed for the installation of WordPress

and to add themes, plugins and sometimes images and videos.

Some FTP programs: Filezilla FireFTP (Firefox extension) Windows Explorer

Built into Windows

BASIC THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR WORDPRESS

MySQL Database Holds most of the content and information

WordPress needs such as posts, pages, user accounts, etc

Only need to know how to create one, and the user name and password of it

The Computer Science Club is your best friend here!!!

WEB RESOURCES

If you get stuck and/or need help: WordPress Documentation:

http://codex.WordPress.org/Main_Page WordPress Forums:

http://WordPress.org/support/ Google

INSTALLING WORDPRESS

What you’ll need: Web space with PHP and MySQL A text editor Web browser FTP Client A database with the user name and

password to access it

INSTALLING WORDPRESS

1) Download the latest version of WordPress from WordPress.org

2) Unzip the tar/zip files to your hard drive

3) Upload the files to the web server using FTP

4) Go to http://websiteurl.com/wp-admin/install.php and follow instructions

5) AND YOUR DONE!!!

BASIC CONFIGURATION

What we’ll be focusing on in the admin area Settings:

General Discussion Permalinks

Adding and Managing Categories Comments Links Akismet

API Key

NORMAL WORDPRESS USAGE

It’s pretty simple WordPress.org Codex is a great place to

learn how to use it Also WordPress.org’s Forums are

awesome as well Best way is to poke around and see

what stuff does

ADDING/EDITING POSTS

Wordpress uses a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) editor Basically an editor like Word that takes what you

type and converts it into HTML for you Wordpress posts are like news articles and

snippets Aka blog posts for the most part.

Can sort posts by categories and tags Categories are used to sort posts hierarchly Tags are used to add extra keywords to a post

outside of the category definitions Used by search engines to index your posts

ADDING/EDITING PAGES

The creating/editing screen for pages is the same as posts Except there are no tags and categories

Pages are like HTML pages. Except they are easier to create and edit Useful for easily creating a site with page

navigation without having to know HTML or CSS

Easy to place into hierarchies

THEMES

There are TONS of them!!! Some are pretty, some not so much You can get them at WordPress.org or from

within your own WordPress site Only takes a couple of clicks!!!

THEMES

Seriously, there are tons of them…..

THEMES Yes there is a sunshine and rainbows

theme as well..

CUE DEMO TO SHOW AWESOMENESS O_O

PLUGINS There are also TONS of them!!!

Easy to install, only a few clicks to get them running

Add all sorts of goodies to your WordPress site!

Read instructions You’ll thank us later

WordPress forums for each plugin are your friend here!!!!

CUE DEMO TO SHOW MORE AWESOMENESS O_O

WE’RE DONE