Introduction to Basic WordPress "Elements"

This is part of class 1 in the Girl-Develop-It Introduction to WordPress 4-week course. This presentation highlights the basic "building blocks" of WordPress.

Transcript

1. ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
2. WordPress Elements  PAGES  Posts  Plugins  Widgets  Templates ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
3.  Purpose: for “evergreen” or “static” content  Examples  HOME page  ABOUT page  CONTACT page  PRIVACY POLICY/DISCLOSURE  As PARENT for sub-pages  Codex: http://codex.wordpress.org/Pages  Difference from Posts:  No Categories or Tags  No Comments (typically) Pages ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
4. ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com Walk-thru: Creating a PAGE 1. PAGES Menu 2. Select “New” 3. Enter a Title 4. Enter some content 5. Click “Publish” That’s it!
5.  What is a Post? ◦ Often most confusion… ◦ Posts are what makes WordPress so powerful!  Purpose: for current or news-y content  Examples: ◦ Articles (as on my sites) ◦ “Blog” posts (examples) ◦ Galleries ◦ Portfolios  Use Categories & Tags for organization (Session #3) Posts ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
6. Walk-thru: Creating a Post Start at the “Posts” menu 1. Option 1: “All Posts” (shows existing posts) 2. Option 2: “New” (where you add a new post) ©2014 Karen McCamy 
7. Plugins  What is a Plugin?  Think “applets”  WP Codex: http://codex.wordpress.org/Plugins  Why…  …use them?  …aren’t they included in WordPress? ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
8. Plugins (continued)  Two Types  Internal: ◦ add functionality to your Dashboard or "backend“ ◦ They do not impact your site load times!  External: ◦ add functionality to your site or "frontend“ ◦ These DO impact your site load times ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
9. Plugins (continued)  Examples  Internal: ◦ Post Notes ◦ Lorem Ipsum ◦ Duplicate Posts ◦ Editorial Calendar  External: ◦ Subscribe Form (such as MailChimp) ◦ Adsense ◦ Related Posts ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
10. Plugins (continued) I Use & Recommend  Internal:  Akismet*  SEO  Backup  XML Sitemap  Cache  External:  Related Posts  Contact Form  Adsense  Subscribe Form *shipped with WordPress! ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
11. Walk-thru: Plugins MENU  Start at the “Plugins” MENU  Hover → opens the Plugins sub-menu 1. Installed Plugins – for reviewing, support 2. Add new (just what it sounds like!) *NOTE: We’ll be working with plugins next week in Class #2 ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
12.  Purpose:  for special-purpose content & “features” (not “functionality”)  Adds content to specific areas ◦ Header ◦ Footer ◦ Sidebar(s)  Widgets are NOT the same as PLUGINS!  Theme-specific widget areas & widgets Widgets ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
13.  Codex: http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Widgets  Examples:  Twitter Feed (real-time)  Recent Comments  “Editorial” Theme  “Headlines” Theme  “Karma” Theme  Theme Widgets: MySiteMyWay Themes Widgets (continued) ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com
14. ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com