WordPress: Your CMS of Choice

WordPress is a leading website platform on the Internet today.

Many people aren’t aware, but WordPress is not just for blogs! With its extensive theme and plugin directory, WordPress can be tailored to fit any need. No matter if you have a simple blog or a high-traffic corporate website, WordPress is for you!

Having the right blueprint is imperative to success. WordPress is more than just a blog, it’s a fully customizable content management system. WordPress provides you with a platform that can be altered for any need big or small and with the huge number of developers working on the platform, you are sure to find just what you need. Most importantly, WordPress has been designed to be extremely user-friendly. Whether you are a novice or a skilled user, WordPress’ administrator panel makes it easy to maneuver your website.

Transcript

1. WordPress: Your CMS of Choice design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
2. Lisa Sabin-Wilson Owner, Author, Designer, Developer. WordPress Fan. Chief Operating Officer & Co-Owner: WebDevStudios.com Author: WordPress For Dummies; WordPress Web Design For Dummies Thanks for being here! design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
3. WordPress Powers Nearly 25% of the Web. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
4. 4 WordPress Is The Leading Platform On The Internet Today W3Techs.com - February 22, 2015 38% 2.9% 2.0% 23.4% > 70% Joomla Drupal WordPress No CMS / or Other Content Strategy Content structure, navigation, workflow & governance Social Media Integration / Marketing Integration with social like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram - own your content FIRST, then share it out. Photo Galleries & Showcases Showcase your design work by creating beautiful, dynamic galleries that are easy to navigate. eCommerce & Online Shops Sell products and services online and accept payments, subscriptions and memberships with ease. Web & Mobile Applications Create web sites that look beautiful on mobile devices, too! You can also use WordPess to create iOS and Android apps. ★ 22 out of every 100 new active domains in the US are running WordPress. ★ WordPress 4.1 released on December 18, 2014 has been downloaded 9,548,082. ★ The Industry created by WordPress such as website development, hosting, theme and plug-in development, security, and support is responsible for over 1 Billion dollars in earnings annually. ★ A 2014 survey conducted by WordPress showed that 25% of WordPress users earned their income from the platform. ★ WordPress was created in 2003 to fill a void in the emerging market of managing and publishing content on the web. 1 in 5 Sites design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
5. 5 WordPress Features WordPress has been designed to be extremely user-friendly. Whether you are a novice or a skilled user, WordPress’ Dashboard makes it easy to maneuver your website. Easy to Use. Easy Administration Control Your Content Flexible User Accounts and Roles Search Engine Optimized design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
6. 6 WordPress.com VS WordPress.org Two different flavors of WordPress WordPress.com = Hosted Version WordPress.org = Self-Hosted Version design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
7. 7 WordPress.com = Hosted Version Hosted service - you can sign up for a free account Hosted Tool used primarily by people who run a blog only. Blogging You have to use the themes they give you and you cannot use plugins. Limited Customization There is no software to install, just sign up, login and start blogging. No Software You can pay to upgrade for things like your own domain, premium themes, more space, etc. Upgrades WordPress.com is an excellent way to get a WordPress blog up and running within minutes. If you are interested, primarily, in blogging without any hassle of setting up the software, this may be the solution for you. You are, however, limited in the design of your site and customizations - the 3,000+ themes and 36K+ plugins found in the WordPress directories cannot be used on WordPress.com - they limit you to the feature set that they have provided for you. If you want more control over the look and feel of your site, you may wish to consider the WordPress.org software, instead. WordPress.com design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
8. 8 WordPress.org = Self-hosted Version Requirements: a domain and a web hosting account that supports PHP v. 5.4+ and MySQL 5.5+ Self-hosted The open source platform can be downloaded at WordPress.org - it needs to be installed on your web server. Software Install Access and use the thousands of free themes and plugins available for the WordPress platform. Flexible & Extensible Run a blog, a web site, an online shop, a membership site, a photo gallery - the possibilities are endless. Sky is the limit As mentioned earlier depending on your skill level and experience with web technology - there may be costs involved. Some cost At WordPress.org, you find the open source content management platform that is so popular today. It is a piece of software, however, so it does need to be installed on a compatible web hosting services, like WPEngine.com. Once installed, you can use any number of free themes and plugins to customize your web site to suit your needs. You can run a blog, a web site, an online shop, a photo gallery, a membership site - there are no limits to what you can do. The beautiful thing is that you own, and are in control of, your own content. WordPress.org design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
9. 9 This talk focuses on WordPress.Org My session today focuses on WordPress.org because I believe that is the best solution for any individual or business whose primary goal is to market their product or services on the internet today. The software available at WordPress.org offers you the flexibility and extensibility you need to create a web site that is as unique as you are. WordPress.org design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
10. WordPress is free…. …as in Puppies You can get it for free… but you have to babysit it and make sure it doesn’t poop on your couch. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
11. Domain Registration & Web Hosting To run the WordPress software you need you own domain name and a web hosting account so you have a web server to install and run your WordPress web site. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
12. Theme Design & Development Out of the box, WordPress is free. If you want a custom look and feel, be prepared to pay a professional to do it for you - unless you have the talent, experience and time to make it happen yourself. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
13. Ongoing Maintenance & Support Your website is kind of a big deal. Protecting your WordPress investment is a no brainer. Think of ongoing security checks, updates, backups and development needs. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
14. These Business Brands Are Turning to WordPress WordPress Showcase These brands learned how to leverage the WordPress to use the features they love to connect with customers, track growth, and expand their reach. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
15. Microsoft Europe US Microsoft News Center The New Yorker Sony Music MTV WeTV Beyonce Playstation Best Buy Microsoft Lumina Rush TIME, Inc http://microsoft.eu http://news.microsoft.com http://newyorker.com http://sonymusic.com http://mtv.com/news http://wetv.com http://beyonce.com http://blog.us.playstation http://stores.bestbuy.com/890/ 
 http://lumiaconversations.microsoft.com/ http://rush.com http://timeinc.com 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 01 05 09 02 06 10 03 07 11 04 08 12 These Notable Brands Use WordPress One of the common misconceptions about WordPress is that since it is open source, it may not be good enough for big brands. To disprove this myth, here is a list of most notable big name brands that are using WordPress on their websites. WordPress Showcase design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
16. 16 WordPress Applications for Marketing & Business Some popular, and useful, applications of WordPress for your company Special Features design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
17. 17 Easily Embed Videos Videos from services such as YouTube or Vimeo can be easily embedded in any WordPress post or page WordPress currently allows you to easily embed videos from the following services: YouTube, Vimeo or Vine. OR Upload your own videos and embed them. Video isn't just for entertainment anymore. It's quickly becoming the preferred medium for marketing teams to communicate with prospects and customers online. Millions of videos are added to the internet each day and they are making a huge impact on how people market their businesses online. Videos keep your audience interested and its easier to persuade people with video and a lot of times, decision makers don’t have the time to read a bunch of lengthy text. Special Features design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
18. 18 Web Lead Forms Creating custom forms in WordPress is pretty easy - - you can even connect them to your favorite CRM Easily create web forms to allow your customers to communicate with you directly. ——- Hook those web forms into popular CRM solutions like Marketo or Salesforce to collect and manage web leads. Use the Gravity Forms plugin for WordPress to build custom forms that suit your needs: http://gravityforms.com For Marketo integration - there is a plugin for Gravity Forms that adds users into your Marketo account when users submit the form: https://wordpress.org/plugins/marketo For Salesforce integration - there is a plugin for Gravity forms that adds contacts into your Salesforce account when users submit the form: https://wordpress.org/plugins/gravity-forms-salesforce Special Features design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
19. 19 Photo Galleries & Showcases A picture tells a thousand words! If I am searching for interior design samples or services - I want to see examples! Easily create stunning photo galleries to showcase your work with the built-in photo gallery feature in WordPress - - or extend the feature by taking advantage of one of many free photo gallery plugins available for WordPress. Visual imagery is important in interior design - everyone from the DIY’er to the person who hires you to do it for them wants to see samples of your work and ideas and there is no better way to convey that than to provide a visually rich experience on your web site to allow your work and ideas to speak for themselves! Luckily, WordPress has built-in photo gallery capabilities allowing you to upload photos and create stunning photo galleries, out of the box. If you need more than what WordPress offers, there are several plugins available to enhance the experience: https://wordpress.org/plugins/search.php?q=photo+gallery Special Features design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
20. 20 eCommerce Do you sell products and/or services? Sell them on your web site, collect money online and manage your inventory and digital goods in WordPress! If you sell physical products, digital good or services - there are plugins for WordPress that make it easy to collect payment, display your inventory and track sales. My favorite, and recommended, plugin for eCommerce today is WooCommerce: http://woocommerce.com WooCommerce is the most popular WordPress eCommerce plugin. And it's available for free. Packed full of features, perfectly integrated into your self-hosted WordPress website. Manage products, payments, shipping, inventory, reporting, marketing, taxes - everything that goes into creating an online shop on the web is bundled for you in the WooCommerce plugin for WordPress. Special Features design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
21. 21 Social Media Integration Being social is everything for websites! Your audience isn’t just on your web site - they are on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and more! Give your web site visitors the ability to share your content on various social media networks like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest so others are able to find you there! Social media sharing capabilities has become a critical tool for findability on the web today! Social media sharing is not just for articles and written content - but videos, photos and photo galleries can also be, individually, shared on social networks. When you give your site visitors the ability to share your content on the various networks, it increases the possibility that others will find you and your company/brand represented on popular networks, too. Your audience is there - you should be there as well! The Jetpack plugin for WordPress gives you the ability to provide those sharing tools for content, videos and images. Special Features design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
22. 22 Mobile Apps with WordPress Social Sharing, Stats, and more Everything you need to make a great mobile app Fast, Beautiful Apps for All Online stores, restaurants, churches, gyms, bands, magazines, and lots more WordPress based businesses. Simple to use Build your app with no coding, and no hassle Integrate your WordPress content Add WordPress posts, pages, products, media and more. Reactor by AppPresser - http://reactor.appresser.com Convert your WordPress website into a mobile app, publish on the app stores. It’s easy and affordable. Allows you to build mobile applications to compliment your existing web site. These apps can be distributed via the popular application stores for Apple and Android. This is a great companion network that you can distribute your web site content and offerings to Special Features design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
23. 23 Search Engine Optimization WordPress is optimized for search engines, out of the box - it’s a great platform for it by default! Hundreds of businesses vying to appear on Google’s first page and in the “7-pack” of business listings. Designers often have limited time for online marketing, working seemingly around the clock to design spaces, meet with clients, and oversee contractors. Even so, local SEO is a must-have to ensure that clients can find you in the first place SEO is similar to interior design in some ways — elements can be placed within a space, but if placed optimally they work together better and make the space both functional and simultaneously more attractive. As with an interior space, if a company’s online presence isn’t optimal, it’s less attractive to visitors. The next few slides contain some SEO tips for your business - but as far as WordPress in concerned, you can utilize a great plugin for SEO called WordPress SEO by Yoast: https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/ Special Features design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015 • Write better content with Yoast SEO • Page Analysis • Social Media Integration • XML Sitemaps • Image optimization
24. Market your Business with the Best Keywords Google Trends shows that “Interior Design” has the most search volume in the United States. Also mentioning your specializations or types of building interiors or businesses that you focus on design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
25. Company Info on your Home & Contact Pages Include your company name, address, and phone number in plain text on your site’s home page and contact pages. Doing this makes it easier for search engines to crawl your site and verify that it should be associated with your business listing in their databases. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
26. Add your Company Listing in Online Directories If your business is new, listing in online directories is critical because your information won’t magically get distributed by itself. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
27. Share Photos on Pinterest, Flickr, and Instagram People frequently browse Pinterest, Flickr, Instagram, and similar sites for ideas on decorating, inspiration, and to find vendors of furnishings or even to find designers to hire. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
28. Make Site Images Crawlable Designers sometimes get too uptight about allowing others to access their images, which can result in shooting themselves in the feet — as far as marketing — if taken too far. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
29. Post Videos of your Designs on YouTube Videos can rank well in search results by themselves, and they also can include links back to your business website. design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015
30. 30 Thank You! Find me on Twitter: @LisaSabinWilson These slides are available online: design-­‐bloggers-­‐conference.com                                           @LisaSabinWilson  -­‐  February  26,  2015