WordPress Customization and Security

Joe Casabona and Phil Erb talk about the basics of WordPress customization and security at NEPA BlogCon 2013.

Transcript

1. Joe Casabona • Web Developer. Writer. Nerd*. – *Computer, Device, Star Wars • Yankee Fan • Responsive Design with WordPress – Out Dec 2013 – www.rwdwp.com – Discount Code for 35% off: RWDWP site: Casabona.org | twitter: @jcasabona | email: joe@casabona.org slides/resources: casabona.org/events/blogcon-13
2. Phil Erb http://philerb.com Twitter: @philerb Systems Admin & Programmer University of Scranton Co-Founder & Director of Technology Solve the Net Lover of WordPress
3. WordPress Theme Customization
4. Themes: A Primer • A WordPress Theme: – Provides control over the look and presentation of the material on your website. • The Codex! – Your best friend during development – codex.wordpress.org
5. Important Files Tip: Don’t Modify the Core!
6. style.css • Includes Theme Definition /* Theme Name: Millennium Flights Theme URI: http://www.milenniumflights.com Description: A custom theme for Millennium Flights, Inc. Version: 1.0 Author: Joe Casabona Author URI: http://www.casabona.org Tags: blue, white, two-column, flexible-width */ • Keep Common Classes in mine (rwdwp.com/12) • RWD Tip: Put all CSS in One File
7. functions.php • Place misc PHP functions, code, and variables • Considered a “plugin” file for your theme • Remember “Separation of Concerns” – Themes should only effect display, not content or functionality • Uses: Actions, Filters, side-wide functions • RWD Tip: Use this file for server-side detection
8. index.php • The backbone of WordPress themes • Everything that doesn’t have its own template file will use index.php • Used to display a list of posts or content. • DO NOT remove The Loop from this page
9. header.php and footer.php • Template Files to use throughout the theme • get_header() and get_footer() • wp_head() and wp_footer()
10. The WordPress Hierarchy
11. wphierarchy.com
12. Template Files • Sophisticated Display Controls • Only required files: style.css and index.php • Custom templates down to the single post level • Example: Custom Post Type named“classes” single-classes.php  single.php  index.php
13. Page Templates • Naming Convention – page-no-sidebar.php <?php /* Template Name: No Sidebar */ ?>
14. The Loop
15. Defined • The Loop is used by WordPress to display each of your posts. Using the Loop, WordPress processes each of the posts to be displayed on the current page and formats them according to how they match specified criteria within the Loop tags. Any HTML or PHP code placed in the Loop will be repeated on each post
16. Essentially… • The Loop has functions to: – Make sure that you have posts to display – Display those posts. <?php if (have_posts()) : ?> <?php while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?> //print post information using template tags <?php endwhile; ?> <?php else : ?> print “No posts found.”; <?php endif; ?>
17. Template Tags • Functions in WordPress designed to print information about the Current Post • Some tags include: – the_title(), the_time(), the_content(), the_excerpt(), the_category(), the_tags(), the_permalink()
18. If time permits… Let’s Look at a Live Theme!
19. Securing Your WordPress Site
20. Source: Torque.io - WordPress Core is Secure – Stop Telling People Otherwise
21. Yes … but … The code may be secure, but there are always things to improve
22. Backup ALL the Things My hosting provider does that, why should I?
23. How do I backup WordPress? Services – ValutPress Plugins – BackupBuddy – BackWPUp The good old fashioned way mysqldump -udbuser mydb > db.sql zip -r backup.zip /webfolder/ db.sql
24. Backup Best Practices Create a backup schedule that makes sense for your site. Get an off-site copy Test your backups
25. Secure the Server To the extent that you can
26. Use strong passwords FTP, SSH, and control panels will get hackers access to your sites
27. Use SFTP instead of FTP, if possible
28. Understand file permissions “777” makes everything work … for other people too.
29. Install an SSL certificate
30. Securing Core
31. Secure the login process Wait, my password is sent over the Internet in plain text???
32. Don’t use “admin”
33. Stronger Authentication Use strong passwords Force Strong Passwords Limit the number of bad logins Login Lockdown Use multi-factor authentication Google Authetnicator Duo Two-Factor Authentication
34. Always use SSL encryption for login forms and personal info
35. No SSL? Passwords are Plain Text!
36. Only give users the access they need This includes YOU Don’t always run as admin
37. Don’t let your database be predictable Change the database table prefix
38. Plugins, Themes, and Updates
39. Only use trusted sources
40. DON’T Google “free WordPress themes” Only one of these is trustworthy Source: WPMU.org - Why You Should Never Search For Free WordPress Themes
41. Keep core, plugins, and themes up to date
42. Security Services, Plugins & Tools
43. Security Tools Sucuri Site scanner, monitoring, and security plugin Better WP Security Wordfence
44. Updates and Management ManageWP InfiniteWP WP Remote
45. Use a good hosting provider!
46. Keep Yourself Secure Too!
47. If your computer is hacked, your site could be next! Install OS and application updates Run antivirus software Use encrypted protocols (HTTPS, SFTP) Use strong passwords for everything
48. Keep your ear to the WordPress community The products and the issues are ever evolving.
49. Where to get the news WPSecure.net Sucuri’s blog WP Updates Notifier plugin Check out more on the NEPAWP Resources page
50. Questions? Comments? Statements of Disgust?
51. References & Links • VaultPress http://vaultpress.com/ • BackupBuddy http://ithemes.com/purchase/backupbuddy/ • BackWPUp http://wordpress.org/plugins/backwpup/ • Codex: Administration over SSL http://codex.wordpress.org/ Administration_Over_SSL
52. References & Links • How to Change the WordPress Database http://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-change- the-wordpress-database-prefix-to-improve-security/ • Login Lockdown http://wordpress.org/plugins/login-lockdown/ • Force Strong Passwords http://wordpress.org/plugins/force-strong-passwords/ • Google Authetnicator http://wordpress.org/plugins/google-authenticator/ • Duo Two-Factor Authentication http://wordpress.org/plugins/duo-wordpress/
53. References & Links • WPMU.org: Why You Should Never Search For Free WordPress Themes http://wpmu.org/why-you-should-never-search-for-free- wordpress-themes-in-google-or-anywhere-else/ • Sucuri http://www.sucuri.net/ http://wordpress.org/plugins/sucuri-scanner/ • Better WP Security http://wordpress.org/plugins/better-wp-security/ • Wordfence http://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence/
54. References & Links • WPSecure.net http://wpsecure.net/ • WP Updates Notifier http://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-updates-notifier/ • Sucuri blog http://blog.sucuri.net/category/wordpress