Lake Villa District Library 01-11-2014 ! Heather Acton http://heatheracton.com ! Slides are at: Getting Started With WordPress 

Intro • Former mechanical engineer turned independent web developer • Specialize in custom WordPress implementations for businesses & nonprofits • Organizer WordCamp Chicago 2011 & 2012 • Founder / Organizer WordCamp Lake County Meetup Group • Married mom of 2 • Love Dave Matthews Band and craft beer 

Overview 1. What is WordPress 2. Prework - domains, hosting, email 3. Installing & configuring WordPress 4. Pages & Posts 5. Menus 6. Widgets 7. Themes 8. Plugins 9. Ongoing maintenance 10.Where to find help 

What is WordPress?
(self-hosted / .org) 

Prework • Read about WordPress • http://codex.wordpress.org/Main_Page • Choose a domain registrar • Namecheap • Your website host • Choose a website host • Shared: Bluehost, Hostgator ($5-8/mo) • Expect some downtime and security issues • Managed: WP Engine, Page.ly (~$30/mo) • Faster load time, more uptime, more secure • Choose an email service • If offered, use your web host’s email for free • Google Apps, $5/user/mo • Connect these services 

Installing WordPress • Shared host • One-click installs available at most hosts • Managed host • Comes with WordPress already installed. • Lucky you. ! ***SECURITY ALERT*** Do not use the default “admin” username. Very secure usernames and passwords are key to keeping your installation secure. 

See, WordPress is easy! 

The WordPress Dashboard 

Initial Configuration • Settings—>General • Update site title • Update site tagline • Update email address • Update timezone • Settings—>Permalinks • Set to “postname”, aka “pretty permalinks” • DEMO: Performing initial configuration 

Pages & Posts What’s the Difference? • “Pages” are the static pages of your site • About, Contact, etc. • “Posts” are articles that are produced on some frequency, as in a blog • “Posts” can be organized by categories and/or tags 

Pages & Posts Setting a page as your home instead of your latest posts • Create a page called “Home” • Create a page called “Blog” • Go to Settings—>Reading • Front page displays “A static page” • Choose your home page as the front page • Choose your blog page as your posts page • DEMO: the above process 

Pages & Posts The Visual Editor • Much like Microsoft Word or Apple Pages • Can add media like images and PDFs • DEMO: Working with the visual editor 

Posts WordPress taxonomies - categories & tags • Categories are the big buckets • Tags are the little buckets • Topics you cover in your posts • DEMO: Adding categories and tags to posts 

Menus • DEMO: Adding a custom menu and assigning it to a location • DEMO: Adding and editing menu items 

Widgets Widgets are drag/droppable portions of your site. They make your sidebar, and in some themes, your header and footer highly customizable. • DEMO: Adding various widgets to sidebar areas 

Themes Themes control the look, feel and layout of your site. Think fonts, colors and sizes. • Free themes • 2,189 themes in the repository • http://wordpress.org/extend/themes • Meant to work “out of the box” • Varied quality • Premium themes • Theme Trust, Elegant Themes, WooThemes, Mojo Themes, Organic Themes • Meant to work “out of the box” • Varied quality • Additional functionality • Support 

Plugins Plugins provide additional functionality to your site. Think e-commerce, site backups, member forums, and more. • Free plugins • 22,041 free plugins in the repository • http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins • Research before you install • WordPress SEO by Yoast, Google Analytics for WordPress by Yoast, Akismet, BuddyPress, bbPress, Widget Logic • Premium plugins • Typically fuller functionality • Typically premium support • Research before you buy • Gravity Forms, BackupBuddy, Cart66, S2Member Pro, Events Calendar Pro 

Maintaining a WordPress site • Scheduled backups • WordPress version updates • Plugin updates • Theme updates 

Ongoing help & support • WordCamps • http://wordcamp.org • http://2014.chicago.wordcamp.org • Meetups • http://www.meetup.com/Chicago- WordPress-Meetup/ • http://wplc.us • http://wpmchenry.com • Forums • http://wordpress.org/support/ • Codex • http://codex.wordpress.org/ • GOOGLE!!! • Books • WordPress for Dummies • Tutorial sites • WP101 • Lynda.com 

Questions
&
Discussion