Setting Up and Maintaining Your Self-Hosted WordPress Site

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Setting Up and Maintaining Your Self-hosted WordPress Website Suzette Franck 2014 Phoenix WordCamp Chandler, AZ #wcphx Friday, January 17, 2014 Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Suzette Franck with a “ck” @mt_Suzette ★WordPress Evangelist @ Media Temple ★Born in Hollywood, California Native ★20 Years Coding & Web Development ★Developed over 200 WordPress sites ★2013: 12 WordCamps, 8 states, 2 countries ★WordPress Podcast WPgirlieshow.com ★Reg. Contributor on WPwatercooler.com ★Blogs at: suzettefranck.com ★Slides: speakerdeck.com/suzettefranck

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★3:00 - 3:30 Look or “Skin” of Your Site w/Themes ★3:30 - 4:00 Menus, Widgets, and Sidebars ★4:00 - 4:30 Functionality w/Plugins ★4:30 - 5:00 Maintenance and WordPress Help Agenda

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple WordPress Themes A WordPress Theme is a group of template files stored on your server that make up the “look” of your site and can be installed and customized from the Dashboard

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Best are listed in WP Repository, strict standards, made by volunteers, may not have support, GPLv2, may have “Pro” paid version w/additional features Not listed in WP Repository, no standards, made by anyone, typically do include some support, license varies Types of Themes

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Appearance > Themes ★Change Themes ★Customize Themes ★Widgets (sidebar) ★Menus (navigation) ★Header (depends on theme) ★Theme Options ★Editor = No Undo!! Avoid!

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple The Customizer for Origin Theme Different options depending on your theme

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple WordPress Themes ★Contents of themes will vary ★.PHP files add functionality ★.CSS files add styles or look ★Both .PHP and .CSS files are plain text files!!! ★Can be viewed/edited with any text editor: Sublime Test 2, Notepad++, Notepad, Text Wrangler

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple When Searching for a Theme ★Not all themes are created equally ★Do not search Google for free themes (malware) ★WordPress Repository is best for free themes ★Avoid Theme Forest (complicated, hard to customize) ★Trusted Premium Theme Shops: Google all the Reviews!

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Recommended Free Themes ★Magazine Basic ★Origin ★Quark ★Swift ★Pagelines

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Recommended Premium Themes ★WooThemes ★Elegant Themes ★Graph Paper Press ★DevPress ★Okay Themes

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What is a Plugin? + A WordPress Plugin is a single or group of php file(s) stored on your server that add functionality, features, or applications to your site

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Plugins Can Do Anything! ★Change Default Functionality: add an option to admin ★Add Applications: e-Commerce, Social Networking ★Provide Interactivity: Contact Forms, Surveys, Sharing ★Help you Maintain Your Site: Backups, Optimization, Caching

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple You Don’t Need a Plugin For That ★Adding video or embedding media ★Uploading pictures and audio ★Just add URL (YouTube, Flickr, SoundCloud) ★http://codex.wordpress.org/Embeds

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WordPress Plugin Repository ★FREE! GPLv2 (General Public License) ★Will not spam your website with advertising ★Includes readme.txt ★No obfuscated (hidden) code ★Cannot disable functionality or annoy to force you to buy ★No unauthorized collection of data ★No banner or advertising, sponsored links

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Premium Plugin Sources ★Gravity Forms (gravityforms.com) ★VaultPress (vaultpress.com) ★Code Canyon (codecanyon.net) ★WPMU Dev (premium.wpmudev.org)

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Plugin Anatomy ★.php file(s) ★readme.txt ★screenshots ★other files and folders

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple When Searching for Plugins ★Not all plugins are created equally ★Know your sources! ★WordPress Repository is best for free plugins ★Many free plugins have a paid pro or premium version ★Check last updated, compatibility, rating and other info ★Code Canyon is a good source, look for trusted authors ★Trusted Premium Plugin Shops: Gravity Forms, WPMU, etc.

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★Developed by Steve Carnam ★3 Test Sites w/Free ★Meetup Discount: 30% off http://serverpress.com/wp-for-artists/ $34.95 with code WP4A Plugins > Add New

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Search by Name or Keyword Browse by clicking on Category & Tag Links

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Search Results

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Plugin Details

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Finding a Plugin in the WordPress Repository ★Plugin Name & Version ★Star Rating ★Number of Times Downloaded ★Last Updated ★Requirements & Compatibility ★Authors & Donation Page ★Support Forum

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WordPress Plugin Page

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WordPress Favorites

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Favorites Page

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Accessing Favorites

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As few as possible! How Many Plugins?

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Updating Plugins Always keep your plugins up-to-date! Run a Backup first!

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Update Available Update one-by-one or bulk update

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Troubleshooting ★Read the readme.txt ★Deactivate all plugins, activate one-by-one ★Rename plugin folder using FTP (will deactivate it) ★Use Support Forum on WordPress.org

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★Go to Plugins > Editor ★Select plugin from drop-down menu ★List of files on the right, click readme.txt ★View on the left Viewing readme.txt *** NEVER edit an active plugin! *** X

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WHITE SCREEN OF DEATH RAWR!

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WordPress Plugin Page

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Free Plugins for Every Site ★WP-Help (Documentation) ★Akismet (Spam blocker) ★Jetpack by WordPress.com (Everything) ★WordPress SEO by Yoast (SEO) ★WordFence Security (Security) ★WP-Optimize (Optimize your DB) ★BackUpWordPress (Backups) ★Google Analyticator (Statistics)

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Best Practices ★Run backups regularly and before updating ★Keep core, plugins and themes updated ★Remove unused plugins and themes ★Every editor should have their own account ★Practice least privilege, remove unused accounts ★Do not access admin from public WIFI ★Do not use plain FTP, use SFTP ★Document everything for later (WP Help)

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Getting WordPress Help ★Community is best resource ★Local Meetups & WordCamps ★Online Groups: LinkedIn, Google Plus, Facebook Groups ★WordPress Support Forums for Plugins ★Contact Seller or Developer for Themes ★http://codex.wordpress.org ★http://wordpress.stackexchange.com/ ★Your hosting provider’s knowledgebase

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★http://wordpress.org/support/ Community Resources @Ipstenu Mika Epstein

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★Follow smart people on Twitter ★Watch and attend their speeches ★Read their books and articles ★Work and collaborate with smart people ★Smart people never know it all ★“The more you know the less you know” Learn from Smart People @chrislema

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Learning Resources “Even the most resourceful housewife cannot create miracles from a riceless pantry”

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★Videos ★Books ★Online Resources ★Helpful Websites ★Recommended Tools ★Community Resources Learning Resources

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★http://wpgirlieshow.com - Thursdays at 11:30am PST Video Show Resources

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★WordPress for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson Book Resources @LisaSabinWilson

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★Professional WordPress Design and Development by Hal Stern, David Damstra, and Brad Williams Book Resources

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★WordPress for Web Developers by Stephanie Leary Book Resources @sleary

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★Professional WordPress Plugin Development by Brad Williams, Ozh Richard, and Justin Tadlock Book Resources @williamsba @ozh @justintadlock

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★The Principles of Beautiful Web Design by Jason Beaird Design Book Resources

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Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★http://serverpress.com/ Desktop Server Recommended Tools @steveorevo Stephen Carroll/Carnam

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@mt_Suzette Questions? Follow Me! Suzette Franck suzette@mediatemple.net https://speakerdeck.com/suzettefranck