Website Weekend WP Basic Training by Karen McCamy

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©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com About WordPress  Why WordPress?  Content Management System (CMS): ○ “…a web application [software] designed to make it easy for non- technical users to add, edit and manage a website.” -- https://plone.org ○ Natively Handles (“behind the scenes”):  User accounts & permissions  Security  Maintenance (updates & backup)  Navigation elements (MENUs)

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Dashboard: remember…  When you login, this is where you start!  Where editing takes place  Where you add to your site  Where you customize elements  Where you modify/view WP settings Your Theme affects Dashboard appearance! ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com

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Customizing the Content Area Use: the “Screen Options” area 1. Click on the ▼ 2. The Options tab expands 3. Check or uncheck the options 4. Your changes appear immediately 5. Click on the ▲ to close the tab ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com

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 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

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 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

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Images: Legal Issues  Copyright  Every Image belongs to somebody!  Know legal use!  Do your research  Public Domain  WikiMedia (http://commons.wikimedia.org/) ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com

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Image Tips  Image sizes: for the web, small rules! (DEMO on FTR)  Create a post format and stick with it!  DEMO “Featured image” ○ Don’t duplicate!  Social media posts with images get way more clicks! ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com

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©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com Image Sources  Stock Photos  StockFresh (http://stockfresh.com/)  iStockPhoto (http://www.istockphoto.com/)  Search “stock photos”  Creating Your Own Graphics  Pablo (buffer.com/pablo)  Canva (www.canva.com)

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Media Library  Preparing Images  Renaming (think SEO)  Choosing the size ○ “small” or “xtra- small”??? ○ DEMO: stock photos  Uploading  DEMO: Walk- thru  Adding the Alt tag ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com

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Media Library  Good Housekeeping:  Keep it Lean! ○ Deleting Images ○ Archive all your images in a separate folder on your computer  Searching (DEMO) ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com

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©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com UX (User Experience)  It’s not about you…  It’s all about your site visitor!  UX Factors:  MENUs / Navigation  Taxonomy = an organizational structure ○ WordPress Categories ○ WordPress Tags  Site Aesthetics (WP “Theme” [Session #3])

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©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com MENUs Review  2-Step Process: 1. Create Your Taxonomy (Posts Menu) ○ Categories ○ Tags 2. Create Your Menu ○ Appearance  Menus  Edit Menu - Create or Select Menu - Make sure to select the correct menu! - Menus are theme-specific *NOTE: WP menus are powerful… Use them! Your theme should not use their own menu system!

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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

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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

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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

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 Where to find plugins  Only the WordPress Repository: www.wordpress.org/plugins  Researching plugins  Take your time…sometimes lots of time!  See previous slides: Basic WordPress Elements ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com Plugin Review (continued)

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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

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 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

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 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

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Why “Themes” ???  Aesthetics…  “Look & Feel”  For Example… Karen McCamy -

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Theme Basics  WordPress MUST have 1 theme to function…  WP includes 2-3 FREE themes, produced by Automattic (the company behind WordPress) Karen McCamy - “2014” “2013” “2012”

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Using a Theme  Custom Theme Menu  In your Dashboard  Every theme developer is different! Karen McCamy - Freelance Theme Menu

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Using a Theme  Customizing “Best Practices”:  Explore your Theme Options  Look for Theme Doc’s & Read!  Link to the Docs & Support!  Decide on changes (make a list!)  Prioritize those changes  Try out 1 change at a time! Karen McCamy - Freelance

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Summary…  Themes are for aesthetics  All themes are different…  In style and format  In support and licensing  There is no shortcut…  invest your time to do the requisite research  Find something you like  Make sure you can work with it yourself  I’m happy to help: email me… Karen McCamy - Freelance

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Managing Your WP Site Theme Updates Remember my ‘theme’ caveat: every theme is different TIP: Always do a manual compatibility confirmation of plugins & your current theme whenever WP is updated! ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com

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Backups ! Don’t rely on your host for backups!  Read the fine print…  Most hosting companies don’t guarantee their own (free) backups!  Take control…manage backups yourself 1. Plugins 2. Paid Hosting Add-ons ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com

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Backups: Options Plugins:  Backup Buddy  VaultPress (by Automattic)  Updraft Plus  Lots more…just Google it!  Host Options Differ… Check with your hosting company ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com

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Backup Plugins: What to look for: 1. Storage options ○ Dropbox or other cloud locations ○ Email option 2. Scheduling ○ Daily ○ Weekly 3. Simplicity of restoring! ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com

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Security  Login Tips  Don’t use “admin”  Create hard passwords ○ Use a Password Generator  Secure “User Account” Policy  Plugins:  “WordFence”  “LimitLoginAttempts”  Consider removing “WordPress” ID in footer ©2014 Karen McCamy  FreelanceTechnologyReview.com