Set Up and Maintenance of Your WordPress Site - Charleston WordCamp

This session is for beginners that are new to self-hosted WordPress and would like to learn the essentials of how to setup a website utilizing WordPress’ themes, plugins, and widgets. I will also cover basic maintenance and where you can get help and further your WordPress awesomeness.

Transcript

1. Set Up and Maintenance of your WordPress Website Suzette Franck 2014 Charleston WordCamp Charleston, SC #wcchs Saturday, May 17, 2014 Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
2. 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 @ (mt) Media Temple ★Born in Hollywood, California Native ★Over 20 Years Coding & Web Development ★Developed over 200 WordPress sites ★Spoke at 18 WordCamps to date ★WordPress Podcast WPUnicornProject.com https://www.youtube.com/user/mediatemple ★Reg. Contributor on WPwatercooler.com ★Blogs at: suzettefranck.com ★Slides: speakerdeck.com/suzettefranck
3. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★ Look or “Skin” of Your Site w/Themes ★ Functionality w/Plugins ★ Widgets and Sidebars ★ Maintenance Best Practices ★ Where to get WordPress Help What We Will Cover
4. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple What is a Theme?
5. 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
6. 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
7. 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) ★Background (if theme has) ★Theme Options ★Editor = No Undo!! Avoid!
8. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple How to Install a New Theme?
9. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Appearance > Themes
10. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Install, Preview, Details
11. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Preview/Customizer
12. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Activate
13. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Customize
14. 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
15. 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!
16. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Recommended Free Themes ★Customizr ★Magazine Basic ★Origin ★Quark ★Swift ★Pagelines
17. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Recommended Premium Theme Makers ★WooThemes ★Elegant Themes ★Graph Paper Press ★DevPress ★Okay Themes
18. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple What is a Plugin?
19. 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
20. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple What Can Plugins Do?
21. 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
22. 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
23. 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 Plugins
24. 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
25. Premium Plugin Sources ★Gravity Forms (gravityforms.com) ★VaultPress (vaultpress.com) ★Code Canyon (codecanyon.net) ★WPMU Dev (premium.wpmudev.org)
26. 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 ★Trusted Premium Plugin Shops: Gravity Forms, WPMU, etc.
27. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple How Do Install a Plugin?
28. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Plugins > Add New
29. Search by Name or Keyword Browse by clicking on Category & Tag Links
30. Search Results
31. Plugin Details
32. As few as possible! How Many Plugins Should I Have? Plugin Performance Profiler or P3
33. Free Plugins for Every Site ★WP-Help (Create Documentation) or SIDEKICK ★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)
34. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple What is a Widget?
35. What are Widgets? Widgets are pieces of dynamic or static content that can be dropped into your sidebar, defined by you What are Sidebars? Sidebars are any area that can contain a widget, not necessarily on the side: “Widgetable Areas” defined by your theme
36. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Where to get Widgets? ★Some widgets come with WordPress ★May come from the installed theme ★Can be installed via a plugin ★Configuration and look of widgets vary widely
37. Widgets
38. Widgets
39. Helpful Widgets for Every Site ★ Search (WordPress) ★ Archives (WordPress) ★ Twitter (Jetpack Plugin) ★ Image Widget (Plugin) ★ Social Web Links (Plugin)
40. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple WordPress Maintenance and Housekeeping
41. 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)
42. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Getting WordPress Help
43. 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
44. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple Further WordPress Learning
45. 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
46. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple WordPress.tv
47. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★http://wordpress.org/support/ WordPress Support Forums @Ipstenu Mika Epstein
48. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★http://wordpress.meetup.com/ WordPress Meetup Groups
49. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple ★ http://www.visualistan.com/2014/05/ wordcamp-events-around-world-may-july.html WordCamps
50. @mt_Suzette Questions? Follow Me! Suzette Franck suzette@mediatemple.net https://speakerdeck.com/suzettefranck Have Fun and Learn!