Newspapers with WordPress from WordCamp Toronto 2012

How do you build a newspaper with WordPress, what steps do you need to take and how you can avoid some common pitfalls. This presentation came from WordCamp Toronto 2012.

Transcript

1. WordPress for Newspapers @thisismyurl http://thisismyurl.com
2. About me 1990 1994 1995 1996 1998 2000 2010 2012 ???
3. About me - old school printing press operator (web and sheet) - worked as a stripper after university - 35 plugins in the WordPress repository - freelance contract developer / consultant ... the rest is pretty boring.
4. About Layouts Visual vs. Structural
5. The basic design layout Header Content Sidebar Footer
6. The basic structural layout Opening Primary Secondary Closing
7. Layouts change based on device, but structure stays the same. Opening Primary Secondary Closing Branding, navigation etc. What you visitor is really here to read Support the real content Site wide support
8. Features across the site
9. Elements common across the entire site Login / Signup to capture visitor information Easy access to Privacy Policy Terms of Use etc. Signup Newspaper Name Clear branding Trending tags across the site Deep links to categories Easy navigation to categories
10. Elements common across the entire site List of popular stories from across the site. Include stories that are shared, commented, viewed etc. Most Popular Popular stories from across the site Shared, emailed, commented etc to help build traffic Search Never underestimate the power of a search Subscribe Offer multiple means to generate a dedicated audience Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etc.
11. Canada's privacy watchdog has issued a warning to 11 of Canada's leading websites to stop handing over their users' personal information to third parties without permission - or risk public exposure. http://www.ottawacitizen.com/technology/websites+warned+privacy+breaches/7299471/story.html
12. Brand your content during copy & paste
13. Brand your content during copy & paste http://bavotasan.com/2010/add-a-copyright-notice-to-copied-text/
14. Elements common across the entire site Easy navigation to categories
15. What categories count? Structuring your website for maximum results
16. What does Google News want to see?
17. Categories, Tags Index & Archives Guiding visitors to the right content
18. Guide visitors and search engines - Feature content with powerful images - Highlight authors, build and brand them - Build clicks with easy navigation
19. Common to all archive lists Archive Title Clearly define and describe the section RSS Article Title Include a list of commonly requested articles to help your visitors find the content they’re looking for. Clearly identify the category Offer easy subscription options Featured images to help improve clicks Subscribe Article meta data to identify subjects, dates, category and author details Brand the author with powerful links & meta data
20. Branding yourself in Google + rel=’author’ + rel=’me’ - categories, archives, etc - article page - author page
21. Common to all archive lists Include ‘drill down’ lists to child categories • Sub category • Sub category Show related content from this category or related categories Top Category Stories Stories from this category and related categories. Stories from this category and related categories. Stories from this category and related categories. Top Authors Related top authors for this category Twitter Lists Integrate powerful Twitter lists for this area Highlight recent posts by other authors A focussed social media list
22. Common to all archive lists Site breadcrumbs to provide deep linking and navigation Featured content placement to anchor the category
23. Authors Page Branding your contributors
24. Branding the author content Author Name Bio for the author RSS Article Title Articles by the author, presenting the most recent with proper meta data Branding for the author to create authority Author specific subscriptions Articles by this specific author Subscribe Article meta data to identify subjects, dates, category and author details Articles by the author, presenting the most recent with proper meta data Article Title
25. Branding the author with powerful sidebars List of categories this author posts in • Common categories • Common categories Popular stories by this author Top Stories Stories from this author Authors Links • links to social media etc. Twitter Lists Integrate powerful Twitter lists for this area Links to the authors bio, social media etc. Recent social media posts by the author
26. Branding yourself in Google + rel=’author’ + rel=’me’ - categories, archives, etc - article page - author page
27. 404 Pages Failing gracefully.
28. Help visitors help themselves - Map old URL’s to new URL’s - Track the errors and improve your site - Suggest new content from popular articles
29. Redirecting to the new URL
30. Report the error
31. Help your visitor Not Found The content that you’re looking for can not be found. Search Top Articles Include a list of commonly requested articles to help your visitors find the content they’re looking for. Clearly identify the error Provide an easy to use search option Offer content suggestions to the visitor
32. Content not found Consider a 404 an opportunity, not an error.
33. Traditional Pages Not vital to newspapers but still required.
34. Traditional Pages About Adverting Privacy Policy Terms of Use Contact etc.
35. Traditional pages in a newspaper template Traditional content Signup Newspaper Name
36. Single Posts The Articles
37. Article pages within the newspaper structure Article content Signup Newspaper Name
38. Article pages within the newspaper structure Article content Article Title The excerpt for a story, which is basically a quick summary of the important facts to attract readers. Article excerpt Article meta data such as the author information and date details, categories included in, tags (subjects) etc. Article meta data The content of the story itself, along with all the nitty gritty details and stuff ... The article body Featured image Social sharing options Article sharing Article discussion Article discussion
39. The article sidebar Drive visitors to related content by subject Related Stories Related stories in the same category or by the same author Author bio A brief biography of the author Twitter Lists Integrate powerful Twitter lists for this area A bio for the author with links to their primary page Recent social media posts by the article author or category Subscription options RSS and subscribe options for the category / author Always give visitors the option to follow the uers
40. RSS Feeds for articles WordPress RSS feeds for single.php result in visitors subscribing to comments, not articles. The fix ...
41. Plugins Making your newspaper work, better.
42. Caching & Speed - Caching plugins - Minified plugins
43. SEO & Deep linking - SEO images, links, and urls - auto tagging plugins - remove /category/ from URL
44. Helper Plugins - Frame busters - Auto copyright - External link to new windows - Similar, popular, and related posts - JetPack
45. Publisher Plugins - Co-Author Plus (bi-lines) - Editflow (editorial workflow) - add Thumbnail to RSS
46. Publisher Plugins - XML sitemap feed for Google news - Extra fields for media uploads (credits etc) - User photo for authors
47. Shortcodes Adding content to your articles
48. Helpful Shortcodes - external content such as Twitter, YouTube - lists of related articles - common items such as address or site name - contact and contest forms - stock quote lookups, api integration, etc.
49. Examples of Shortcodes vs.
50. Examples of Shortcodes
51. Thank you @thisismyurl http://thisismyurl.com