Learning the Niche of Theme Setup & Customization

In this presentation, WordPress Educator, Zac Gordon goes over the important and growing skill set of knowing how to install, setup and customize premium and free themes.

The presentation was given at the Orlando Meetup, Gansta Press, on Sat. June 29, 2013.

Transcript

1. Setup & Customization Learning the Niche of Theme
2. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon About Zac Gordon Customizing a Theme Setting Up a Theme Installing a Theme Talk Overview Skills Needed What is it Worth
3. About Zac Gordon
4. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon About Zac Gordon wideskydesigns.com
5. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon About Zac Gordon wideskydesigns.com teamtreehouse.com
6. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon About Zac Gordon webhostingforstudents.com
7. Installing a Theme
8. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon Manual, 1-Click, Terminal Finding and Installing Themes (in app search, in app upload, manual upload, git) Local Server Setup Installing a Theme
9. Setting Up Theme
10. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon Knowing the Front-End Ex. Magazine Style & Slideshows Theme Options Setting Up a Theme
11. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon Free: Swift Theme Finding templates & Demos Premium: Canvas (framework) Free and Premium
12. Free Theme Swift v. Canvas
13. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon Demo in .org v. Demo on site Right Category & Featured Image (not new post type) Static v. Listing Homepage Swift Theme Reading Documentation
14. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon Finding Template in Demo Different Theme Options Pages Static v. Listing Homepage Canvas Theme Reading Documentation Moving to Business Theme Now a Custom Post Type
15. Customizing a Theme
16. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon In App Customization CSS Overrides Canvas Layout Manager Customizing a Theme Customizing Templates Hooks v Hard Coded
17. Skills Needed
18. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon Skills Needed • Where to go for themes • How to look for the right template in the demo • How to install a theme • Knowledge that some themes have theme settings • How and where to look for different settings • How to find and read documentation • Knowledge of the commonality of themes • Type of person who can click around and find what's what • How to add pages and set templates • How to set static homepages • How to add tags and categories • Knowing to look for custom meta boxes versus featured images
19. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon Skills Needed • Knowing a slideshow verses a featured post slider (is there a common difference across all themes?) • Knowledge to look for custom post types • How and why to create child themes • How to write CSS • How to use web inspector to find classes and IDs • Knowledge of the cascading nature of CSS • Ability to determine where in the app these colors can be set • When to install plugins versus find the functionlity in the themes • How to communicate customization to client (if you're the client rock on!) • How to search for problems for troubleshooting • Familiarity with working with a ticketing system and following trouble shooting steps (ability to know what questions to ask)
20. What Is The Skill Worth?
21. WordPress Orlando RoundTable - Gangsta Press - 06.29.13 @zgordon Skills Needed • Non-designer/developer site owner - cost of hiring someone, ability to test different themes and control brand, know what skills to look for • In-house designer/developer - Boss not knowing how easy it is, the difference in your time • Account or project manager - Can troubleshoot for clients, overall billable hours • Self-employed - Can possibly setup themes more quickly with less coding, don’t waste time in setup phase
22. Zac Gordon @zgordon wideskydesigns.com teamtreehouse.com wp.zacgordon.com