SoCal WordPress MeetupiWeb to WordPress

a.k.a. WP99

October 2013Apple Store, Santa Monica – Third Street Promenade

SoCalWP.org / l@SoCalWP / f/SoCalWP

Special thanksApple Store – and a word from our hosts

Our usual sponsors:WP EngineWooThemes

Who are we?Noel Saw, PresenterFounder of Neochrome, Inc.

Natalie MacLees,Founder of Purple Pen Productions, LLC +Lead Organizer, WordCamp LA

Who are we?Both our companies provide WP design/development services.

Clients with WordPress projects have included Red Bull, Vons/Safeway, and Murad.

A Disclaimer…I (Noel Saw) am not a CSS, HTML, or PHP expert - so if I can do this, so can you with some practice and research.

I have my designers/developers to do the technical work for me

I have been managing web projects since 2006 so I am familiar with web technology concepts.

Some notes…There’s a lot to cover, so we will only take questions near the end.

We apologize, otherwise we’ll be here a long time.

The slides will be available on SlideShare.net later tonight posted on SoCalWP.org, Twitter, and Facebook.

Questions for the audience…

How many already use WordPress?

How many of you have iWeb sites?

How many of you have have another web hosting account?

Questions for the audience…

How many existing WordPress users consider themselves as a…

• Beginner• Intermediate• Expert

Assumptions on our partWe’re assuming you have some knowledge of:

• Domain name registration• HTML/CSS code• How web pages or iWeb works in

general

What is WordPress?

WordPress (WP) is a content management system that can be installed on a web hosting server account like on companies like:• Dreamhost• MediaTemple• HostGator• GoDaddy (we don’t judge)

What WordPress needs

Your web hosting provider needs to support PHP 5+ and MySQL.

You’ll install WordPress usually with a “one click” installer.

Most web hosts support WordPress.

What can WP do for you?

WordPress makes it easy for you to publish your web pages including the home page, contact page, and of course blog pages.

WordPress democratizes web site publishing and up keep/maintenance.

WP’s content - editable areas

1.) Posts: Blog or News but can also be other information “snippets”.

2.) Pages: Mostly “static” pages that are not frequently updated. Ex: Contact Us page

WP’s content areas3.) Widget Areas: Sidebar and FootersUsually built into the theme

4.) Navigation (Menu) Bar

Tonight’s demo siteExample iWeb Site we’re using:www.nikkialexander.com

Tonight’s demo siteWe didn’t have access to the iWeb example site user password. It was pure/copy paste operation.

Tonight’s demo siteAlternatively, you may want to try a WP plugin to “import” text content into your site like this one: http://bit.ly/synplugin

Tonight’s demo siteWe’re not going to be able to make an exact copy of the site but it will be close enough for you to see possibilities.

Tonight’s demo siteAt the end of the demo, I’ll show you what an exact copy looks like with a bit more work and different method.

HeaderNavigation (Menu)

Page(Body)

Widget area

Footer area

HeaderNavigation (Menu)

Page

Widget area

Footer area

More thorough “anatomy” - http://yoast.com/wordpress-theme-anatomy/

Steps1. Setup domain in cPanel2. Setup WordPress and login3. Install Theme (http://bit.ly/ostheme)

4. Setup header5. Customize header6. Setup widget areas7. Setup pages with Bulk Creator plugin8. Setup Home page slider

Real WorldDemo time!

WordPress Do’s and Don’tsDo update WP core, themes, and plugins frequently

Do run and download frequent backups – ex: BackupBuddy commercial plugin

Do change “Permalinks” to “Month and Name” in WP admin settings

WordPress Do’s & Don’tsDo only install themes and plugins from reputable companies or from WordPress.org

Buy subscription to WP101.com andLynda.com or YouTube (get what you pay for)

Buy subscription to Akismet.com to block spam posts

WordPress Do’s & Don’tsAnd finally, do not edit WordPress core files via FTP or WP admin editor otherwise when WP core is updated, you’ll lose changes.

Editing these files could also crash your site in seconds.

Demo links• OpenStrap theme:

http://bit.ly/ostheme

• PageLines theme• Google Fonts plugin• WordFence plugin• Bulk Creator plugin• Anatomy of a WP theme:

http://yoast.com/wordpress-theme-anatomy/

Learn more links…• WordPress.org – themes and

plugins• WP101.com – training videos• Lynda.com – general HTML/CSS

learning videos• “Firebug” extension – Google it!• Other awesome WP plugins:

http://bit.ly/wwlakb

Thanks for Listening to Me!

The End!

Follow me: l@wpverse

Thanks again to:

Apple Store

And our other sponsors:WP EngineWooThemes

SoCalWP.org / l@SoCalWP / f/SoCalWP