Upload
tris-hussey
View
2.230
Download
2
Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
This is the February 2013 update to my intro to WordPress and Websites with WordPress class taught through UBC Continuing Studies.
Citation preview
INTRODUCTION TO WORDPRESS
Building & Creating a Website with WordPress.com
Thursday, January 17, 13
AGENDA• What is a website today?
• Domains, web hosts, servers, & hosted services
• What is WordPress?
• Get started with WordPress.com
• Creating Content
• Building a website
• Intro to WordPress.org
Thursday, January 17, 13
WHAT IS A WEBSITE?
•What does it mean today to have a “website”?
•What does that look like?
• Is a “blog” a website?
•What makes a blog a blog?
Thursday, January 17, 13
DOMAIN
• Three parts
• TLD (Top Level Domain), e.g. .com, .org, .ca, .net
• domain name e.g. ubc.ca
• subdomain e.g. www. or support.
Thursday, January 17, 13
YOU DON’T “OWN” A DOMAIN
• You register it for up to 5 years at a time
• The must always, eventually be renewed
• Recommended domain registrar : Namecheap.com
Thursday, January 17, 13
SERVERS
• Just computers with lots of memory, large hard drives, and powerful processors designed to run website, email, etc
• Just like your computer at home, but more oomph.
Thursday, January 17, 13
WEB HOSTS AND HOSTED SERVICES
• A web host is a company that provides you space on a server to house your website.
• E.g. Dreamhost, Bluehost, or HostPapa
• A hosted service is were you have an account, but no access to the server controls
• E.g. Tumblr or WordPress.com
Thursday, January 17, 13
What is WordPress?•WordPress is a web-based content management system
• Generally associated with blogs, but powers many “non blog” websites as well
• Comes in two flavors or versions:
•WordPress.com
•WordPress.org
Thursday, January 17, 13
WordPress.Com• A hosted service
• Everything is taken care of for you
• Software updates
• Preventing attacks from hackers
• Keeping everything running
• Lots of features are built in (and I mean lots)
• There are limitations
• Set number of themes (about 240 right now)
• You cannot install plugins for additional features
• You cannot edit the themes
• You can edit the theme’s style (colors, fonts) if you pay for the upgrade
• Official support is provided
Thursday, January 17, 13
WordPress.org• You download the software
• You have to have a web hosting account and domain
• You install it yourself
• You are responsible for updating it
• You can install any theme or plugin you want
• Your webhost will keep the server running, but not keep your site running if it threatens the security or stability of other sites
• Most hosts offer a “one click” install of WordPress that downloads and installs WordPress for you
• Generally, you have to keep WordPress updated yourself
• Support is by volunteers
Thursday, January 17, 13
Starting with WordPress.com
Thursday, January 17, 13
CREATING AN ACCOUNT
• Email address (which auto-maps as your username, but you can change that)
• Blog address like mycoolnewblog.wordpress.com
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Let’s Take A Tour
Thursday, January 17, 13
JUST A COUPLE SETTINGS FIRST
• Site name
• Site tag line
• Timezone
Thursday, January 17, 13
CONTENT• Posts vs Pages
• Posts are connected to each other and are controlled by time
• Pages are meant to stand alone and be “timeless”
• Tags vs Categories
• Categories are big buckets
• Tags are more specific keywords
• Adding links
• Adding images
• Adding video
Thursday, January 17, 13
LET’S START CREATING CONTENT
• First step, we’re all going to use Twenty Twelve as the theme for now.
• That way we’ll all have the same features and options
Thursday, January 17, 13
POST EDITOR
• Remember, two types of content in WordPress:
• Posts
• Pages
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Title here
Thursday, January 17, 13
Title here
Click to open the “Kitchen Sink”
Thursday, January 17, 13
Content goes here
Thursday, January 17, 13
Link tool
Thursday, January 17, 13
Add images
Thursday, January 17, 13
Tags
Thursday, January 17, 13
Categories
Thursday, January 17, 13
Preview
Thursday, January 17, 13
Publish
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
LET’S CREATE CONTENT
•Write text
• Link to something
• Insert an image
• Insert a YouTube video
Thursday, January 17, 13
LINKING• Select the text to be the link
• Try not to use “click here”
• Click the link tool
• Paste in the URL or
• Pick the existing Post or Page to link too
• Click “Add Link”
Thursday, January 17, 13
ADDING IMAGES
• Click “Add Media” button
•Drag Image(s) to it
• Click to Insert image
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
HOW DO I FIND IMAGES?
• You can’t just download anything you find on the Internet.
• You must follow copyright rules and laws.
• Best resource: Flickr
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
RULES OF USING PICTURES
•Make sure you have the right to
• Give credit and link to the source
Thursday, January 17, 13
INSERTING YOUTUBE VIDEOS• Easy as copy and paste
• Go to the video you want to use
• Click share
• Copy the link
• Paste into the editor.
•Done!
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
PAGE EDITOR
• Just like the Post Editor with a few exceptions
Thursday, January 17, 13
No Tags or Categories.Page templates instead
Thursday, January 17, 13
CREATING CONTENT• How do you get your content?
•What do people ask?
•What do you want people to know?
•Don’t stress, this isn’t literature
•Nothing you write is set in stone
Thursday, January 17, 13
Creating a Site
Thursday, January 17, 13
WHAT IS YOUR SITE ABOUT?
•What is your story?
•What do you need to tell?
•What is the hook?
•What do you need to tell your story
Thursday, January 17, 13
HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE YOUR SITE?
• It’s not set in stone
• Think about major topics first
• Try to keep grouping broad and fluid
Thursday, January 17, 13
BLOG, YES OR NO?
•What does it mean to have a blog mean today?
•Do you have the time and energy to keep it updated?
• In the end, does it really matter?
Thursday, January 17, 13
PICKING A THEME
• Style
• Color
• Features
Thursday, January 17, 13
STARTS WITH APPEARANCE SETTINGS
• Click Appearance
• And start browsing
• or Use the Feature Filter
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
TIME TO CUSTOMIZE•Menus
• Header
• Background
•Widgets
• Layout and Homepage
Thursday, January 17, 13
CHANGING THE MENU•WordPress Menus are simple and flexible
•More than one menu at a time
• “Menus” repurposed as a widget
• Simple drag and drop process
• Found under “Appearance”
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
HEADERS
•What makes a good header?
• Editing the image
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
BACKGROUNDS
• Choosing the right image
• Choosing no image at all
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
WIDGETS
•What they are for
• Using widgets and widget areas
Thursday, January 17, 13
Thursday, January 17, 13
WORDPRESS AND SEO• Use descriptive titles
• Use descriptive categories
• Use tags
•Write “normally”
• Use descriptive link text
Thursday, January 17, 13
UPGRADES• Go Pro/Value Bundle:
• Add a domain
• VideoPress
• Custom Design
• More space
• No-ads
• Site redirect
• Guided Transfer
• Premium Theme
• WordPress.com Business
• WordPress.com Enterprise
Thursday, January 17, 13
EXPORTING YOUR CONTENT• You own your content, not WordPress.com
• Simple option to export
• All authors or a single author
• The file format is as universally compatible with other blogging systems as it can be
• New option on WordPress.com is Site Redirect.
• Lets you move your site and not lose traffic or search engine rank
Thursday, January 17, 13
SWITCHING TO WORDPRESS.ORG
• You will need a domain and host
•While most hosts offer an easy one-click install
• Support, updates, upgrades, etc are all up to you.
Thursday, January 17, 13
INSTALLING
• Using your host’s one-click or easy install method is recommended
Thursday, January 17, 13
PLUGINS
• Choosing
• Installing
Thursday, January 17, 13
MY RECOMMENDED PLUGINS• WPtouch
• WordTwit
• WP Super Cache or W3 Super Cache
• JetPack
• WP-DBManager
• Google Analyticator
• All In One SEO Pack
• Akismet
Thursday, January 17, 13
THEMES
• Choosing
• Installing
Thursday, January 17, 13
ADVANCED WORDPRESS• Installing WordPress yourself—from scratch
• In-depth about plugins and themes
• Troubleshooting
• Maintaining the site
• Google and search engines
• Customizing without coding
• Easy Customizations with a little coding
Thursday, January 17, 13
CONTACT INFO
•Website: http://www.trishussey.com
• Twitter : http://twitter.trishussey.com
• LinkedIn: http://linkedin.trishussey.com
Thursday, January 17, 13