Intro to WordPress:

The Absolute Basics

Instructors: Gordon Seirup & Jess Quig

http://slides.com/gordonium/wp-intro-lesson-1

What is WordPress?

  • An open-source content management system (CMS)

    • ​Open-source:

      • ​Code is freely available (free to use, allowed to be edited)

      • Developed and supported by a volunteer community

    • CMS: Interface for creating/editing digital content; users don’t have to be coders

 

  • The most popular CMS - WP powers:

    • ~27% of all websites

    • ~50-60% of all websites using a CMS *

*  Source: https://www.codeinwp.com/blog/wordpress-statistics/

Why WordPress?

  • WordPress is a publishing platform

  • Highly customizable (even without touching code)

    • ​​Themes <-- more later!

    • Plugins <-- more later!

  • Easy to learn​

    • Tons of support available in all forms (classes, text & video tutorials, forums…)

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO) friendly

  • Can handle simple sites to (fairly) large e-commerce

WordPress.com   vs   WORDPRESS.org

Hosting is provided You get your own hosting
Free domain (___.wordpress.com) or pay extra for custom Buy your own, custom domain
Limited flexibility (no plugins, no base code access) Extremely flexible
Good if you just want to blog and custom functionality isn't important Good if...
<-- that's not good enough

3 Main Parts of Wordpress: Core

CORE

Theme

Plugins

  • WordPress core: all of the files WordPress needs to run 
    • Download from wordpress.org (pre-installed on some hosting)
    • Usually gets updated a few times a year (currently 4.6.1)
    • You will never touch most of these files

3 Main Parts of Wordpress: THeme

CORE

Theme

Plugins

  • Themes: files layered on top of WordPress core that modify the appearance and (sometimes) functionality of a site (usually on the front-end, but sometimes on the backend, too - ex: Divi)

3 Main Parts of Wordpress: Plugins

CORE

Theme

Plugins

Log into our test site!

Try It Out! 

Pages              vs              Posts

  • Relatively static content (ex: About page, Contact page)
  • Usually provide the base structure of your website

Both:

  • Text editor
  • Status (published, draft, etc)
  • Visibility
  • Publish date
  • Featured image
  • Usually time-oriented content that is updated often (ex: journal, announcements)
  • Usually displayed in date order
  • Can use tags and categories (user sorting)
  • Displayed in RSS feed of site

TRY IT OUT! 

Media

  • Upload images, documents, and small videos:
    • Drag & drop or regular media uploader
    • Max upload size: 1MB
    • (can also add to images folder in FTP)
  • Edit:
    • Very basic image editing (rotate, flip, resize)
  • Use:
    • Add in widget areas / page editor

STOP! Just Watch For This!

widgets

  • To edit, go to Appearance > Widgets


  • Widget area: a specific location on a page or post that contains widgets
    • ​Ex) Sidebar
  • Widget: a small area that serves a specific function
    • Ex) Search bar

STOP! Just Watch For This!

Menus

  • To edit, go to Appearance > Menus
  • Location options will vary by theme

STOP! Just Watch For This!

Settings

  • General: Site title, tagline, timezone, etc

 

  • Reading: Front page display, SE visibility, etc

 

  • Discussion: Allow comments, etc

 

  • Permalinks: Set to 'post name' unless you have good reason

Hosting

  • Regular hosting: Stores your website on a server and makes it available on the internet 

 

  • Managed WordPress hosting: Usually have beefed up services specifically targeted at the needs of WordPress sites
    • Example services: WP-specific security, speed, updates, daily backups, website uptime monitors

Homework

  • Pick WordPress.com or WordPress.org 
    • If .org, pick regular or Managed hosting (click linked images below)
  • Set up an account, install WP (if not provided by host), dink around 'til next week.
  • Questions? Things you'd like to cover?