…for beginners Class #1. Logistics 7-9pm MEB 243: Tues 4/16-4/30 or Wed 4/17-5/1 WiFi user: event0209, pass: 49Kv/67Po/72Kw Recommended read: WordPress.

…for beginners

Class #1

Logistics• 7-9pm MEB 243: Tues 4/16-4/30 or Wed 4/17-5/1• WiFi user: event0209, pass: 49Kv/67Po/72Kw• Recommended read: WordPress for Dummies (5th ed.)

• Quick survey:– Who works in IT? Other fields?– Programming experience?– Built a website before? Using what?– Ever used WordPress or another CMS?– Brought a laptop today? Tablet? (next time if can)– Purpose of the website(s) you want to build?

Disclaimers, etc• I…

– am a programmer & a consultant; WP is one of the many tools in my toolbox

– am not all-knowing or perfect; I’ll tell you what I know, and tell you when I don’t know

– am available for consultation (cost varies), but my goal is to make you able to run your own site

• You– should ask me lots of questions!– will get occasionally frustrated/lost; that’s normal, but

tell me if you do– will get the most out of this course if you build a site

while we’re learning (even if you scrap it later)

Course Roadmap

WordPress is a Content Management System… but what can you do with it?

• http://classesandworkshops.com– Class listings, calendar, shopping cart & payments

• http://solopracticeuniversity.com– Online courses, profession-based social networking

• http://www.hmag.com– E-zine, event listings, advertising

• http://zync.ca– Corporate website w/ design showcase

• http://www.clouds365.com– Photo & video gallery more at

wordpress.org/showcase

Why WordPress? NOT JUST BLOGS!• Easy to add/edit content• Edit from anywhere via web browser• Lots of plugins (extensions) & themes (templates)• Easy to change look while retaining content• Very flexible and constantly improving

Why not WordPress?• Complexity (but not as bad as you might think)• Need slightly better server (but still cheap/free)• Takes a little getting-used-to

Case Study

• Conversion from plain-old-HTML to WordPress• Addition of SEO and other tools• Immediate and dramatic improvements:

– twice as many visitors over last 6 months– 8x increase in length-of-stay during first week,

settled down to 38% permanent improvement– 40% decrease in bounce rate (visitors who leave)

in first week, settled down to 7.5% decrease– the real benefit: 35% increase in gross income

Case Study

Internet Basics• What is the Internet?• What is a Webserver?• IPs & Domain Names

jonpeck.com=69.89.7.252cutoncefilms.com=69.89.7.252 google.com=173.194.33.2 yahoo.com=98.138.253.109

jonpeck.com=69.89.7.252cutoncefilms.com=69.89.7.252 google.com=173.194.33.2 yahoo.com=98.138.253.109

173.194.33.21.2.3.4

5.6.7.898.138.253.109

69.89.7.252

• Hosting– dedicated vs shared (VPS, cloud)

69.89.7.252

jonpeck.com

cutoncefilms.com

…..…..…..

jonpeck.com

index.html

one.html

two.html

art.gif

Static content(text & files)

somewebsite.comindex.html

one.html

two.html

art.gifdatabase (MySql)

code (PHP)

transientpages -request

-request

Dynamic content(code & databases)

VS

WordPress.org vs WordPress.com• WordPress.org: provides software that you put on

your own server (aka “host”); more complexity but also more extensibility (plugins, etc)

• WordPress.com uses a modified (crippled) version of that same software, but running on their own servers: you use their server

• Both are free, but…– WordPress.org: you need server (usu. $9-10/month)– WordPress.com: $30-100/yr to remove ads, allow

custom domain, enable theme editing, etc

• For anything more than basic blogging, I’d recommend WordPress.org

Set Up a Test Site!• OK for now: http://seemeroar.com/wp-admin

– these will be SLOW and are TEMPORARY– some features (add themes, plugins, etc) not available– Username Password Public Website

one one!site http://seemeroar.com/one

two two!site http://seemeroar.com/two… … …

twelve twelve!site http://seemeroar.com/twelve

• Better: 2-weeks* FREE at DreamHost (*always if 501c3)

- go to http://seeMeRoar.com > “Get Hosted”- solid, reasonably fast- usually $120/year but I’ve provided some discounts

The DashboardThe administration panel (“dashboard”)

is usually at http://[yourwebsite.com]/wp-adminThe “admin bar” tells you what site you are editing, and who you are (rollover your name to logout)

A different version of this bar appears when you are visiting your own site (if you are logged in).“Screen Options” changes which items are shown on the current screen of the Dashboard.

“Help” is context-specific, providing info about the current Dashboard screen.The left-Navigation provides access to specific features of WordPress.

Each one has its own sub-menu… we’ll get into the specifics in just a bit.The Content Pane has info about your site’s status… how many pages you have, etc.

This Pane changes depending on what part of the left-Navigation you have just clicked on.

Course Roadmap (Tues)

Course Roadmap (Wed)