P ACKING A P UNCH WITH W ORD P RESS Kathleen Pequeño @kpequeno.

PACKING A PUNCH WITH WORDPRESS

Kathleen Pequeñowww.kathleenpequeno.com@kpequeno

HOSTED WORDPRESS AND WORDPRESS.COM

WordPress.com is:

Faster to deploy (literally minutes) Just need to create a WordPress.com account Easy to migrate to a standalone WordPress

website Allows some themes Does not allow plugins (but comes with

Jetpack) WordPress.com maintains its own security

#MMC2013, @kpequeno

HOSTED WORDPRESS AND WORDPRESS.COM

Self-hosted WordPress

Fast to deploy, but not as fast You need a host (additional cost) Full access to plugin and theme world,

including Google Analytics and many things we’ll discuss today

Must perform your own ongoing support, security and backups

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THE TOUR BEGINS

I’m going to log into a client’s website

You can log into your own WordPress website, or if you have created a WordPress.com blog, you can log in there.

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WORDPRESS DASHBOARD

Generally, I only use “Dashboard” to refer to the landing page upon login. (All other pages I refer to as “in the admin area.”)

Menus are along the left (and non-admins can hide them if they find it distracting)

Use Screen Options

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LIMIT EACH USER TO WHAT THEY NEED

Help people set up their screen options sitewide to guide them

Remember that any admin user has complete control over the site – have at least two, but not too many

Give them a Google Analytics Widget

Other fun dashboard widgets?

#MMC2013, @kpequeno

POSTS VERSUS PAGES – IS YOUR SITE ORGANIZED CORRECTLY?

Posts are the most flexible content – can be grouped into categories using the native environment

Pages are for things that don’t change much, and when they are not, its not news.

You should have more posts than pages. What do your users expect to find on the

home page?

#MMC2013, @kpequeno

SHARE-TIME

Who here has done a key audience list?

Who wants to share their navigation?

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Remember your key audiences – give them what they want and let them go

YOUR MEDIA LIBRARY

The standard WordPress library has improved considerably over the last year. (Especially with Jetpack.)

Think ahead about how big your media library will become – give pics and PDFs searchable names, and don’t upload too many large files

Do you need a Content Delivery Network? (CDN) -- maybe, if you have many visitors and your site needs to speed up.

#MMC2013, @kpequeno

THEMES

There are thousands of usable themes – consider

a commercial theme

Phrases to look for as you shop: Cross-browser tested Responsive Theme Options Updates? Is there a support forum?

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WHERE TO GET THEMES?

Find themes at: http://wordpress.org/themes/ Theme Forest Woo Themes

Who has found a theme they like?

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THEMES, PART TWO: MENUS

This comes back to our earlier discussion of posts and pages: does your menu navigation include the right items to get users to what they want quickly?

Many themes support multiple menus

You can use static pages, categories or popular posts. – Use the full range of options.

#MMC2013, @kpequeno

THEMES, PART THREE: WIDGETS

Widgets give you all manner of options – for your sidebars, footers, and some themes allow them in the main content area. Many plugins create widgets.

Why widgets?

Social Media promotion Contact info Maps/Calendars Promoting a specific post

#MMC2013, @kpequeno

PLUGINS

My favorites are listed in:http://wp.me/p3aWQT-fQ

Google Analyticator Broken Links Checker Jetpack Woo Dojo

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WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN PLUGINS

How many downloads? Tested for latest version of WordPress? How many versions are there? A well-

maintained plugin will have many versions. Is there a lively support forum? What would I do if this plugin were never

updated again? How would it affect my website?

#MMC2013, @kpequeno

KEEP LEARNING

WordPress Codex – create an account!

How Users Read On the Web: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html

Don’t Make Me Think (book)

My Small Advice: http://kathleenpequeno.com/small-advice

Smashing WordPress (book)

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FINAL WORDS?Please fill in your evaluations.

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