WordPress best practices by billrice

WordPress Overviewand Best Practices

for Beginners

2011 WordCamp LouisvillePresented by: Bill M. RiceWebMedley.com

#wclou

Introduction

WordPress Overview and Best Practices for Beginners | 2011 WordCamp Louisville

Hello World!

Bill M. RiceWordPress EnthusiastProduction DirectorWebMedley.com

twitter.com/creativebill linkedin.com/in/creativebill facebook.com/creativeBill.RiceDesign

Opinions are my own. No paid endorsements.

Warning!


You are about to experience FIREHOSE learning.

• There will not be a quiz

• There are NO stupid questions

• Don’t try to keep up taking notes, I talk way too fast

• Slides available at slideshare.net/creativebill

Overview


Here’s what we’ll be covering today…

• Why WordPress?

• Best Practices

• Plugins

• Tips & Tricks

• Question & Answer

Why WordPress?


The reasons YOU should be using WordPress

• Totally Free and Open Source• Strong Community Support• 16,463+ available plugins (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/)

• 8,645,393+ WP 3.2 downloads (http://wordpress.org/download/counter/)

• Outstanding Visual Editor• It’s a CMS and a Blog• Scalable• Secure

Why WordPress?


Comparing Content Management Systems (CMS)• Drupal• Joomla• MODx• http://www.techi.com/2011/07/open-source-wars-wordpress-

vs-drupal-vs-joomla/

Popular WordPress Sites• Wall Street Journal, Time, CNN, TED, Forbes• Kobe Bryant, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Arcade Fire• Spotify, Ford, Herman Miller• Smashing Magazine • http://www.computercourage.com/2011/09/15/popular-sites-that-use-wordpress/

Why WordPress?


Content Overview

Pages• Static - less updated content (contact us)• Can create multiple templates for site (home, gallery etc.)

Posts• Dynamic - more frequently updated content (blog)• Sortable by one or more category• Tags

Widgets / Plugins• Easy to use, add functionality to site (rss, videos, photos)

Why WordPress?


Ease of Use• Outstanding Visual Editor• Paste from MS Word• Yes, even your clients/staff can be trained

Creature Comforts• Menu Structure• Widgets• There’s a plugin for that

Flexible and Scalable• CMS + Blog• Did I mention free?


Paste from MS Word


Adding and Ordering Menus like a Pro


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

Hosting Options


• WordPress.com – did I mention free?

• Self-Hosted WordPress install (wordpress.org)• Host on a Unix / Apache server

• Shared Hosting – Nominal monthly fee• BlueHost.com• HostGator.com

• Dedicated Hosting (advanced)

Security


• Don’t use “admin” for user login • Use secure passwords (random generated are best)• Keep your WordPress core updated• Keep Plugins updated

• Remove WordPress version from <head>• Salt your database links• Security Plugins – Bulletproof Security

Best Practices


Otherwise known as common sense…

• Pay for stock photos (don’t try to airbrush out watermark)• Don’t steal images from Google searches (copyright)• Verify copy from clients - copyscape.com/• Give back to plugin developers• Stay Current (WP Core, Plugins, jQuery etc.)• Back up your files (if not in 3 places, it doesn’t exist)

• Database (content)• Theme files

Best Practices


• Create clean code, validate html & css

• CSS frameworks (if building from scratch)• Blueprint or 960.gs

• WordPress Frameworks• Genesis by StudioPress• DIY: Headway or iThemes

• Themes – purchase premium themes• Google the name of them, check codex.wordpress.org• Don’t use FREE themes (malware, causes warts)

Plugins


16,463+ available

• Functionality (show/hide widgets)• Photo / Video Galleries• Social Media Sharing• Facebook Social Tools• Contact Forms• Search Engine Optimization• Backup Plugins• Print / Mobile• RSS Integration

Plugins


Don’t reinvent the wheel, Search codex.wordpress.org

• Askismet• Google Analytics Dashboard• Contact Form 7• Gravity Forms (premium)• White Label CMS• WP Database Backup• Backup Buddy (premium)• Vault Press (ultimate)• SHOPP ecommerce plugin

• WordPress SEO (Yoast)• Simple RSS Feeds• WPTouch• Display Widgets• MailChimp Widget• LiveFyre comments• Facebook Photo Gallery• Caching plugins

Tips & Tricks


Take your site to the next level

• Upgrade your typography• Typekit• Google Webfonts• @font-face

• Integrate the latest social media plugins • Google +1 – Facebook Social Tools etc.

• WordPress SEO (yoast.com)

• Use caching plugins

Resources


• codex.wordpress.org• automattic.com• wp.smashingmagazine.com• wpbeginner.com• wpcandy.com• ottopress.com• andrewnacin.com• twitter.com – search #wordpress

Question & Answer


Thank You!


• WebMedley.com @webmedley• Scott Hack & Erik Blackwell for organizing #wclou• Background - http://sajja.deviantart.com/art/6-Paper-Textures-85728689

• WPBeginner.com – Syed Balhki• Ottodestruct.com – Samuel Wood @otto42• Andrew Nacin - @nacin• ma.tt - Matt Mullenweg - @photomatt

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