Workshop 2010

Sunday 18 April – CMU 302 – 9 am – 4 pm

LAMP : Linux [Danielle], Apache [Janna], MySQL [Kathy], PHP : [Helen]
CSS : [Leslie]

Books:

9:00 : Getting Started

  • Overview of the day; software check (FTP clients needed)
  • What is Linux (Danielle) and Apache (Janna)?
  • Explanation of WordPress (Kathy, WQGWP, p xiii)
  • Demo 5-minute install?  (Lara)
  • Everyone does a one-click install (where everyone is hosted)
  • Walk through dashboard [Ch 2, p 21]

Begin customizing WordPress installation [Appendix A, p 227]

  • Settings -> Permalinks : change permalink structure (factors to consider)
  • Users -> Authors & Users : Set up new admin and disable default admin privileges (discuss security) – [Ch 3, p 47]
  • Settings -> General : Title/Subtitle; Time-zone (UTC-8); date format; time format
  • Settings -> Writing : Disable “Post Via Email” and “Remote Publishing” unless you plan to do these things. “Remote Publishing” must be on to use ScribeFire
  • Settings -> Writing : Update Ping List
  • Settings -> Writing : Disable “convert emoticons” (recommended)
  • Settings -> Discussion : Review settings/make recommendations

10.30 : Break

10.45 : Moving on to Appearance

  • What are themes?
  • Anatomy of a theme [screencast]; difference between posts and pages.
  • Free theme sites (download one or two themes)

Install (long-division!)

  • Download themes to your computer (remember location)
  • Connect with your host via FTP
  • Navigate to the folder where WP is installed (discuss WP file structure)
  • Find the wp-content/themes folder
  • Upload themes to this folder
  • Double-check “Appearance” in dashboard to confirm that the theme was uploaded
  • Activate one of them!

Find a theme from WordPress and install (short-division!)

LUNCH

1.00 : Essential HTML

  • Explore the HTML view of a post or page
  • What is CSS? (Leslie)

Code basics

  • The Anchor Tag
  • The Image Tag (position an image)
  • The Head Tag (how to use)
  • Customize the appearance of one paragraph in a post using inline CSS

Explore the style sheet; CSS basics

Make a change on the style sheet (using WP editor or with text editor + FTP)

2.30 : Break

2.45 : Essential PlugIns

What is MySQL (Kathy) and PHP (Helen)?

What is a plugin (and a widget) and how do I install one? [Ch 9, p 145]

Must-Haves:

Sharing (pick one!)

Twitter (pick one!)

Other PlugIns to consider:

3.15 : Using WordPress As A CMS

  • Difference between a post and a page
  • Making the home page static
  • Page Hierarchies (parent-child relationship)
  • Multiple authors (permissions)
  • Need for Style Guides

Examples:

3.45 : Using WordPress As Your Web Persona

Thinking about registered visitors