Workshop 2011 – A

Sunday 16 October – CMU 302 – 9 am – 4 pm

LAMP [Linux (Ruba), Apache (Rachel), MySQL (Derek), PHP (Kat)]
CSS (Rachael)
FTP (Janae)

Books:

• Using WordPress
• Beginning Web Programming With HTML, XHTML, CSS.

1. Getting Started

• Overview of the day
• What is FTP? (Janae)
• Software check (recommended FTP client – FileZilla – download client not server!)
• Configure FileZilla to connect to web hosts
• What is Linux and Apache? (Ruba, Rachel)
• Explanation of WordPress.org (Kathy)
• How does WP.org dashboard differ from WP.com dashboard?
• Demo 5-minute install  (Kathy – MediaTemple)
• Security (Lara)
• Everyone does a one-click install

 

Where y’all are hosted

HostGator Cherilyn Cheryl Derek Elizabeth Joanna Ting Veronica		FatCow Dominique Janae Lisa Mariana Marina Rachael Ruba Samantha Thor
MediaTemple Dacia		Other Kat Rachel

3. Begin customizing WordPress installation 

• Settings -> Permalinks : change permalink structure (factors to consider)
• Users -> Authors & Users : Set up new admin and disable default admin privileges
• Settings -> General : Title/Subtitle; Time-zone; date format; time format
• Settings -> Writing : Disable “Post Via Email” and “Remote Publishing” unless you plan to do these things. “Remote Publishing” must be turned on to use ScribeFire or iPad/iPhone apps
• Settings -> Discussion : Review settings/make recommendations

4. More Geek Speak

• What is MySQL and PHP? (Derek, Kat)

5. Essential PlugIns

What is a plugin (and a widget) and how do I install one?

Must-Haves:

• Akismet [configure – get API key]
• All in one SEO Pack [competition: HeadSpace: WordPress SEO Made Simple and WordPress SEO]
• Google Analytics for WordPress
• Google XML Sitemaps
• JetPack
• Slideshare
• WP DB Manager (discuss backup!)
• WP-typography

Sharing (pick one!)

• Add-to-Any
• Sexy Bookmarks (my fav)
• Sociable

Twitter

• TweetBacks (tweets as comments)
• TweetMeme (retweet your blog posts)
• Twitter WidgetPro (embed twitter stream in a sidebar widget)
• Blackbird Pie (embed tweets in blog posts)

Other PlugIns to consider:

• Adwit Banner Manager
• Amazon Auto-Affiliate Linker
• Antivirus for WordPress
• BuddyPress
• bbPress
• Contact Form 7
• Donation Can
• External Links
• Facebook Like
• Feedburner Feedsmith or FD Feedburner Plugin (first, set up Feedburner account; second, configure WP)
• Google +1
• Gravity Forms ($)
• No Self Pings
• Post Editor Buttons
• Subscribe To Comments
• W3 Total Cache
• WPtouch iPhone Theme
• WP-polls
• WordPress Editorial Calendar
• WordPress Popular Posts

Don’t Do It!

• Pop Up Domination

6. Essential HTML

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

Code basics

• The Anchor Tag
• The Image Tag (position an image)

6. 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!)