NamesCon 2015 Wordpress Beginner Session

NamesCon 2015 Wordpress Beginner Session

• 1.
  Introduction to WordPress LocalTek LLC BruceMarler Tiffany Marler
• 2.
  LocalTek LLC  20Years of Online Business Success  Domain Development  Business Websites  Search Engine Optimization  App Development/Mobile Marketing  Marketing Approach to Build Outs
• 3.
  Why WordPress?  WordPresspowers 23% of the internet today.  Has developed in to a full CMS.  Thousands of Plug-ins, Widgets and Themes to allow for complete customization.  Easy to operate even without coding skills.  Vast amount of Support, forums, YouTube Tutorials
• 4.
  Ready, Set, Go! PHP Version 5.2.4 or greater  MySQL version 5.0 or greater  WordPress Installer such as Fantastico, QuickInstall, or Softaculous  Recommendations: HostGator, BlueHost, Name.com, DreamHost,
• 5.
  Installing WordPress  LogInto CPanel  Locate One Click Installer (QuickInstall, Softaculous etc)  Click WordPress  Fill in necessary fields, username, PW, your email address,  Leave the Installation Directory blank (will install on your domain/wp-admin  Install  DONE!
• 6.
  Configure Settings Permanlinks: Settings>Permanlinks>Postname Ex:Localtek.website/postname Reading: “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” VERY IMPORTANT to keep this unchecked. After theme is chosen this section will also be important to tell it which pages to show where. (Main Page: Home Page, blog Page: blog) Standard Settings for any type of website.
• 7.
  Settings…  Delete “HelloWorld” Post  Delete “Sample Page” Page  Delete “Hello Dolly” Plug In Depending on of you are building a blog or a business website you may need to set more settings in the discussion section.
• 8.
  Choosing a Theme Mobile Responsive Design: In todays world of mobile first this feature is key.  Good reviews, good documentation, good support not a free theme.  THOUSANDS of options. Choose one that has the right fit for the website persona. Be sure to keep in mind the amount of content that will be on the site. Recommended Sources: Elegant Themes and Theme Forest
• 9.
  What are Plugins? Pluginsextend the functionality of WordPress into anything you can imagine. Think of Plugins like apps for your smartphone. Need a calendar? Plugin. Need a table? Plugin. Need SEO features? Plugin. Need a catalog flip book, e-commerce, social media integrations? Plugin, Plugin, Plugin….
• 10.
  Installing Plugins  LocatePlugins Tab in main Dashboard  Click Add New  Activate There are two ways to install. Either upload from your computer or Search Plugins directly from the WP dashboard. See ratings, screenshots, install instructions etc..
• 11.
  Recommended Plugins  AllIn One SEO or SEO by Yoast  Gravity Forms (paid subscription) or Contact Form 7  Google XML Sitemaps  Broken Link Checker  SEO Smartlinks  W3 Total Cache  Firewall  Akismet *This list will be on your checklist of to-dos
• 12.
  Post vs. Page Postis content. Blog, News, Updates, etc… Page is Content, About Us, Services, Contact Us To Add a New Page: Main Dashboard>Post>Add New>Write your content>Publish (or Save Draft) To Add a New Post: Main Dashboard>Page> Add New> Write your content>Publish (or Save Draft) A few themes will pull in information from either a post or a page depending on how it is built and your chosen settings. Just a heads up..
• 13.
  Navigation Menu “I createdpages but they aren’t showing up!” Don’t freak out!  Appearance>Menus>Type in Menu Name (Main)>Create Menu  Select from Most Recent, View All etc..  Drag and Drop Order, Indent for sub pages  Other Options: Links, to link off to another website etc.  Save Menu  Manage Locations>Primary Menu>Main Menu
• 14.
  Widget?  Widgets aresmall sections of information for sidebars and footer content
• 15.
  Widgets… Appearance>Widgets  Depending onyour theme you will see your options(i.e. Footer Widget 1, Footer Widget 2, Main Sidebar etc)  Easy! Drag and Drop the widget options to the location you wish to place them. **Content is not formatted the same as content in the posts and pages, you can and will need to use HTML in the widgets. **There are many plugins to enhance your capabilities in widget sections also.
• 16.
  Media Adding Media toa post or page is as simple as adding attachments in an email. Pre Upload your images, PDF’s, videos etc.: Main Dashboard>Media>Add New>Select from computer or drag and drop files in. From within a Page/Post: Add Media>choose Image from Media Library or Choose from Computer. Add Images directly to post, featured image section or create a gallery.
• 17.
  Search Engine Optimization Do NOT forget it!  Page Titles, Image Titles, Post Titles  Meta Description needs to be a compelling excerpt.  Keywords…sans spam….
• 18.
  Check List