Introduction to WordPress Slides from WordCamp 2012 by Gary A. Bacon

Enjoy your WordCamp ExperienceThree Keys to Enhanced Enjoyment from your WordCamp weekend 1) Remember to grasp the big concepts and what you can do. You can learn the details later. Let the presentations broaden your knowledge of the goodness of WordPress.

Enjoy your WordCamp Experience Three Keys to Enhanced Enjoyment from your WordCamp weekend 2) Obtain the contact information of speakers who may be resources for you laterthrough training or their materials. Be inspired by their passion and experience with WordPress.

Enjoy your WordCamp Experience Three Keys to Enhanced Enjoyment from your WordCamp weekend 3) Network with other WordCampparticipants. They can be great resource people for you in the future. Establish lasting relationships which can be mutually beneficial for your and their continued success with WordPress.

Intro to WordPress® Gary A. Bacon, Esquire Bacon Law Firm, P.C. www.baconlawfirm.com gbacon@baconlawfirm.com twitter: @gabacon © Gary A. Bacon, 2012

 Gary A. Bacon is an avid Wordpress fan. He is an attorney who has been practicing law for 29 years. He uses technology to advance his law practice. Wordpress, has been the platform for his Law Firm website, www.baconlawfirm.com, for several years. Mr. Bacon uses Wordpress as a blogging platform as well as Content Management Software. He is eager to share this information with interested Wordpress beginners. Follow him on twitter @gabacon.

WordPress Cofounder Matt Mullenweg

WordPress Cofounder Other ambition of Matt – apparently he would be a co- funder (start a bank) if not doing WordPress. See his essay at http://ma.tt/2009/08/starting-a-bank/ Caveat – he said what he would do if not WordPress is subject to change on a daily basis.

Why WordPress? 60 million people have used it. Uses include:  Blogging  Website (Content Management Software)  Membership Website

Who else is using WordPress?

Introduction to WordPress

Designed for the non-programmer WordPress was designed primarily for non-programmer in mind. The design makes it easy for people who are familiar with other software, such as Microsoft Word, to get started with their own blog. The options are set up in a format which does not require you to know html or php or other code to begin blogging.

 Writing your post is easy to do. It amounts to entering the blog, or short article on your computer, and then posting it to the web. This is a very straightforward process to complete this task. One powerful feature of WordPress is that you can use it to develop your own personal website. Then when you need to make changes in the website, you do not have to contact a programmer and wait for a two week response; you can make the change immediately.

Server and CPU distinction It is important to understand the distinction between the server where WordPress is located and the CPU or computer where you are working. WordPress, the files and software, are stored on a server, usually on the Internet at a remote location, or on the WordPress servers managed by the company.

 The installation that you choose will determine where the files and software are eventually stored. There are two formats of Wordpress:  Wordpress.com  Wordpress.org

Wordpress.Com WordPress.com is maintained by the owners of WordPress.com on their server. It provides for easy setup of a blog. The use of the blog provides for your files to be stored at the server owned by WordPress.com. Therefore, your content and post are on their site. This does not require you to update your version of WordPress on the server information. It does not require you to host the service.

WordPress.Org It requires that you place WordPress on your host server. This does not have to be your own personal computer. It is usually hosted on a server at a remote location. To use this option, you will establish a server. Then, you down load the WordPress software. Once it is downloaded for the initial time, then you simply update it when a new free edition is released.

Dual function benefits of WP WordPress was originally developed as blog software. The founder still contends that the purpose of the software is for blogging. However, it has two powerful functions that should be availed of: its blogging capacity and its CMS abilities.

WordPress as a Blog WordPress was developed to enable you to easily setup a blog. The developer states that it is a five-minute set up process. For more advanced uses and depending on the server configuration, using it is more involved and requires more time. However, it is a very efficient method of getting a quick blog setup on the Internet to start attracting clients or publishing your message.

WordPress as CMS WordPress is also perfect as a CMS. CMS means content management system. This is a website which allows the user to easily change the information, content, of the website. This is helpful if want to change events related to your firm or change names of staff.

 There are two basic type pages on a WordPress blog:  static pages and  dynamic pages.

Static pages Static pages are pages traditionally affiliated with a website. These are pages that do not change, i.e. the name “Static”. This would be information about the firm, location, practice areas, and other subjects that do not change on a week-to-week basis.

Static page changes Even though they do not change often, even static pages can be changed very easily with WordPress by the end user. Your staff or you could be easily trained to make these changes as needed. This avoids waiting for a programmer to get back in touch with you to make the changes you need.

Example of Static Page

Dynamic pages Dynamic pages are pages that change regularly. These are pages such as your blog post. These pages are changed regularly and often. WordPress makes it easy to change and add new content on a regular basis. This keeps your website current on the Internet and out before the search engine spiders. This improves your websites rankings increasing the probability that you will occur higher in the rankings that you would if your website did not have dynamic pages.

Example of a Dynamic Page

WordPress login To start WordPress, you must get to the login box. See illustration below for WordPress.org login box:

Login in box User Name – this is the box where you enter your unique user name. Password – this is the box where you enter your unique password. Login button – this button when selected activates the start of the program.

 Lost password option – this gives you the option to recover a lost or forgotten password

 Remember me option – this is an option to have the computer you are working on remember your password. Do not use this option if you are working on a public computer or a computer which others may use. They could access your blog and post data.

Getting to the login box onWordPress.org www.SandDunesConstruction.com/wp-admin Entering this in your browser address bar will bring you to the login page for a Wordpress.org site which has the name of SandDunesConstruction.com

WordPress.com For Wordpress.com, you enter www.wordpress.com in the address bar of the browser. This will send you to the homepage of Wordpress.com. At the top of the page, you will see the options for entry of your user name and password. Enter those and press the login button.

Main Navigation Menu    On the left side of the screen is the main navigation menu detailing each of the administrative functions you can perform.

Options under Posts    On most options on the menu bar, you will see an arrow on the right hand side. This expands the options under the specific menu choice.

Post definition Codex defines post as: Post are known as “articles” and sometimes incorrectly referred to as “blogs”. In Wordpress, “posts” are articles that you write to populate your blog.

Post Definition – GAB Post are mini-articles on your website or blog. They allow you to communicate with your clients and potential clients. They also allow you to keep your web content fresh.

Post Menu Post section is where you place (i.e. the word post) your mini-articles on your website. It allows you to communicate with your clients and potential clients. It also allows you to keep your web content fresh.

All Post This allows you to see all the post you have written. You also have the option to edit your post here. You also have the option to delete post.

Add New This is the option that will allow you to add a new post. This is the fundamental concept needed to populate your blog.

Categories Each post in WordPress is filed under a category. Thoughtful categorization allows posts to be grouped with others of similar content and aids in the navigation of a site. Catagories will allow you to organize your post. For example, areas of the law – family law, injury, estate planning or criminal law.

Post TagsA tag is a keyword which describes all or part of a Post.Think of it like a Category, but smaller in scope. A postmay have several tags, many of which relate to it onlyperipherally. Like Categories, Tags are usually linked to apage which shows all posts having the same tag. UnlikeCategories, Tags can be created on-the-fly, by simplytyping them into the tag field.

Pages A Page is often used to present "static" information about yourself or your site. A good example of a Page is information you would place on an About Page. A Page should not be confused with the time-oriented objects called posts. Pages are typically "timeless" in nature and live "outside" your blog.

Pages (cont) With WordPress you can add Pages to your website similar to other websites. However, the significant advantage is that you can change these pages easily without programming assistance to make a change. If you are familiar with programming code, then it gives you the option to use those skills also.

Pages (cont) When you begin to enter the body of the page which you are developing, it gives you two windows to be used interchangeably. One window is the Visual window. This works similar to word processing software. You see the text and image on the page as it will be displayed on the internet.

Pages (cont) An added advantage is that you can select the HTML (hypertext markup language) page to see the programming code which makes the page function on the web. This is helpful if you want to add advanced programming code in the future. However, this is not necessary to use HTML to use WordPress as a website and/or blog to attract new clients or publish your message.

Themes Under the Appearance Tab: Free themes with WordPress  Twenty eleven  Twenty ten Commercial themes - ithemes - Studio Press

Widgets Under the Appearance Tab: Widgets allow for easy design of your website. You can drag and drop the widget on the sidebar options

General Settings This covers general settings for your computer including Blog name, WordPress URL, email address.

Updating to Newest Version ofWordPress At the top of the screen, WordPress will tell you if you need to update your version. For example: Just select the “Please update now” text and WordPress will automatically update your version. It is a good idea to back up your site before any updates.

Users This section gives you the information on the Authors & users of your website and blog. Some people may access your blog to write articles for you or with you. Others may use the website as users to perform administrative task and not be authors of a blog post.

Blogging sources for content When run low on ideas or need new ideas for blogging, then you can always find content on the Internet to post on your blog to keep it current and active. An example of compilations of resources is the following:

 http://www.articlealley.com/ http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/01/23/blogging-tips- hundreds-of-resources-for-finding-content-for-your-blog/ http://www.niche-content-packages.com/

Blogging time-released post Take advantage of the time released publishing capabilities of WordPress. When your staff or you begin to write, there is often a flow of ideas and information that usually exceed what would be the length of a common blog (about 100 to 249 words). You can write several blog posts and elect to have them published over a series of days as set by you. Source: http://modernl.com/article/how-long-is-the-ideal-blog- post

Blogging time-released post(cont) One powerful feature with WordPress is that it allows you to control the Comments which are made to your blog post. If you are writing on a controversial subject, you may have comments that are derogatory, contain misinformation, or simply incorrect information.

Controlling responses to post. When you establish your WordPress blog, you have the option to make your site accessible to the search engines. If you are blogging to a select group, you may want to select to have you website not subject to search engines.

Controlling responses to post.(cont) You have the option of approving the comments to allow them to be published under your blog article. Or you have the option to unapprove the comment, mark as spam, delete, edit, or reply to the comment.

Controlling search engine access toyour blog When you establish your WordPress blog, you have the option to make your site accessible to the search engines. If you are blogging to a select group, you may want to select to have you website not subject to search engines.

Controlling search engine access toyour blog (cont) Most people blogging would want to make sure that this option is selected to make your blog accessible to search engines where you can publish and attract new clients.

Special treats: Wordpress.tv WordCamp.tv Codex – the online manual for WordPress and a living repository for WordPress information and documentation. http://codex.wordpress.org/

Helpful Links WordPress Jargon: http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Semantics WordPress glossary: http://codex.wordpress.org/Glossary

Special treats (continued) Fantastico Deluxe (for uploading WP) StudioPress.com for themes Ithemes.com for themes and Backup Buddy VaultPress (backup system) by Automattic JetPack by WordPress.com

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Introduction to WordPress Slides from WordCamp 2012 by Gary A. Bacon

by Gary Bacon on Feb 18, 2012

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