How I learned to stop worrying and love WordPress: a beginner's tale Three years ago I decided to wrest back control of my website and what better way to do that than to build a WordPress site? So I did that, with a little help from a coding friend, and there it has sat, like a lump ever since: not updated, not doing anything, definitely not responsive (does it need a shot of adrenaline?) and definitely my own personal testament to fear of both web design and the internet's unceasing affair with change (shudder). But today that changes. Today I commit to resuscitating my website and on the way I shall do my best to chronicle the journey: the good, the bad and the ugly… hopefully there is not so much ugly!

1. WordPress WordCamp Sydney
Saturday 24 September
12:35pm session (beginners)
Presenter: Sharon France

2. ‘Honey, you’re not even responsive!’
❤
❤❤
❤
… or how I learned
to stop worrying
and love …

3. 2013
Cascade
a personal vCard
WordPress theme
from envatomarket
NOT RESPONSIVE
AND SELDOM UPDATED

4. some hints and tips
… so this is the story of how I finally
overcame my fears of web design^
where I started the steps I took the theme I befriended

5. where I think I sit in the WordPress community …
people
who blog developer
s
designer
s
❤
word and
imagry
wizards
form and
function
gurus
people who, well,
design: sometimes
in this space
scary people with
all the mad skilz
speak fluent html,
css and all the other tlas
literally plugg-ed in
Wordpress.org
experts
probably not
frightened
of spiders
people with
amazing stories to tell
rugged individuals
working on their
own ideas
mostly using
WordPress.com
probably own
casual and
formal pajamas

6. setting the scene
➀overwhelming
need to update
my company’s
website
➁no funds to pay
someone else
➂25+years in
publication
design
➃unrealistic,
self-imposed
timeframe
(by 1 August)
➄own and use
Adobe CS:
Photoshop
Illustrator
➅happy with my
existing strong
brand
➆perceived lack
of control in the
web enrironment
➇faced with the
Rumsfeld
conundrum

7. the first steps I took
➀went to
WP WC
Sunshine Coast
May 2016
➁finally went
to the
WordPress
Meetups
➂watched online
WordPress vids
and pored over
many themes
➃lost 8 weeks
to a ‘stuck’
and the
Federal election
➄set-up local
hosting using
MAMP
➅story-boarded
the site
➆flirted with a
couple of themes
but then found
THE ONE!
➇prepared
all my image
collateral

8. from design to launch (+)
➀build the front‑end
overnight and
the whole site
(locally) in 5 days!
➁discover my web
host (of 12 yrs)
does not support
WP updates
➂my trial MAMP
expires the same
day my Optus
service dies
➃set up new
hosting with
Oz-based Crucial
(uber helpful)
➄I get help to
‘migrate’ my site:
it takes more
than 5 hours
➅discover that all
my image assets
are HUGE and
the wrong format
➆painstakingly
replace all
images
➇install essential
plug-ins for
security, back-ups
+ child theme

9. the theme I befriended:
divi

10. drag and drop page builder

11. myriad layout options

12. heaps of great modules

13. great support (everywhere)
affordable pricing
pre-made layouts
savable templates

14. great support (everywhere)
affordable pricing
pre-made layouts
savable templates
… yep, I’m in love
❤
❤❤
❤

15. 2016
DIVI
‘powerful, flexible,
beautiful’
from elegant themes

16. 2016
DIVI
‘powerful, flexible,
beautiful’

17. 2016
DIVI
‘powerful, flexible,
beautiful’

18. 2016
DIVI
‘powerful, flexible,
beautiful’

19. 2016
DIVI
‘powerful, flexible,
beautiful’
… responsive!

20. 2016
DIVI
‘powerful, flexible,
beautiful’
… great for my portfolio

21. some specs on my site
one home page
with five sliders,
five menus
& seven pages
33 projects in
the portfolio—
listed under
six categories
approx
224 image
assets added:
.png for line art
.jpeg for ‘photos’
images derived
from the
public domain,
Librestock and
sampled PDFs
fonts used:
Raleway Light &
Trebuchet
plugins:
WordFence
WP backup to
Dropbox
1-click child theme
(Google analytics)
costs incurred:
MAMP: $80
themes: $360
consulting: $120
(hosting: $199
dropbox: $139)
for someone else
to build this site?
$3000+
what I learned?
PRICELESS

22. some hints and tips
➀join your local
WordPress
Meetup group
➁look before
you leap—
assumptions can
be costly
➂find web pages
and designs you
love and make
a ‘scrapbook’
➃don’t quit—
someone will
know the answer
to your questions
➄be legit!
there is no
reason to steal
words or images
➅be organised:
develop a naming
system and leave
breadcrumbs
➆don’t build
a huge site
locally
➇fonts have a
personality:
choose
wisely

23. a few resources
IMAGES/ICONS
unslpash
pexels
librestock
flickr
nounproject
ONLINE TUTES
lynda.com
(Morten Rand-
Hendriksen is a hoot)
creativebloq.com
HELP
wpbeginners.com
isVAST
(more geared
towards bloggers?)
Slack Channel
DIVI
divi theme
documentation
FaceBook groups
DESIGN
Robin Williams
Non-Designers
Design Book
Peachpit Press
FONTS
fonts.google.com
KEEP CURRENT
smashing
magazine.com
CODEX
codex.
wordpress.org

24. I blogged :)
dearWPdiary.com

25. dearwpdiary.com
mssharonfrance@gmail.com
•
www.lgp.com.au
thank you … questions …