Slides used in WordPress Beginner Workship at University of Miami on April 9th, 2011. Presenter was David Bisset (@dimensionmedia).

1. WordPress Workshop
For Beginners
David Bisset
Refresh Workshop - April 9, 2011

2. Who Is This Idiot?
Freelance web developer for over 8 years.
I do front-end and backend-development. HTML,
CSS, PHP, MySql,
Worked with WordPress for over 3 yrs (since
version 1.5)
Organizer of WordCamp Miami 2010, 2011

3. Here is where
i pimp myself.
Twitter: @dimensionmedia
davidbisset.com
linkedin.com/in/davidbisset
about.me/davidbisset

4. What We Will
Be Covering
Installing WordPress
Installing Themes & Plugins
The WordPress Backend
Publishing Pages & Posts
Working With Media
Comments & Moderation
Other Cool Stuff

5. What Is WordPress?

6. WordPress is an open-source blog tool and
publishing platform.
WordPress started off as blogging software, but
now can serve as a Content Management
System (CMS)
WordPress 3.1 downloaded 5 million times.
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
Used by over 13% of the top 1,000,000 websites.
www.wordpress.org/showcase

7. Why Use WordPress?
Free. Easy to Use. Big Community. Free.
Lots of add-ons.
And did i mention it’s free?

8. Starting Your Own
WordPress Site

9. Step One:
Domain Name
namecheap.com
mediatemple.com
yahoo domains
1and1.com
99% of the time you’ll
want .com, .net, .org, .me

10. Step Two:
Hosting
Shared Hosting:
mediatemple.com
bluehost.com (1 click)
hostgater.com
serverbeach.com
page.ly
Serious/Dedicated:
rackspace.com
peer1.com

11. This Is Where
The Fun Begins

12. Step Three:
Download
WordPress
http://wordpress.org

13. Step Four:
Upload
WordPress
- Get an FTP client.
- Login into your hosting environment via FTP
- Upload All WordPress Files
http://mac.appstorm.net/roundups/internet-
roundup/10-mac-ftp-apps-for-every-budget/

15. Step Five:
Creating Your MySql Database

17. Step Six:
Completing Your WordPress Install

20. Wouldn’t It Be Nice If This Was
Already Done And We Could Jump
Right In?

21. Surprise!

22. Your Blog
Is Waiting
For You
http://mywpblog.net/blog02
http://mywpblog.net/blog03
http://mywpblog.net/blog04
etc.

23. The WordPress Dashboard
And Admin Bar

25. Exploring Your Blog

27. Publish Something Dammit!

29. Posts vs. Pages

30. Posts vs. Pages
Posts are entries listed in reverse chronological order on the blog home
page. Posts can be found in the Archives, Categories, Recent Posts, and
other widgets.
The URL for a post includes the date the post was published like this:
http://blogname.wordpress.com/2008/11/30/post-title/
Pages are static and are not listed by date. Pages do not use tags or
categories.
The URL for a page looks like this: http://blogname.wordpress.com/page-
title/

31. Sidebars & Widgets

33. Working With Media

36. Create Your Own Menus

38. Adding List of Links To Your Blog

40. Blog Comments & Discussion

42. Changing The Header Image

44. Users & Profiles

46. Theme Management

48. Pre-Made
Themes
- Free Themes
- Professional Themes
($20-$100 each)

49. Themes
Galore!
http://wordpress.org/
extend/themes/

50. Baby Did A Bad,
Bad Thing
- Beware Of Poorly Coded
Themes
- Beware of Malware
- Warning signs: they have
‘wordpress’ in their url.

51. Who Can
You Trust?
http://www.woothemes.com/
http://www.elegantthemes.com/
http://themeforest.net/ *
http://www.press75.com/
http://wpswitch.com/
http://wpcandy.com/theme-madness
http://wpzoom.com

52. Browse
Themes
Visually
http://www.wpthemey.com/

53. Introduction to Plugins

54. What Is A Plugin?
Plugins extend what WordPress can do for
it’s users and/or people visiting your site.

56. Finding Plugins

58. WP Backup
Allows you to easily backup your WordPress Database.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-db-backup/

59. All-In-One SEO
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/all-in-one-seo-pack/
WordPress SEO By Yoast
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-seo/

60. Social Media Plugins
http://www.bestwpplugins.net/best-social-media-promotional-plugins-for-
wordpress.html

61. WP-Stats
Simple, concise stats for your WordPress blog.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/stats/

62. Gravity Forms
Easy To Use And Create Custom Forms
http://www.gravityforms.com

63. Contact 7
Easy To Use And Create Custom Forms
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/contact-form-7/

64. WP Ecommerce
http://www.instinct.co.nz/

65. Simple URLs
Complete URL Management that allows you to create, manage, and track outbound
links from your site.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simple-urls/

66. Simple URLs
Complete URL Management that allows you to create, manage, and track outbound
links from your site.
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/simple-urls/

67. Installing Plugins

69. Top Ten Plugins

70. Free vs. Paid
Plugins
- Beware of Free Plugins Not Available Via
Wordpress.org
- Paid plugins should have a clear support
channel (when you need help)
- If unsure, backup your site before
installing plugins.
- http://premium.wpmudev.org/
- http://www.gravityforms.com/
- http://wpplugins.com/

71. Backing Up
Your Site
- ALWAYS BACKUP!
- WPBackup Plugin
- VaultPress
- Backup Buddy

72. WordPress Resources

73. Great
WordPress
Blogs/Sites
http://wpcandy.com
http://wordpress.tv
http://wordpress.org/news/
http://www.wptavern.com/
http://wpmu.org
http://wpbeginner.com
http://wpmodder.com

74. Great
WordPress
Books
WordPress For Dummies
WordPress Bible
Beginning WordPress 3
Teach Yourself Visually WordPress
wp101.com

75. Here is where
i pimp myself... again.
Twitter: @dimensionmedia
davidbisset.com
linkedin.com/in/davidbisset
about.me/davidbisset