This document provides an overview of using WordPress to build a website for artists. It discusses what WordPress is, how to set up a WordPress site, and an introduction to key WordPress concepts and terminology like themes, plugins, pages and posts. It also provides tips for using WordPress specifically for artists and recommends resources for learning more about WordPress.

1. Getting Started with
Every Artist Needs
a Great Website

2. In this session…
 What is WordPress?
 Steps to get you started
 Tour of the backend admin panel
 WordPress Terminology
 Questions

3. What is WordPress?
 an Open Source Content Management
System (CMS)
 over 60 million websites use WordPress.
WordPress rules the web!
 initially a blogging platform – no longer just
for blogs
 there’s no limit to what a WordPress site can
look like

4. Which WordPress?
WordPress.com (personal blog) WordPress.org (website)
hosted for you for free
no servers or code required!
is self-hosted - installed on your
paid web hosting account
yourblogname.wordpress.com
can pay to add on your domain
uses your own domain name
limited number of themes,
can't modify the CSS / theme
100% control to choose
& customize themes
restricted to built-in features,
can't add additional plugins
100% control to add plugins
maintenance is looked after you need to backup & update
WordPress.com network you're site is independent
This presentation will focus on WordPress.org Websites from now on….

5. WordPress Geek Speak…

6. Follow the steps to get setup…
http://learnwp.ca
Click on Pre-workshop

7. Walk through the posts…
1. Register a Domain name - yourname.ca or .com
2. Signup for Hosting
3. Point the domain from the domain registrar to
the host's server by setting the DNS
4. Install WordPress to the ROOT directory on the
server of your hosting account. WordPress is NOT
a program to install on your computer

8. Let’s tour the Admin Panel
 Login by typing wp-admin after your domain
name (e.g. http://example.com/wp-admin)
 The admin panel of your site is the backend
where you control your site content. The
frontend is what visitors to your site see.
 Log into WordPress admin panel using your
username and password
 Let's take a look...

9. TERMINOLOGY: Understanding Themes
 Theme - files control how your site looks. Your website
data is safely stored in the database so you can change
themes.
 A Child Theme - has been built off of another theme.
The child inherits from the "parent". You can update a
parent theme, your customizations are preserved in the
child theme folder. Don't delete the parent theme!
 A Premium Theme- is a theme that you purchase
 Theme Frameworks- premium themes with extra built-in
interfaces to allow you to modify your site design without
editing code files.

11. Adding a new theme
 Appearance → Themes → Install Themes
 ONLY use themes from the repository or reputable
premium themes
 We can search the WordPress repository and
install right from the admin panel interface!
 Content is in the database so you can change
themes without entering content again
 Let’s change the theme…

12. TERMINOLOGY: Plugins
 A plugin is an addon code package you can
install to add functionality to your site
 Search the repository -
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/ or
search from the admin panel plugin interface
 There are free plugins and premium plugins
you purchase

13. Some Plugins I like…
 Maintenance Mode
 Fast Secure Contact Form
 WordPress SEO by Yoast
 Backup Buddy (premium plugin)
 Autonav Image Table Based Site Navigation
 Portfolio Slideshow Pro (premium plugin)
 TablePress
 Grid Columns
 Dynamic Widgets

14. TERMINOLOGY: Widgets
 WordPress Widgets add content and
features to your Sidebars.
 Simply drag & drop to add, arrange, and
remove widgets in your site's sidebar or
other widgetized areas of your theme.
 Plugins will often add their own widgets –
e.g. Image Widget & Social Media Widget
 Let’s look at how widgets work…

15. TERMINOLOGY: Pages & Posts
 Pages are for your more static content - they don't
change very often
 Page Templates - are layouts, such as no sidebar,
depend on the theme
 Posts
• are entries in your blog (articles, news items)
• usually in reverse chronological order, newest on top
• typically organized into categories (archive pages)
• display meta data: i.e. date, author, tags, categories
 Let's look at pages, posts

16. Tips for artists
 Choose a clean design so your art is the focus
 Search Engines need some text – include keyword
search terms in page copy
 Blog or don’t blog – don’t set one up and abandon it
 Use a proper mailing list – I recommend MailChimp
• integrates well with WordPress
• free for 2,000 subscribers, 12,000 emails/month
• send blog posts by RSS feed to mailing list

17. Q & Eh?Q & Eh?
image used by permission susybee.com

18. Learning Resources
 codex.wordpress.org – official documentation
 wordpress.org/support – forum
 wordpress.tv – WordCamp videos
 meetup.wptoronto.com – monthly meetings
 LearnWP.ca/blog - our blog

19. Thank You!
Ruth Maude & Dawn Comber
LearnWP.ca
facebook.com/LearnWP @2LearnWP