WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) that can be used to build blogs and websites. It allows users to install plugins and widgets to customize and expand functionality. WordPress can be used as a blog or to supplement an existing website, but is not intended to entirely replace a website. It exists in both hosted and self-hosted versions, with tradeoffs between ease of use and control. The presenter demonstrates how to install WordPress locally using XAMPP for development and testing purposes. Resources for learning more about WordPress and plugins are provided.

1. Using For Internet Publishing Laura Solomon Library Services Manager OPLIN [email_address] www.oplin.org

2. The agenda today: What is WordPress & some stuff about it Comparison to Blogger Some examples of Wordpress installs How OPLIN uses WordPress Installing and working with WordPress

3. What is WordPress?

4. What constitutes a blog? Ongoing chronicle of information Frequently updated Pieces/parts: Main content area with posts Archive of older posts A way for people to leave posts Links to other sites One or more RSS feeds

5. Wordpress is not… Content Management System (CMS)

6. What can WordPress do? Act as a supplemental section or blog Provide additional functionality

7. What CAN’T Wordpress do (probably)? Replace your entire web site

8. Wordpress is…

9. A little background The largest self-hosting blogging tool in the world Open source Can download and customize it

10. Different flavors of Wordpress Hosted Local Photo courtesty of iShot71 (Flickr)

11. Hosted: “No worries, mate!” www.wordpress. com Less access to plugins Easy to get started Less control of the look Virtually no setup Cons Pros

12. DIY: Calling Bob Vila..(Local) www.wordpress. org Cons Pros Upgrades and backups are on your own More easily integrated into existing sites *Might* need a good tech in-house or to hire Access to more plug-ins Requires backend database and scripting languages support* Total control over the look and layout

13. How does this compare to Blogger?

14. Blogger vs. WordPress Supports categories No support for categories Great extensibility with widgets More limited functionality Hosted or local installation Entirely hosted Slightly more complex Slightly simpler WordPress Blogger

15. What’s a widget? Sidebar plugin Additional functionality without changing source code

16. Some example widgets Active Discussions - Display posts with currently active discussion threads Contact - Adds a contact form to the sidebar del.icio.us cached++ - Create a list of the latest bookmarks on a del.icio.us account, from its RSS feed Flickr Badge Widget - display your flickr photos in the sidebar Now Reading scroll down on that page to see the widget version WP Polls - a widget for WP Polls plugin

17. How OPLIN uses WordPress

18. How OPLIN uses WordPress

19. Actually installing WordPress Ingredients: MySQL database (preferably with admin tool) Web server PHP Download of Wordpress Caffeine helps, I swear

20. Your new best friend! http:// www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html

21. Do this… Allow a really good chunk o’time

22. Surround yourself with happy thoughts

23. Be patient

24. Actual demo here

25. What to do Install XAMPP Go to the XAMPP admin panel and open up the admin interface for Apache Click on phpMyAdmin on the left and create a new database Unzip WordPress. Put actual wordpress directory in the htdocs directory of Apache (most likely C:\xampp\htdocs) so that you end up with C:\xampp\htdocs\wordpress.

26. Take a deep breath, the hard parts are over! You’re now ready to install WordPress! Go to http://your_domain_and_path_here/wordpress Follow the wizard Remember, if you have (properly!!) locked down MySQL, the username and password are not “root/no password”

27. WordPress Resources Full list of widgets ( http://codex.wordpress.org/Plugins/WordPress_Widgets ) WordPress Lessons ( http:// codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Lessons )

28. Video Tutorials WordPress.com - Step-by-Step Tutorial on How to Blog ( http://youtube.com/watch?v=MWYi4_COZMU ) WordPress Tutorial - How to Edit a WordPress Page ( http://youtube.com/watch?v=rnMnpt6u5uo ) Wordpress tutorial--installing on a local server ( http://youtube.com/watch?v=OD4nh5A5up4 ) Wordpress Tutorial ( http:// youtube.com/watch?v =H1ImndT0fC8 )

29. Where is this presentation? http://www.slideshare.net/OPLIN Questions? [email_address]