Suzette Franck presented this at WordCamp Charleston. This presentation includes: ★ Look or “Skin” of Your Site w/Themes ★ Functionality w/Plugins ★ Widgets and Sidebars ★ Maintenance Best Practices ★ Where to get WordPress Help See the infographic for further WordCamps: http://visual.ly/wordcamp-events-around-world-may-july-2014

1. Set Up and Maintenance of your
WordPress Website
Suzette Franck
2014 Charleston WordCamp
Charleston, SC #wcchs
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple

2. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Suzette Franck with a “ck”
@mt_Suzette
★WordPress Evangelist @ (mt) Media Temple
★Born in Hollywood, California Native
★Over 20 Years Coding & Web Development
★Developed over 200 WordPress sites
★Spoke at 18 WordCamps to date
★WordPress Podcast WPUnicornProject.com
https://www.youtube.com/user/mediatemple
★Reg. Contributor on WPwatercooler.com
★Blogs at: suzettefranck.com
★Slides: speakerdeck.com/suzettefranck

3. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
★ Look or “Skin” of Your Site w/Themes
★ Functionality w/Plugins
★ Widgets and Sidebars
★ Maintenance Best Practices
★ Where to get WordPress Help
What We Will Cover

4. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
What is a Theme?

5. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
WordPress Themes
A WordPress Theme is a group of template files
stored on your server that make up the “look” of
your site and can be installed and customized
from the Dashboard

6. Best are listed in WP Repository,
strict standards, made by volunteers, may
not have support, GPLv2, may have “Pro”
paid version w/additional features
Not listed in WP Repository, no
standards, made by anyone, typically
do include some support, license varies
Types of Themes

7. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Appearance > Themes
★Change Themes
★Customize Themes
★Widgets (sidebar)
★Menus (navigation)
★Header (depends on theme)
★Background (if theme has)
★Theme Options
★Editor = No Undo!! Avoid!

8. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
How to Install a New
Theme?

9. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Appearance > Themes

10. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Install, Preview, Details

11. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Preview/Customizer

12. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Activate

13. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Customize

14. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
The Customizer for Origin Theme
Different options
depending on your
theme

15. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
When Searching for a Theme
★Not all themes are created equally
★Do not search Google for free themes (malware)
★WordPress Repository is best for free themes
★Avoid Theme Forest (complicated, hard to customize)
★Trusted Premium Theme Shops: Google all the Reviews!

16. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Recommended Free Themes
★Customizr
★Magazine Basic
★Origin
★Quark
★Swift
★Pagelines

17. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Recommended Premium Theme Makers
★WooThemes
★Elegant Themes
★Graph Paper Press
★DevPress
★Okay Themes

18. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
What is a Plugin?

19. What is a Plugin?
+
A WordPress Plugin is a single or group of
php file(s) stored on your server that add
functionality, features, or applications to your
site

20. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
What Can Plugins Do?

21. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Plugins Can Do Anything!
★Change Default Functionality: add an option to admin
★Add Applications: e-Commerce, Social Networking
★Provide Interactivity: Contact Forms, Surveys, Sharing
★Help you Maintain Your Site: Backups, Optimization, Caching

22. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
You Don’t Need a Plugin For That
★Adding video or embedding media
★Uploading pictures and audio
★Just add URL (YouTube, Flickr, SoundCloud)
★http://codex.wordpress.org/Embeds

23. Best are listed in WP Repository, strict
standards, made by volunteers, may not
have support, GPLv2, may have “Pro” paid
version w/additional features
Not listed in WP Repository, no
standards, made by anyone, typically
do include some support, license
varies
Types of Plugins

24. WordPress Plugin Repository
★FREE! GPLv2 (General Public License)
★Will not spam your website with advertising
★Includes readme.txt
★No obfuscated (hidden) code
★Cannot disable functionality or annoy to force you to buy
★No unauthorized collection of data
★No banner or advertising, sponsored links

25. Premium Plugin Sources
★Gravity Forms (gravityforms.com)
★VaultPress (vaultpress.com)
★Code Canyon (codecanyon.net)
★WPMU Dev (premium.wpmudev.org)

26. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
When Searching for Plugins
★Not all plugins are created equally
★Know your sources!
★WordPress Repository is best for free plugins
★Many free plugins have a paid pro or premium version
★Check last updated, compatibility, rating and other info
★Trusted Premium Plugin Shops: Gravity Forms, WPMU, etc.

27. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
How Do Install a Plugin?

28. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Plugins > Add New

29. Search by Name or Keyword
Browse by clicking on Category & Tag Links

30. Search Results

31. Plugin Details

32. As few as possible!
How Many Plugins
Should I Have?
Plugin Performance Profiler or P3

33. Free Plugins for Every Site
★WP-Help (Create Documentation) or SIDEKICK
★Akismet (Spam blocker)
★Jetpack by WordPress.com (Everything)
★WordPress SEO by Yoast (SEO)
★WordFence Security (Security)
★WP-Optimize (Optimize your DB)
★BackUpWordPress (Backups)
★Google Analyticator (Statistics)

34. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
What is a Widget?

35. What are Widgets?
Widgets are pieces of dynamic or static
content that can be dropped into your sidebar,
defined by you
What are Sidebars?
Sidebars are any area that can contain a widget,
not necessarily on the side: “Widgetable Areas”
defined by your theme

36. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Where to get Widgets?
★Some widgets come with WordPress
★May come from the installed theme
★Can be installed via a plugin
★Configuration and look of widgets vary widely

37. Widgets

38. Widgets

39. Helpful Widgets for Every Site
★ Search (WordPress)
★ Archives (WordPress)
★ Twitter (Jetpack Plugin)
★ Image Widget (Plugin)
★ Social Web Links (Plugin)

40. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
WordPress Maintenance
and Housekeeping

41. Best Practices
★Run backups regularly and before updating
★Keep core, plugins and themes updated
★Remove unused plugins and themes
★Every editor should have their own account
★Practice least privilege, remove unused accounts
★Do not access admin from public WIFI
★Do not use plain FTP, use SFTP
★Document everything for later (WP Help)

42. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Getting WordPress
Help

43. Getting WordPress Help
★Community is best resource
★Local Meetups & WordCamps
★Online Groups: LinkedIn, Google Plus, Facebook
Groups
★WordPress Support Forums for Plugins
★Contact Seller or Developer for Themes
★http://codex.wordpress.org
★http://wordpress.stackexchange.com/
★Your hosting provider’s knowledgebase

44. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
Further WordPress
Learning

45. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
★Follow smart people on Twitter
★Watch and attend their speeches
★Read their books and articles
★Work and collaborate with smart people
★Smart people never know it all
★“The more you know the less you know”
Learn from Smart People
@chrislema

46. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
WordPress.tv

47. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
★http://wordpress.org/support/
WordPress Support Forums
@Ipstenu
Mika Epstein

48. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
★http://wordpress.meetup.com/
WordPress Meetup Groups

49. Media Temple // 8520 National Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 / 877-578-4000 / mediatemple.net / @mt_Suzette © 2013 (mt) Media Temple
★ http://www.visualistan.com/2014/05/
wordcamp-events-around-world-may-july.html
WordCamps

50. @mt_Suzette
Questions?
Follow Me!
Suzette Franck
suzette@mediatemple.net
https://speakerdeck.com/suzettefranck
Have Fun and Learn!