Slides used in presentation to the Cleveland Digital Publishing User Group at their August 30th 2012 meeting. The presentation was designed to give a broad overview of WordPress to users of varying skill levels including coders and non-coders alike.

1. WordPress
A CMS for Beginners, Geeks and Those In-Between
Heidi A. Cool
August 30, 2012

2. A brief and incomplete tour.
With just a week to tour Europe we’ll just focus on a few highlights.

3. Why WordPress?
WordPress.org is a robust self-hosted content management
system (CMS) originally developed for blogging, but now
capable of running many types of Web sites. Using WordPress
in place of a regular (X)HTML site makes it easier to maintain
design consistency, include recurring elements in pages,
produce RSS feeds, organize and archive, support search
engine optimization, and much more.
• Self-hosted & hosted options
• Open Source
• Supports W3C Web Standards
• Relatively simple learning curve for
developers & clients
• WordPress sites don't need to look
like blogs
If you can make it in HTML you can make it WordPress.

4. Which WordPress?
WordPress.com WordPress.org
WordPress Lite WordPress on Steroids
Hosted on WordPress.com Self-Hosted on your Web Hosting Account
Free w/Fees for Extra Features Free - (Paid Themes and Plug-ins available)
Easy to Set-Up Easy to Set-Up Basic Site
Limited Customization Virtually Unlimited Customization
Good for beginning bloggers and very Good for blogging and developing sites of
small/simple business sites. varying sizes and complexities.
Either will get you from A to B, but WordPress.org offers more raw power.

5. Installation
WordPress.com WordPress.org
• Sign-up • Purchase Web Hosting from a provider
• Choose a theme. that supports WordPress.org.
• Start typing. • Install WordPress in a subdirectory
using “easy install” options.
• Choose a theme, or develop one
yourself.
• Add Plug-Ins
• Start Typing.

6. WordPress Dashboard (.org)
WordPress.com WordPress.org
Upgrading to a self-hosted site? No worries,
you’ll recognize the interface.

7. Dashboard Options
• Edit Blog Posts
• Upload Images &
media
• Edit static pages
• Monitor
comments
• Add functionality
• Add users
• Control Settings

8. Choosing Themes

9. Choosing Themes
Free, Commercial & Specialty, Frameworks

10. Choosing Themes
Free
Twenty-Eleven Default Theme Twenty-Eleven with Minor Modifications to
Theme Options and Template Files

11. Choosing Themes
Commercial & Specialty

12. Choosing Themes
Frameworks

13. Choosing Themes
Custom Themes

14. Site Home vs. Blog Home

15. Static Pages

16. Pages are hierarchical.
Parent Page
Child Page

17. Blog Posts

18. Posts are arranged by date and topic.

19. Browse chronologically or alphabetically.

20. Use Categories, Tags and Custom Taxonomies
Categories
Broad topics, akin to sections of a grocery store such as
meat, produce and baked goods.
Tags
Narrow topics, akin to items in the store.
Custom Taxonomies
You decide how they should be used.

21. Custom Post Types
Custom Post Type: Portfolio
Taxonomies: Portfolio Type, Location, Architects & Developers
Custom Post Type: Food
Taxonomies: Menus, Food Groups,
Course, Meal Type, Special Diets

22. Custom Post Types
Post Type: Foods
Taxonomies

23. Media
Images can be inserted or attached.
Inserted images appear on posts and pages.
Images that are only attached won’t always appear
on the page, but may be used elsewhere.

24. Featured Images
Featured images may be used elsewhere.

25. Custom Fields
<div class="foodinfo">
! ! <?php the_content(); ?>
<h6><?php the_field('price'); ?> -
<?php the_field('price_type'); ?> </h6>
<div class="mealtype"><?php echo
get_the_term_list($post->ID, 'mealtype',
'<span>Meal Type:</span><em> ',', ','</em>'); ?>
</div>
<div class="course"><?php echo
get_the_term_list($post->ID, 'course',
'<span>Course:</span><em> ',', ','</em>'); ?>
</div>
<div class="specialdiet"><?php echo
get_the_term_list($post->ID, 'specialdiets',
'<span>Special Diets:</span><em> ',', ','</
em>'); ?></div>
<div class="food"><?php echo
get_the_term_list($post->ID, 'foodgroups',
'<span>Food Group:</span><em> ',', ','</em>'); ?
></div>
<div class="menus"><?php echo
get_the_term_list($post->ID, 'menus',
'<span>Featured on these menus:</span><em> ',',
','</em>'); ?></div>

26. Useful Plug-ins
Plug-ins add features and functionality
• Calenders
• Search Engine Optimization
• Widgets
• Mobile Layouts
• Calculators
• Database Back-Up
• Podcasting
• Social Media
• Testimonials
• Quotes
• Audio
• Video
• Puzzles & Games...

27. Useful Plug-ins
TinyMCE Advanced let’s you control what users can
format. EEK! Non-semantic code, too many
spans, and ugly orange type!!!
<p><span style="text-decoration:
underline;"><span style="color:
#f35f0b;"><strong><span style="font-size:
xx-large;">Giant Orange Underlined
Headlines are Bad!</span></strong></
span></span></p>
Remove Font Size and Text Color
Text
Buttons to prevent design abuse.

28. Custom Themes
Template Hierarchy
http://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Hierarchy

29. Custom Themes
Custom Page Template

30. Custom Themes
WordPress Loop
<div class="blogpostwrapper">
<?php if (have_posts()) : ?>
<?php while (have_posts()) :
the_post(); ?>
<div class="blogpost">
<h3 class="entrytitle" id="post-<?
php the_ID(); ?>"> <a href="<?php
the_permalink() ?>"
rel="bookmark"><?php the_title(); ?>
</a> </h3>
<?php the_content(); ?>
</div>
<?php endwhile; ?>
<?php else : ?>
<h6 class="center">Not Found</h6>
<p class="center">Sorry, but you are
looking for something that isn't
here.</p>
<?php include (TEMPLATEPATH . "/
searchform.php"); ?>
<?php endif; ?>
</div>
http://www.coolwebdev.com/samplewordpress/the-wordpress-loop/

31. Custom Themes
Queries

32. Custom Themes
Wonderful little bits of PHP

33. We’ve just barely scratched the surface.
http://codex.wordpress.org/
The WordPress Codex is your friend.

34. Don’t Forget Security
Any of us can be hacked.
• Choose a reliable hosting provider.
• Use something other than "Admin" as your username.
• Upgrade WordPress when upgrades are made available. These
sometimes include security updates.
• Back-up your database regularly. This way if your site is
compromised you can get it back up and running more quickly.
• Choose carefully when giving others Admin level access to the
site.
• Check your file permissions to make sure others don't have
write access.
• Store wp-config.php one level above your WordPress
directory (when possible) and make sure it can only be read
by you and your Web server.
• Check .htaccess to make sure your directory listings aren't
browsable.
• Read up on security tips.

35. Resources
http://www.coolwebdev.com/samplewordpress/
about/wordpress-links-resources/
Heidi A. Cool
@hacool