7. Assumptions
1. You are not a “technical person”
2. You are willing to learn new things
3. You have something you want to put
online
4. You don’t mind a trade-off of
convenience for more control
9. What do you need?
1. Hosting service
2. A domain name optional
3. A WordPress theme
10. Web hosting
• For a small website, shared hosting is
what you want
• I recommend Dreamhost disclosure: I get a
kickback if you sign up via this link
• There are many options popular choices
1and1.com, mediatemple.com are
bluehost.com,
11. wordpress.com
• The official WordPress hosting service
• It’s free to start + paid upgrades
• Some limitations can’t install plugins, only
officially-supported themes
• No domain required e.g., you.wordpress.com
12. Domain name
• You might get one free with hosting
• Most web hosts also register domains
• Try instantdomainsearch.com to
brainstorm possibilities
13. Ok, let’s start
• We’ve already purchased hosting
• I’ll show the next steps in the
Dreamhost web panel
• Other hosting providers have a
similar process
50. There are many
choices
• WordPress official theme directory
• ThemeShaper theme-making tutorial +
Thematic framework
• Make your own or hire somebody
• Commercial themes
52. Back up your shit
• Make a zip file of your entire site
• Learn how to make MySQL dump files
• Download to a different computer
• Automate this so you don’t have to
remember
54. Upgrade
aggressively
• Always run the most recent version of
WordPress or you will be hacked
• Use your host’s one-click installer or
the built-in automatic upgrade
• Also keep your plugins and themes
current beware compatibility issues
55. Required plugins
• WP-Super-Cache will save you when
you get a big spike in traffic
• Akismet makes it possible to turn on
comments without getting spammed
56. Customization
• Try poking around inside wp-content/
themes/theme-name
• Keep track of changes you make to
your theme
• If/when your them gets updated you
may need to reapply your changes
57. Run your site locally
• Test out changes on your own
computer
• wpbeginner’s video tutorials
• Beau Lebens’s Advanced WordPress
Development Environments
62. How to fix this
• Put up a new replacement site
• Excavate your hacked site
• Reclaim your URL with Google’s
webmaster tools
• Get help from Badware Busters
63. The first thing to try
• If you have odd problems, it may be a
compatibility issue
• Try testing with the ‘default’ theme
• Disable all of your plugins
• Re-enable them one at a time
64. Where to find help
• Google for your error message,
problem description, etc.
• WordPress forums
• IRC chat go to channel #wordpress
65. How to find coders
• Ask your friends if they know anyone
• Know what you want to do in general
terms
• Be flexible about the technical
approach
