Miko Coffey's slides to accompany the WordPress workshop at Social Media Exchange Express on 29 September 2010

1. WordPress:
An Introduction
Miko Coffey
Web Consultant
www.usingmyhead.com
miko@usingmyhead.com
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2. WordPress is...
• A free publishing tool which allows
people to manage blogs or websites
without the need for a web team /
technical team.
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3. WordPress has 3 flavours
• WordPress.com Free
• WordPress.com Premium
• WordPress.org
• WordPress MU = no longer
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4. WP.com
WP.com WP.org
Premium
Free to use/install -
Cost Totally free Varies (see below) costs are your hosting +
web address (domain name)
You buy hosting & someone
Included & no set up Included & no set up needed must install WP on your server -
Hosting needed from you from you but many hosts offer
‘1-click installer’ tools
Any - $15/yr from WP Any - buy from any domain name
Web Address http://you.wordpress.com
or $10/yr if your own registrar, aprox $5-10/yr
Varies depending on host - some
Storage 3GB free $20-$90/yr for extra 5-25GB
have unlimited storage
Design A designer (or tech person) can Unlimited - any you like, many
Limited choice
Templates customise it for $15/yr free readymade ones available
None, unless you choose to run
WP shows their own on
Ads Turn ads off for $30/yr your own ad space - you choose
your blog to new visitors
who advertises
Extra None - you get only what None - you get only what is Unlimited - you can add functions
Functions is included included with ‘plugins’
Users Max 35 registered users Upgrade to unlimited for $30/yr Unlimited
No upload but can embed For $60/yr, upload HD videos Depends on host - usually able
Video from YouTube, Vimeo etc directly to your WP site to upload, def can embed
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5. Sign up at
www.wordpress.com
• Choose your username carefully as it
will become part of your web address:
http://username.wordpress.com
• While we wait for your signup email to
arrive...
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6. WordPress Terminology
• WordPress has 2 main types of
‘containers’ for your content:
• Pages
A Page is a single standalone web page,
for example About Us, Contact Us etc.
• Posts
A Post is an article that forms a part of a
blog, journal or news section.
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7. WordPress Terminology
• Blog
All WordPress websites are technically
blogs, even if you never use the blog
functions.
• Blog = web log
A blog is simply a way of displaying
content online, in journal format...
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8. WordPress / Blog Terminology
• Blogs are displayed in reverse
chronological order (newest article
appears at the top)
• Each post can be filed into 1 or more
Categories (like a filing system)
• Each post can be labeled with Tags, or
key words associated with that article
• Visitors can add their Comments to the
post, and you can respond.
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9. WordPress Terminology
• Widgets
A widget is a little chunk of functionality.
Usually widgets sit in the sidebar of the
page and offer such functions as a
Search box, a snippet of info about the
author, a list of links, a calendar, etc.
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10. Anatomy of a WP Page/Post
Header / Banner
Sidebar
Main Content Widget
Widget
Comments Widget
Footer (may have Widgets)
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11. WordPress Terminology
• Theme (WordPress Theme)
A design template that determines the
overall look of your site: columns, colour
schemes, fonts, Widget placement,
width of main area, etc
• Themes can be free, or ‘Premium’(you
pay for the ability to use it on your site).
WP.com comes with a choice of themes
but you can’t use one that isn’t included
(no Premium themes).
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12. Today you will learn...
• How to set up your blog and user profile
• How to create pages and posts
• How to add images and links
• How to choose the design theme
• How to use widgets
• How to create a custom menu
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13. Let’s do it!
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14. Thank You
Miko Coffey
www.usingmyhead.com
miko@usingmyhead.com
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