How to Showcase Your Work With

WordPress

What is WordPress?

• WordPress is a free open source web publishing platform powered by PHP and MySQL

• It is a simple way for non-tech people to publish content to the internet

• Currently 71,605,864 websites are powered by WordPress world wide

• Originally designed as a blog but has grown into the worlds most popular web content management system

Content Management System (CMS)

• A content management system is an application designed to make it easy for non-technical users to manage a website and work in a collaborative environment

• Separates the design, functionality and the content of the site

What can WordPress do for you?

• Blog• Static Website• Dynamic Website• Ecommerce Website• Portfolio/Gallery

Website

Who is using WordPress?

I Love Typography

Manchester Young Professionals Network

ABI Innovation Hub

Ebay Ink

Ford Social

Katy Perry

Kobe Bryant

Anderson Cooper

Mike Rowe

PlayStation

WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org

wordpress.com • A cloud based blogging platform • It is hosted on WordPress servers• Not very customizable

wordpress.org • Powerful web publishing platform• Hosted on your server • Very customizable

Post vs. PagePosts• Single article

displayed in reverse chronological order

• Organized by categories

• Further organized by tags

• Custom Fields• Featured images• Comments

Pages• Top tier

information that does not change

• Parent – child relationships

• Custom page templates

• Featured image• comments

How do I organize my content

Categories and Tags

Category (Hierarchical Taxonomies)

• Away to organize your posts• Based of parent and child

relationships

Tags (Non Hierarchical Taxonomies)

• Are index words (Keywords)• Geo location tags• Tag information is passed along

to other sites

How to add functionality

Widgets and Plugins

Plugins are bits of code that add functionality to your site.

• Google Analytics, All in One SEO, NextGEN gallery etc.

Widgets are modules that add

functionality. • Commonly found in side bars

and footers• Contain menus, search, photos,

calendars and other information

5 Must Have Plugins

• All in one SEO• Sociable• Akismet (anti spam)• Contact Form 7• Google Analytics

How do I change the look of my website

Themes and Design

Themes are the look and feel of your website.

• Content• Layout• Typography• Background• Navigation• Color• Functionality

Where can I find Themes

• Wordpress.org (Free)• ThemeForest.net ($1-15

average)• Thesis ($87)• Headway ($67)

Where do I start?

Have a plan!

• Have your pages mapped out

• Have an idea of how you are going to organize your content

• Have the content written• Optimize your images

Installing WordPress

Find a reliable web host. • Hostmonster• Bluehost• Laughing Squid• Go Daddy

TwentyEleven WordPress Default Theme

• Free• Valid code• HTML5• CSS3• Customizable

TwentyEleven Dashboard

How to set up a gallery or portfolio

3 ways to set up a portfolio

• Brand an existing theme with portfolio or gallery plug-ins

• Use pre built portfolio theme

• Create your own theme and custom post types

Portfolio Plug-ins

5 Portfolio Plugins to try

• NexGEN Gallery• Awesome Flickr Gallery• Portfolio Slideshow• Portfolio Post Type• Simple Portfolio

NexGEN Gallery

• Easy install• Bulk Upload• Gallery pages• Slide show

options• Easy to manage• Professional

look and feel

Awesome Flickr Gallery

• Great beginner gallery

• Easy import to website

• Easy to manage

Portfolio Slide Show

• Great beginner slideshow plug-in

• Simple installation

• Easy to add images

• Easy to manage

Portfolio Post Type

• Simple installation• Custom post types• Separate portfolio

taxonomies• Easy to customize

with basic CSS and HTML

• Does not change themes very well.

Simple Portfolio

• Powerful and easy to use

• Simple installation• Separate

portfolio/project taxonomies

• Easy to customize with basic CSS and HTML

• Lots of options

Portfolio Themes

Portfolio Themes

• Teardrop (Themeforest.net - $35)• Display (Themeforest.com - $40)• Headway (headwaythemes.com -

$68)• Thesis (diythemes.com - $87)

Teardrop Theme

• Great Photography Theme

• Full page slide show

• Lots of options

Display Theme

• Great portfolio theme

• Homepage slideshow

• Simple installation• Easy to manage• Lots of options

Headway Theme

• Designer friendly• Drag and drop

visual interface• Simple to use• basic HTML is

helpful• Lots of options

Thesis Theme

• Good all-around theme

• Simple installation• Looks good right

out of the box• Easy to customize

with basic HTML• Lots of options

What’s next?

Resources

• WordPress.org• WordPress Meetups

http://meetup.bostonwp.org/• WordCamps

http://wordcampboston.com/• User groups and forums

Thank You!Gregory Duval@gregorviosGREGORVIOS Graphic Design Studiowww.gregorvios.comSlide Share