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WordPress

Page history last edited by Alisa Cooper 14 years, 10 months ago

Creating a Website Using WordPress

 

 

  • Why You Need a Website (10 min)

    • A website is the most cost-effective method of promotion/marketing.

    • A website can supply basic information and a means of getting in contact.

    • A website can help your business increase profits and make it easier for potential customers to find you.

    • A website can help you collect users for an email marketing campaign.

    • A website can help you evaluate your marketing strategies by providing visitor stats.

    • A website for any business these days is a must; it is a great addition to all your marketing materials.

    • An Example: http://lincolnwellnessaz.com/

 

  • What is Wordpress? (5 min)

    • In a standard website (.html based), a developer/designer creates a template shell, saves each individual page as a separate file, and uploads the content.  When an item needs to be changed, it has to be changed on the individual file and re-uploaded.  If you’re a small business with a small web-budget, you don’t have resources to have someone change a single word every time you need one changed.

      staticvswordpress

      WordPress does things differently. Instead of storing the content in files, it stores the content in a database.  The database is either stored on a different part of the server, or sometimes on a different server altogether.  Whereas a static page contains both structure and content, the WordPress theme envelops and wraps the content in the theme files – meaning you can change, edit, delete, and add new content using one set of template files (Studio NashVegas).

 

  • Wordpress.com vs. wordpress.org (10 min)

    • The distinction between WordPress.com and WordPress.org can cause some confusion for people. Let’s clear it up.  WordPress.com is brought to you by some of the same folks who work on WordPress, the open source blogging software.  WordPress.com utilizes the same WordPress software which you can download at WordPress.org.  With WordPress.com the hosting and managing of the software is taken care of by the team here at Automattic.  With WordPress.org you need to install the software on your own server or with a 3rd party provider (Wordpress.com).
    • Pros and Cons of Both: http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
    • Let's start with a free Wordpress.com site and you can switch it over to a paid Wordpress.org site later

 

  • Obtaining a domain name and hosting space (5 min)

    • Buying Domain Names - I buy from GoDaddy, but some hosting sites (below) will sell a package (domain + hosting)
    • Wordpress Web Hosting - Average cost for hosting is anywhere from $5-$15 a month. The longer the plan the lower the monthly cost.
    • My Recommendations: and Web hosting

 

  • Setting up a Wordpress.com site (20 min)

    • Visit Wordress.com and Sign up for an account
    • Remember: Your Username will be your website URL (http://soul4real.wordpress.com - soul4real is my username)
    • If you have a domain name you want to use, you will need to forward that domain name to your Wordpress.com URL. Why this is important. Wordpress.com will charge $10 per year to do this (Domain Mapping) or you can do it yourself.

 

  • Understanding the Dashboard (20 min)

    • What can you do in the Dashboard? Quick glance at your website's backend (stats, posts, quick post, comments and links)
    • Access to all features of your site (media, appearance, links, users, pages, settings and tools)

 

  • Break (5 min)

  • Choosing an appropriate theme (10 min)

 

  • Creating a Custom Header (depends on theme) (5 min)

 

 

  • Widgets? Adding and Using Widgets (20 min)

    • Widgets are a simple way to arrange the various elements of your sidebar content without having to change any code.
    •  

 

  • Break (5 min)

  • Building pages for website (15 min)

    • Create a page to be a Static Front Page. Set it as the Front Page. (Settings/Reading)
    • Create another page to be your blog Post Page. Set it as the Post Page. (Settings/Reading)
    • Create as many pages as you need: products, contact, services, about us, and more

 

 

  • Creating Categories and Tags (10 min)

    • Organizing your site with tags and categories
    • Mostly important if you will be blogging on your website
    • Categories vs Tags - What's the difference?

 

 

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