WordPress Overview & Best Practices for Beginners

1. Overview of WordPress
– Why WordPress (vs. Drupal, Joomla etc.) 15% of web on WP 🙂
– Pages and Posts
– Using Appearance/ Menus to nest pages (create drop downs)
– Using WP as a CMS and Blogging platform
– Self-hosting – how to pick a host. WordPress.com vs. Shared vs. Dedicated
– Security – keep core and plugins updated

2. Best Practices
– Pay for all stock photos don’t steal
– Backup DB and theme files in 3 places
– Themes – check codex and Google theme before purchasing, use reputable companies
– Why not to use Free WP templates (Other than what comes with core)

3. Plugins
– How to find and install them
– Essential plugins:
– Akismet, WP DB Backup, Google Analytics Dashboard, Google XML Plugings, WP SEO (Yoast)
– WP Print Friendly, WPtouch
– Cool Plugins
– Contact Form 7, Gravity Forms, WP White Label (individual branding), Livefyre commenting
– Ecommerce – SHOPP, WP Ecommerce – just so they know this is available, not an in-depth discussion
– Display widgets – show and hide widgets based on what page they are on

4. Tips and Tricks
– Typography – how to use Google Fonts
– Social Media Integration – adding twitter / Facebook / Google +1 share etc.

Question & Answer Session.