This are my presentation slides from WordCamp Seattle 2012. My topic was "WordPress - Going Beyond The Basics: An Adventure Behind the Scenes of your WordPress Site!" The goal was to introduce some key files, concepts and best practices for WordPress users who are not developers but are ready to take their knowledge of WordPress further than the dashboard. The presentation included a quick live demo of how to make a CSS tweak using Chrome Developer Tools, by way of a child theme. http://www.webtrainingwheels.com

1. WordPress – Going Beyond The
Basics
An Adventure Behind the Scenes of
Your WordPress Site!
Lucy Beer
@webtw
WebTrainingWheels.com

2. Who The Hell Am I?
Been using WordPress since 2004
I train people in using WordPress, and do online marketing
consulting
I have taught myself about CSS, PHP etc because I wanted to
make WordPress do more and more
If I can do it, YOU sure as hell can!!!
Find me : www.WebTrainingWheels.com | @webtw
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

3. Why Go Beyond The Basics
•You’ve mastered the dashboard and plugins and are
ready for more!
•If you break something, you want to fix it
•You want to understand what you're looking at on
the server
• You want to change something in your theme that it
doesn’t give you an admin option for
•Sometimes plugins require you to add a code
snippet to your theme files
•It’s fun & rewarding…..once you get past scary…
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

4. Tools of the Trade
FTP Program (preferable to using cpanel file manager)
Filezilla (free)
Coda (not free)
Code editing program:
MAC - Textwrangler (free), Smultron (free)
PC – Notepad ++ (free)
Desktop Server for local installations:
ServerPress.com – free + premium versions
Chrome Developer Tools, or Firefox
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

5. Cover Your Ass AKA Build A Safety
Net
Remove fear by building a safety net:
Back everything up files + db (e.g. before
upgrade)
Duplicator (free)
BackupBuddy (not free)
WP-DB-Backup + FTP files
Practice locally first
Practice on your own server with test
sites.
Things will break – it’s ok, this is how you
learn!
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

6. Best Practices For Code
Tweaking
• Retain original copy of any file you work on
• Use a text editor + ftp, not WordPress dashboard
• Comment your code if you make a lot of changes
• NEVER EVER touch core WP files
• Use child themes or duplicate and rename your theme to
prevent future upgrades overwriting your changes
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

7. Server Access
• FTP credentials:
• Host name
• Username
• Password
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

8. What’s All This Stuff On The
Server
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

9. What’s All This Stuff On The
Server
• Core files
• wp-config.php
• .htaccess
• Your stuff is in wp-content :
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

10. WP-Config
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

11. What’s NOT On The Server?
• Database
– Stores post/page content
– Theme options/settings
– Plugin settings
– User info, dashboard Settings
• Access via control panel, PHPMyAdmin
• Or WordPressplugin
– Adminer
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

12. Anatomy of a WordPress
Theme Twenty Eleven theme files
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

13. Anatomy of a WordPress theme
Via
Yoast.com
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

14. Anatomy of a WordPress theme
Via
Yoast.com
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

15. Anatomy of a WordPress theme
PHP files generate HTML
CSS styles the HTML
Typical theme files include:
Index.php
Style.css
Single.php
Page.php
Header.php
Functions.php
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

16. CSS Tweaks
• Style.css
• Use Developer Tools to test the change you
want to make and isolate the part of the code
you need to change
• [live demo]
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

17. What To Do If Something
Breaks
• Generally it’s a plugin conflict
– Deactivate all, re-activate one by one
• If that doesn’t work, test with the default
theme
• What if you install a bad plugin and you
can no longer access your dashboard at
all?
– Manual deactivation
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

18. Manual Plugin Deactivation
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

19. Resources
Awesome blogs and resources:
• CSS-Tricks.com
• Bill Erickson.net
• PerishablePress.com
• WP Tuts: http://wp.tutsplus.com/
• Codex: http://codex.wordpress.org/Main_Page
• Template hierarchy:
http://codex.wordpress.org/images/1/18/Template_Hierarchy.png
• Yoast “Anatomy of A WordPress Theme”
http://yoast.com/wordpress-theme-anatomy/
Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw

20. Lucy Beer | WebTrainingWheels.com | lucy@webtrainingwheels.com | @webtw