These are the slides for the Introduction to WordPress Session at WordCamp Miami 2012 by Gary A. Bacon.

1. Enjoy your WordCamp
Experience
Three Keys to Enhanced Enjoyment from your
WordCamp weekend
1) Remember to grasp the big concepts and
what you can do. You can learn the details
later. Let the presentations broaden your
knowledge of the goodness of WordPress.

2. Enjoy your WordCamp
Experience
Three Keys to Enhanced Enjoyment from your
WordCamp weekend
2) Obtain the contact information of
speakers who may be resources for you later
through training or their materials. Be inspired
by their passion and experience with
WordPress.

3. Enjoy your WordCamp
Experience
Three Keys to Enhanced Enjoyment from your
WordCamp weekend
3) Network with other WordCamp
participants. They can be great resource people for
you in the future. Establish lasting relationships
which can be mutually beneficial for your and their
continued success with WordPress.

4. Intro to WordPress®
Gary A. Bacon, Esquire
Bacon Law Firm, P.C.
www.baconlawfirm.com
gbacon@baconlawfirm.com
twitter: @gabacon
© Gary A. Bacon, 2012

5.  Gary A. Bacon is an avid Wordpress fan. He is an
attorney who has been practicing law for 29 years. He
uses technology to advance his law practice. Wordpress,
has been the platform for his Law Firm website,
www.baconlawfirm.com, for several years. Mr. Bacon
uses Wordpress as a blogging platform as well as
Content Management Software. He is eager to share
this information with interested Wordpress beginners.
Follow him on twitter @gabacon.

6. WordPress Cofounder
Matt Mullenweg

7. WordPress Cofounder
 Other ambition of Matt – apparently he would be a co-
funder (start a bank) if not doing WordPress. See his
essay at http://ma.tt/2009/08/starting-a-bank/
 Caveat – he said what he would do if not WordPress is
subject to change on a daily basis.

8. Why WordPress?
 60 million people have used it.
 Uses include:
 Blogging
 Website (Content Management Software)
 Membership Website

9. Who else is using WordPress?

11. Introduction to WordPress

12. Designed for the non-programmer
 WordPress was designed primarily for non-programmer
in mind. The design makes it easy for people who are
familiar with other software, such as Microsoft Word, to
get started with their own blog. The options are set up
in a format which does not require you to know html or
php or other code to begin blogging.

13.  Writing your post is easy to do. It amounts to entering
the blog, or short article on your computer, and then
posting it to the web. This is a very straightforward
process to complete this task.
 One powerful feature of WordPress is that you can use it
to develop your own personal website. Then when you
need to make changes in the website, you do not have
to contact a programmer and wait for a two week
response; you can make the change immediately.

14. Server and CPU distinction
 It is important to understand the distinction between the
server where WordPress is located and the CPU or
computer where you are working. WordPress, the files
and software, are stored on a server, usually on the
Internet at a remote location, or on the WordPress
servers managed by the company.

15.  The installation that you choose will determine where the
files and software are eventually stored.
 There are two formats of Wordpress:
 Wordpress.com
 Wordpress.org

16. Wordpress.Com
 WordPress.com is maintained by the owners of
WordPress.com on their server. It provides for easy
setup of a blog. The use of the blog provides for your
files to be stored at the server owned by
WordPress.com. Therefore, your content and post are
on their site.
 This does not require you to update your version of
WordPress on the server information. It does not require
you to host the service.

17. WordPress.Org
 It requires that you place WordPress on your host server.
This does not have to be your own personal computer.
It is usually hosted on a server at a remote location.
 To use this option, you will establish a server. Then, you
down load the WordPress software. Once it is
downloaded for the initial time, then you simply update
it when a new free edition is released.

18. Dual function benefits of WP
 WordPress was originally developed as blog software.
The founder still contends that the purpose of the
software is for blogging. However, it has two powerful
functions that should be availed of: its blogging
capacity and its CMS abilities.

19. WordPress as a Blog
 WordPress was developed to enable you to easily setup
a blog. The developer states that it is a five-minute set
up process. For more advanced uses and depending on
the server configuration, using it is more involved and
requires more time. However, it is a very efficient
method of getting a quick blog setup on the Internet to
start attracting clients or publishing your message.

20. WordPress as CMS
 WordPress is also perfect as a CMS. CMS means
content management system. This is a website which
allows the user to easily change the information, content,
of the website. This is helpful if want to change events
related to your firm or change names of staff.

21.  There are two basic type pages on a WordPress blog:
 static pages and
 dynamic pages.

22. Static pages
 Static pages are pages traditionally affiliated with a
website. These are pages that do not change, i.e. the
name “Static”. This would be information about the
firm, location, practice areas, and other subjects that
do not change on a week-to-week basis.

23. Static page changes
 Even though they do not change often, even static
pages can be changed very easily with WordPress by the
end user. Your staff or you could be easily trained to
make these changes as needed. This avoids waiting for
a programmer to get back in touch with you to make
the changes you need.

24. Example of Static Page

25. Dynamic pages
 Dynamic pages are pages that change regularly. These
are pages such as your blog post. These pages are
changed regularly and often. WordPress makes it easy
to change and add new content on a regular basis. This
keeps your website current on the Internet and out
before the search engine spiders. This improves your
websites rankings increasing the probability that you
will occur higher in the rankings that you would if your
website did not have dynamic pages.

26. Example of a Dynamic Page

27. WordPress login
 To start WordPress, you must get to the login box. See
illustration below for WordPress.org login box:

28. Login in box
 User Name – this is the box where you enter your unique
user name.
 Password – this is the box where you enter your unique
password.
 Login button – this button when selected activates the
start of the program.

29.  Lost password option – this gives you the option to
recover a lost or forgotten password

30.  Remember me option – this is an option to have the
computer you are working on remember your password.
Do not use this option if you are working on a public
computer or a computer which others may use. They
could access your blog and post data.

31. Getting to the login box on
WordPress.org
 www.SandDunesConstruction.com/wp-admin
 Entering this in your browser address bar will bring you
to the login page for a Wordpress.org site which has the
name of SandDunesConstruction.com

32. WordPress.com
 For Wordpress.com, you enter
www.wordpress.com in the address bar of
the browser. This will send you to the
homepage of Wordpress.com. At the top of
the page, you will see the options for entry
of your user name and password. Enter
those and press the login button.

33. Main Navigation Menu
 
 On the left side of the
screen is the main
navigation menu detailing
each of the administrative
functions you can perform.

34. Options under Posts
 
 On most options on the
menu bar, you will see an
arrow on the right hand
side. This expands the
options under the specific
menu choice.

35. Post definition
 Codex defines post as:
 Post are known as “articles” and sometimes incorrectly
referred to as “blogs”. In Wordpress, “posts” are
articles that you write to populate your blog.

36. Post Definition – GAB
 Post are mini-articles on your website or blog. They
allow you to communicate with your clients and
potential clients. They also allow you to keep your web
content fresh.

37. Post Menu
 Post section is where you place (i.e. the word post) your
mini-articles on your website. It allows you to
communicate with your clients and potential clients. It
also allows you to keep your web content fresh.

38. All Post
 This allows you to see all the post you have written.
You also have the option to edit your post here. You
also have the option to delete post.

39. Add New
 This is the option that will allow you to add a new post.
This is the fundamental concept needed to populate
your blog.

40. Categories
 Each post in WordPress is filed under a category.
Thoughtful categorization allows posts to be grouped
with others of similar content and aids in the navigation
of a site.
 Catagories will allow you to organize your post. For
example, areas of the law – family law, injury, estate
planning or criminal law.

41. Post Tags
A tag is a keyword which describes all or part of a Post.
Think of it like a Category, but smaller in scope. A post
may have several tags, many of which relate to it only
peripherally. Like Categories, Tags are usually linked to a
page which shows all posts having the same tag. Unlike
Categories, Tags can be created on-the-fly, by simply
typing them into the tag field.

42. Pages
 A Page is often used to present "static" information
about yourself or your site. A good example of a Page is
information you would place on an About Page. A Page
should not be confused with the time-oriented objects
called posts. Pages are typically "timeless" in nature and
live "outside" your blog.

43. Pages (cont)
 With WordPress you can add Pages to your website
similar to other websites. However, the significant
advantage is that you can change these pages easily
without programming assistance to make a change. If
you are familiar with programming code, then it gives
you the option to use those skills also.

44. Pages (cont)
 When you begin to enter the body of the page which
you are developing, it gives you two windows to be used
interchangeably. One window is the Visual window.
This works similar to word processing software. You see
the text and image on the page as it will be displayed
on the internet.

45. Pages (cont)
 An added advantage is that you can select the HTML
(hypertext markup language) page to see the
programming code which makes the page function on
the web. This is helpful if you want to add advanced
programming code in the future. However, this is not
necessary to use HTML to use WordPress as a website
and/or blog to attract new clients or publish your
message.

46. Themes
 Under the Appearance Tab:
 Free themes with WordPress
 Twenty eleven
 Twenty ten
 Commercial themes
- ithemes
- Studio Press

47. Widgets
 Under the Appearance Tab:
 Widgets allow for easy design of your website. You can
drag and drop the widget on the sidebar options

48. General Settings
 This covers general settings for your computer including
Blog name, WordPress URL, email address.

49. Updating to Newest Version of
WordPress
 At the top of the screen, WordPress will tell you if you
need to update your version. For example:
 Just select the “Please update now” text and WordPress
will automatically update your version. It is a good idea
to back up your site before any updates.

50. Users
 This section gives you the information on the Authors &
users of your website and blog. Some people may
access your blog to write articles for you or with you.
Others may use the website as users to perform
administrative task and not be authors of a blog post.

51. Blogging sources for content
 When run low on ideas or need new ideas for blogging,
then you can always find content on the Internet to post
on your blog to keep it current and active. An example of
compilations of resources is the following:

52.  http://www.articlealley.com/
 http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2006/01/23/blogging-tips-
hundreds-of-resources-for-finding-content-for-your-blog/
 http://www.niche-content-packages.com/

53. Blogging time-released post
 Take advantage of the time released publishing
capabilities of WordPress. When your staff or you begin
to write, there is often a flow of ideas and information
that usually exceed what would be the length of a
common blog (about 100 to 249 words). You can write
several blog posts and elect to have them published
over a series of days as set by you.
 Source: http://modernl.com/article/how-long-is-the-ideal-blog-
post

54. Blogging time-released post
(cont)
 One powerful feature with WordPress is that it allows
you to control the Comments which are made to your
blog post. If you are writing on a controversial subject,
you may have comments that are derogatory, contain
misinformation, or simply incorrect information.

55. Controlling responses to post.
 When you establish your WordPress blog, you have the
option to make your site accessible to the search
engines. If you are blogging to a select group, you may
want to select to have you website not subject to
search engines.

56. Controlling responses to post.
(cont)
 You have the option of approving the comments to allow
them to be published under your blog article. Or you
have the option to unapprove the comment, mark as
spam, delete, edit, or reply to the comment.

57. Controlling search engine access to
your blog
 When you establish your WordPress blog, you have the
option to make your site accessible to the search
engines. If you are blogging to a select group, you may
want to select to have you website not subject to
search engines.

58. Controlling search engine access to
your blog (cont)
 Most people blogging would want to make sure that this
option is selected to make your blog accessible to
search engines where you can publish and attract new
clients.

59. Special treats:
 Wordpress.tv
 WordCamp.tv
 Codex – the online manual for WordPress and a living
repository for WordPress information and
documentation.
http://codex.wordpress.org/

60. Helpful Links
 WordPress Jargon:
http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Semantics
WordPress glossary:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Glossary

61. Special treats (continued)
 Fantastico Deluxe (for uploading WP)
 StudioPress.com for themes
 Ithemes.com for themes and Backup Buddy
 VaultPress (backup system) by Automattic
 JetPack by WordPress.com

62. New Frontiers of Blogging for You
?