This document provides an introduction to WordPress for beginners. It covers the basics of WordPress including what it is used for, the differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org, posts vs pages, themes, plugins, widgets, and resources for learning more. It also includes an outline of the topics that will be covered in the hands-on portion of the class, such as diving into WordPress, WordPress basics, introduction to themes, and managing plugins and widgets.

1. WordPress Essentials
for Beginners
December 2, 2014
YES Montreal

2. Kathryn Presner
Happiness Engineer
Theme Division, Automattic
@zoonini

3. What We’ll Cover
Intro to WordPress
Resources
Hands-on WordPress

4. Intro to WordPress

5. Blog

6. CMS+Blog

7. CMS

8. Magazine

9. Photo Portfolio

10. Video Portfolio

11. Diving into WordPress
What is WordPress?
WordPress.com vs.
WordPress.org
What is it used for?
http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

12. WordPress Basics
Database vs. files
PHP vs. HTML
Do I need to know
PHP?
Markup
Language ➜
Scripting
Language ➜
Database ➜
Structure Presentation
Dynamic Functions
Data

13. Posts vs. Pages
Page

14. Posts vs. Pages
Post

15. Posts vs. Pages
Posts

16. Introduction to Themes
A WP Theme is a collection of Template files -
HTML + PHP + CSS + JS
The CSS (aka stylesheet) usually controls the
layout and design
Only two template files are required: index.php,
style.css
Some are optional: sidebar.php, comments.php,
etc.
http://codex.wordpress.org/Stepping_Into_Templates
http://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Hierarchy

19. Pre-made Themes
WordPress.org Directory
http://wordpress.org/themes/
WooThemes
http://www.woothemes.com/
Elmastudio
http://www.elmastudio.de/en/
Press75
http://www.press75.com/
The Theme Foundry
https://thethemefoundry.com/

20. Starter Themes
_s (Underscores)
http://www.underscores.me
Bones
http://themble.com/bones/
Roots
http://www.rootstheme.com/
Bluelime Media
http://bluelimemedia.com/themes/basic-starter-theme/
HTML5 Boilerplate
https://github.com/iamamused/wp-theme-html5-boilerplate
Whiteboard
http://whiteboardframework.com/

21. Introduction to Plugins
What are they?
Where do you get them?
http://wordpress.org/plugins/

22. Managing Plugins

23. Introduction to Widgets
What are
they?
What is a
widget
area?
http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Widgets

24. Managing Widgets

25. Widgets in the Customizer

26. WordPress Resources

27. Official
wordpress.org
The Codex (.org)
http://codex.wordpress.org/
Support Forum (.org)
http://wordpress.org/support
Support (.com)
http://en.support.wordpress.com
wordpress.tv
http://wordpress.tv/

28. Development Resources
Official Theme Development Checklist & Sample Data
http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Development_Checklist
Book: Digging Into WordPress
http://digwp.com/
ThemeShaper
http://themeshaper.com/
Online Resources Compilation
http://zoonini.wordpress.com/
In-Person Resources Compilation
http://zoonini.wordpress.com/wordpress-in-person/

29. WordPress Inspiration
WP Showcase
http://wordpress.org/showcase/
We Love WP
http://welovewp.com/
WPInspiration
http://wpinspiration.com/

30. Questions?
Get the presentation at Slideshare
http://www.slideshare.net/zoonini
Connect with me
Twitter: @zoonini
Join the local community
http://wpmtl.org
Thanks to Shannon Smith at Café Noir Design for work on the original
version of this presentation: http://www.cafenoirdesign.com

31. Let’s go Spelunking!