Launching your WordPress Website

Part II: Launching Your WordPress

AGENDA:
5:00 - 5:15 Check-In
5:15 - 5:30 Part I: Why you need a website
5:45 - 6:15 Decisions, pizza, break into groups
6:15 - 6:30 Part II: Introduction
6:30 - 7:15 Part II: Setting up your WordPress (groups)
7:15 - 7:45 Part II: WordPress basics
7:45 - 8:00 Q&A

http://bit.ly/AMAUBCWP2

WordPress:
WHAT ARE …
CMS (Content Management
System) that is used to easily create
and manage website content

WordPress
Ecosystem:
WHAT ARE …
Theme Shops and Marketplaces
Plugin Developers & Providers
eCommerce, Developers, Designers, Consultants &
More

WordPress.com (free) people …

Purchasing Your Domain
& Hosting

Hosting:
Domains:
WHAT ARE …
The server that holds the files and
content of your website, rather that
running it off of your personal
computer
The URL that people use to access
your website

cPanel:
WHAT ARE …
Control Panel used for most hosting
services that lets you manage your
files, applications, emails and more
that are linked to your hosting
account.

Domain & Hosting Options
A Small Orange [deal]*
A Small Orange [regular]*
GoDaddy
HostGator
BlueHost
Domain Name
FREE
FREE
$5-15 per year
$6-20 per year
FREE
Website Hosting
$35 (first year)
$50 per year
$48(first year) - 84 per year
$86 per year
$48(first year) - 96 per year
*All of these are great options, we will be using A Small Orange for instructions, but
you can pick whatever you’d like.

Special Discount with A Small Orange
Annual rates: $36 per year $50 per year $120 per year $240 per year
$35 for first year

Setting up your WordPress (groups)
Things you should accomplish:
Free: create an account, brainstorm what you are going to use your website for
Paid: set up your hosting (with A Small Orange), log into your C-Panel, install
WordPress, log into your dashboard …. then brainstorm what to put on content!

Hosting with A Small
Orange
● Visit this website for
our special deal:
Click here
● Click “Start Today!”

Step 1: Picking Your
Plan
● Hosting Plan -
“Shared Hosting -
Small”
● Billing Cycle -
“Annually”
● It will renew at $50
for us!

Step 2: Choosing a
Domain
If you don’t already own
your domain:
● Enter your ideal
domain and click
“Check” to see if it’s
available.
● If not, they will give
you other
suggestions, or keep
trying other domains.
● Click “Save” UNCHECK THIS!

Step 2: Choosing a
Domain
If you do own your
domain:
● Click on “I already
own this domain”
● Enter the domain
name you own
● Click “Save”
You don’t have to transfer
it over.

Step 3: Enter Your
Other Information
Enter your billing info and
security question
I do not recommend any
add-ons (they cost extra)

Step 4: PROMO CODE
promo code: UTAMA
Click “Apply”
Amount Due = $35
Click “Buy Now”

Step 5: Verification
Email
● Look for an email with
subject line: “New Account
Information From A Small
Orange”
● Scroll down until you see
your cPanel Login
● Write down your username,
and temporary password
● Click on “Log In to cPanel”
Later you should:
● Change your
password on A Small
Orange
● Verify your email
address
● Explore your hosting
platform

Step 6: Install
WordPress
Welcome to your cPanel!
Scroll down until you see
the “Softaculous Apps
Installer”
Click “WordPress”

Step 6: Install
WordPress
This page shows you the
details about installing
WordPress.
Click “Install”

Step 6: Install
WordPress
Use the following settings
“Protocol”: http://
“Domain”: your domain
“In Directory”: leave this blank
“Database Name”: leave as default
“Site Name”: My Blog (or whatever you
want, this can be changed later)
“Site Description”: whatever you want,
can also be changed
“Enable Multisite”: leave unchecked

Step 6: Install
WordPress
Use the following settings
“Admin Username”: admin
“Admin Password”: create a strong
password, write it down!
“Admin email address”: your email
address
Set your language
Check “Limit login attempts”
You don’t need to pick a theme here
Click “Install”
If you want to understand these steps more later, here is a
good resource:
A Small Orange “Installing WordPress with Softaculous”
Installed!

Step 7: Sign into
WordPress
Go to http://yourdomain.com/wp-
admin
username: Admin
password: your password that you
just made when installing
WordPress

Step 7: Sign into
WordPress
This is your WordPress!

STOP :)
We will continue as a
group.
Send someone up to say you’re done.

WordPress Platform
Basics
WordPress.com (free) people can join in!

What we’ll cover
➔ Pages
➔ Posts
➔ Menus
➔ Uploading Media
➔ Themes
➔ Plugins & Widgets
➔ HTML & Development
➔ Learning More
Additional Resource: WordPress Basics

Pages
Pages → Add New
● Visual/Text
● Draft, Schedule, Publish
● Parent Page
● Templates (some themes)
● Featured Image

Posts
Posts → Add New
● Visual/Text
● Draft, Schedule, Publish
● Format
● Categories, Tags
● Featured Image

Pages vs Posts
Pages:
Static content on your website
Mostly used for Contact, About, and other non-
timely pages
Organized in a page hierarchy (parent pages,
menus)
Pages are not social
Posts:
Tied to publish dates and listed in reverse
chronological order
Mostly for blogging purposes
Add categories/tags to posts to help visitors find
them
Visitors can comment/share posts

Menus
Appearance → Menus
Type in Menu Name → Create Menu
Add pages, links, categories to menu
from left side by dragging
Drag and drop to create sub-menus
Some themes let you pick your menu
location - “main menu” “social menu”

Uploading Media
Media → Add New
Click on image
● Change Title
● Add a caption
● Alt text: if image doesn’t
load/SEO
● Description - SEO

Themes:
WHAT ARE …
The design/layout of your
WordPress website

Finding Themes
1) Pre-Installed Themes:
● Appearance → Themes
2) Google it! “Best Free WordPress Themes
Portfolio”
● Find a theme, click “Details”, click
“Download” → downloads ZIP file
3) Other places to find great themes:
● Etsy - simple, custom made themes
● ThemeForest.net: premium, business and
professional themes
Finding Themes | Choosing Themes | Uploading Themes | Customizing Themes
WordPress.org (self-hosted) only!

Choosing Themes
Free or Premium Themes
● Customizability
● Support
Design
● How it looks
● Page styles that it offers
● Headings/fonts/menus/buttons
Responsiveness & Mobile Friendly
More about What to Consider When
Choosing Themes

Uploading Themes
Appearance → Themes → Add New
→ upload zip folder → Install and
activate

Customizing Themes
Appearance → Customize
Options will vary with different themes
Simply play around :)
Click “Save” to Publish!
Click “X” to go back to the WordPress
Dashboard

Plugins:
Widgets:
WHAT ARE …
Small pieces of code that can be
easily uploaded to your website to
add functionality
Sections of your blog (sidebar,
footer) where you can add content

Finding Plugins
1) Existing Library of Plugins
● Plugins → Add New
● Searching through these avoids
having to upload
2) Google it! “Best WordPress
Plugins”
● Find a plugin, Download it →
downloads ZIP file
Sometimes your theme will also come
with recommended plugins, install
those!
Finding Plugins | Uploading Plugins | Recommended Plugins | Using Your Plugins

Uploading Plugins
Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin
Wait for it to show “Installed
Successfully”, then “Active Plugin”

My Recommended Plugins
Jetpack by WordPress: gives you basic website analytics about traffic, clicks, etc.
Google Analytics by Yoast: lets you connect Google Analytics to your website for further insights
Contact Form 7: basic contact form, instead of listing your email address on your website
Custom CSS: easy way to customize your website design without having to edit the source code
Other types (lots of options!):
● Social Media (sharing buttons, Twitter/Instagram feed, Pin it button, Facebook like, etc.)
● Newsletter sign ups (Mailchimp, HelloBar - if you’re doing a blog)
● Language editors, Calendars, Forms, & more!

Using Your Plugins
Plugins → Installed Plugins
Configuration will vary:
● “Settings”
● Some will appear on the
sidebar of your WordPress
dashboard
● Read the documentation for the
specific plugin
○ Installation instructions,
documentation,
screenshots, etc.

Setting Up Widget
Areas
Appearance → Widgets
List on left of all available Widgets
Box on right shows where you can use
widgets (Sidebar)
Each widget usually has a description and
instructions to help you set it up (add
widget)
Can customize all of them

HTML & Development
Edit using HTML in the Text Editor
● <h1> header styles
● <ul> unordered and <ol>
ordered lists
Learn more HTML
Edit CSS using plugins
Theme Code is editable through
Appearance → Editor (but proceed
with caution!!!)

Learning More …
Google things!
Codecademy has courses on
HTML and CSS
Lynda.com has WordPress
tutorials

Where do I start?
1) Define your website
2) Pick your theme and plan out your structure
3) Buy your domain, set up technical aspects of website DONE! :)
4) Build the structure
5) Choose your plugins
6) Build out your content
7) Edit, review, publish!
More information about each step in the Website Crash Course Packet

Launching your WordPress Website

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