Why Choose WordPress?
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This document is an informative report on using WordPress as a versatile platform for building and managing websites. It covers aspects like themes, plugins, online monetization, and beginner training, aiming to provide readers with actionable insights into effectively utilizing WordPress. The report emphasizes the importance of understanding the platform's capabilities while also addressing potential concerns regarding security and customization.
Why Choose WordPress?
- 2. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! ! Disclaimer: While all attempts have been made to verify the information provided in this report, neither the Author nor the Publisher assumes any responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons, people(s), or organisations is unintentional. ! Due to the evolving nature of the Internet and namely how quickly content changes, the author cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided and therefore cannot be held responsible for changes that occur related to the content herein. This report is an information product, and is not intended for use as a source of legal data. The reader of this report assumes responsibility for the use of these materials and information, including adherence to all applicable laws and regulations, federal, state, and local, governing professional licensing, business practices, advertising, and all other aspects of doing business. No guarantees of income are made. The Publisher reserves the right to make changes. The Author and Publisher assume no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any purchaser or reader of these materials. ! Disclosure: In order to continue providing our website and info product services for free, I include details or links to my sponsors for which I may be rewarded with a commission. This does not affect you in any way, nor does it influence how we review or highlight services or products we mention. ! ! Generally the products we associate with are ones which we find to be relevant and conducive with the wordonpress standards and ethics. To experience the full benefits of this interactive ebook you will need internet access and a PDF reader on your other devices if applicable. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 2
- 3. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! ! Contents | ! ! ! Preface | Introduction ! ! 1. Why Not WordPress ? how Wordpress can help you. 2. Themes and Plugins live example: how to add plugins and themes for additional functions and features. 3. Getting Started domain name registration. WOP Webmaster’s Foundation Training. 4. Monetisation how to receive online payments. Membership sites and managing your own affiliates sales team. 5. Premium WordPress Theme Business video training, demonstrating two ways to get into the Premium WordPress Themes Business. ! drawback PRE-EDITION: This is an interim copy of Why Choose WordPress ? Please make comments or contributions before final release. Your comments and contributions are greatly appreciated Comments here please: https://www.facebook.com/wordonpress ! Big Thanks ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 3
- 4. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! Preface What this ebook endeavours to achieve ? ! This book is intended to inform you from an honest and first hand perspective about using WordPress for building and managing your websites. ! To experience the full benefits of this interactive ebook you will also need internet access and a PDF reader on your secondary devices if applicable. Part of the exercise is to encourage you to make use of the Internet pages associated with this eBook, as flicking back and forth when necessary, or as you please, you will find a greater depth of understanding in what is being explained or described. The intention is to highlight the pros and cons whilst directing you through relevant, actionable and supportive material, carefully packaged in the form of video training, software, digital documents and more… ! The idea is to make the information easy to digest…and most of all ‘tangible…’ ! How will you benefit ? As the reader, depending on your level of experience, when completing this ebook you will be well informed with how professional content creators are using WordPress for personal and business websites and blogs. ! You will also be informed of details for preparing your WordPress website in order to; ! - receive online payments - display merchandise - collect and build a customer mailing list - prepare sequential messages, courses and newsletters for an auto-responder - integrating your WordPress site with social media sites - managing your own affiliate sales team - The basic to intermediate webmaster skills ! What action must you take ? The only action you need to take right now, is to go through this ebook at your own pace… an making use of the associated links. Make notes at the back of this book or using one of the suggested notes management applications. ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 4
- 5. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! Introduction ! “Your present circumstances don't determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” – Nido Qubein ! Starting your own website doesn’t need to be as daunting as you may think. Especially with there being so many easy to use solutions. ! If you are still in the middle of deciding which website building platform to go for, Amongst the more popular platforms, WordPress is likely to be in the top of the list of options you will be presented with. As part of the whole Content Management System revolution, although WordPress is a viable option for today’s standards… ! Is it really all that it’s made out to be ? ! Of course you’ll have to compare with other platforms, or should that be frameworks ? Or, for example take a look at offerings from services such as Square Space and WiX, they are both popularly favoured by many individuals for their extreme ease of use and instant results. But they are also both not quite the same huge offering as WordPress, at least not ‘straight out the box’. ! Then you have the likes of Joomla, which like WordPress is open source. Again there are viable reasons why someone would choose Joomla over WordPress, namely for its ‘organisational’ structure, for example. Plus some designers and developers would claim that Joomla is far more flexible… ! All the same, it cannot be denied that currently WordPress is by far the more popular and not without support from a huge following of developers, WordPress, with its 1000s of themes and plugin solutions, for almost every possible situation? ! Now, that is not to say that you should totally ignore all the other platforms, as different requirements may need specific and simple solutions, for which WordPress may be deemed a little too excessive or elaborate . ! Can I say however, WordPress can be as simple as you want… ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 5
- 6. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 6
- 7. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! one Why Not WordPress ? Has WordPress already addressed the concerns you may have had with; type or Internet security ? ! Admittedly, from a design perspective, it personally took me some time before accepting the CMS revolution. I felt that WordPress themes were far too restrictive and although the WordPress philosophy has always been known for its sensitivity regarding layout and typography, most of the themes back in the day, were just NOT ‘cutting it… and that’s not saying that we’ve reached all expectations…yet! Today however, there must be millions of themes available both for free and at a cost for Premium products. ! With so many to choose from – you are gonna find at least 1 that fits. Personally I like to mix and match between CMS and the traditional website design software approach. Although I grew up with the likes of PageMill to Dreamweaver (and I am no web designer, either). ! For my own projects and I started out using Freeway Pro for my evergreen pages (which generally requires no, or very little maintenance), squeeze pages and opt-in forms. Freeway Pro allows you to - I like to say; radically ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 7
- 8. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M design and build unique pages, which in terms of layout and functionality, you have absolute control in ‘WYSIWYG’ format. ! Another Plus for software such as Freeway Pro, is that you can even design themes or templates which can then be imported and used in Google’s Blogger system - Why would you ever need anything else? ! Well, currently, besides the fact that it can be incredibly easy to use, there are a number of reasons why you should choose WordPress as part of your internet website building arsenal. ! For one, it opens the way for easy collaboration between yourself and other blog or website owners. WordPress inherently lends itself to a community or social styled environment, for example you have fields for visitor comments and allow collaborators. Not to mention the core feature; managing content and lots of it too. Just look at how easy it is to organise posts and pages into a navigation menu. These menus may even consist of; menu options associated by; post or page tags, categories or custom links… ! But there is one thing in particular that makes WordPress the optimal choice, and that is; the overall extendibility and customisation (or scaleability) that you have at your disposal. WordPress allows you to quickly and easily ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 8
- 9. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M accommodate social media sites, payment processors, monetisation strategies, SEO, from a humble blogging site, to a fully automated shopping site and almost anything else you dare to think… “there’s probably a plugin or theme for that!” ! Tangibles one: how Wordpress can help you ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 9
- 10. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M two THEMES & PLUGINS - how to add plugins and themes for additional functions and features ! Installing themes and plugins You can assign a number of different themes and plugins to your blog by installing them directly from within WordPress or via your hosting control panel. Themes normally reside in the ‘wp-content + themes’ folder of your WordPress website. Once a theme is installed you can activate or deactivate from the WordPress Dashboard; installing themes via a wizard such as that found at Mojo Themes through Bluehost or insty.me are examples of the easiest ways to get up and running with Wordpress. However, in some cases it may be necessary to do this from your web hosting control panel (or cPanel). ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 10
- 11. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M Now, let us say you have logged into your hosting control panel, you will now need to locate the folder in which your WordPress site resides by first going to the ‘wp-content’ folder, inside here you will find the ‘themes’ folder and inside the themes folder you will find all the other directories available to your website. This is where you will need to upload WordPress and any plugins or themes if done manually… - Sounds complicated ? Now, having said all the above, you can perform almost everything you ever will need to, without ever having to leave the much friendlier WordPress dashboard. At the same time, if you are to truly unleash the power of not just WordPress but everything else it connects with within your arsenal, it has to be stressed the importance of working outside the WordPress parameters, and knowing how to use software like Filezilla and your cPanel, a little html wouldn't hurt either…the basic stuff is a lot easier than you might think. ! Selecting a theme OK, so you know a little now about where WordPress themes are stored and where your added themes should be uploaded or installed. Now, lets look at themes and plugins. ! You want to choose a theme that works exactly according to your strategy if you have one. You also want to ensure that the user experience is one that is as intuitive as possible so that users have no, or very little problem finding ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 11
- 12. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M your articles. Choose a theme that complies with the criteria YOU set, rather than what the theme sets for you, unless of course it’s applicable ! As mentioned earlier there are millions of themes available, there are badly coded themes and there are excellent ones. There are even malicious ones from what I have been told. Anyway, choosing a theme for your website is only the beginning. You will also need to manage all the updates that become available for WordPress; WordPress Themes and WordPress Plugins. Managing a number of different website and their related files can prove a little time consuming and challenging, even with the most simplest of tasks. You can simplify the process of updating multiple sites using software such as; WP Pipeline and WP Remote. ! The type of plugins you should really start with… One of the things you should always consider first when installing plugins, is making your site safe from malicious malware. If possible ensure that any free or purchased plugins and themes you install are from reputable sites. ! Unfortunately, security has always been a primary concern for those with highly valuable content. And being so popular WordPress, has also been a favourite for hackers, but not because of WordPress itself, but more to do with the vulnerabilities found across the huge range of plugins and themes. ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 12
- 13. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M Fortunately there are some steps you can take towards securing your WordPress websites. ! Installing Wordfence is a good place to start. If you haven’t watched the htm-WP Security video series yet, I urge you to watch them here or get free access to an earlier version at howtomonetise.com. ! Tangibles two: - how to setup a free WordPress blog (VIDEO) - how to add plugins and themes (VIDEO) for additional functions and features - WordPress plugins for SEO (DOWNLOADS) - WordPress security (MEMBER ACCESS) ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 13
- 14. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M three GETTING STARTED - starting a website ! - basics to intermediate webmaster foundation training Starting a self-hosted website from absolute scratch using WordPress does have its hurdles. You will need to first register a domain name and then signup with a hosting service. see quicksteps ! Domain name registration and hosting Fortunately, most hosting services make the whole process as easy as possible for you. You can signup and have access to your site, in some case as soon as within half-an-hour, providing you have an existing registered domain name at the ready. see quicksteps ! Free or Self-hosted ? Owning access to a self-hosted WordPress site is the only way in which you will truly be able to take advantage of all WordPress’ capabilities. A free WordPress.com account will be almost useless if your intentions are to start a business website, as the limitations do permit even some the most basic Internet business needs. ! Tangibles three: ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 14
- 15. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M - domain name registration - WOP Webmaster’s Foundation Training ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 15
- 16. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M four MONETISATION - how to receive online payments - Membership sites and managing your own affiliates sales team ! Monetising your website If you need an unobtrusive approach to marketing your website try using contextual advertising services such as Skimlinks and Viglink , where all you need to do is write your copy as usual and wherever a product or service is mentioned affiliate referral links are automatically generated for you, linking keywords with advertisers products and services. ! If you are planning on selling your own products. Currently selling your own products can be the simple case of setting up your own website and displaying your items with an option for the reader to make a purchase or learn more. Connecting with PayPal is relatively easy and secure. Plus, they provide other services to help make your visitors experience as seamless as possible. ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 16
- 17. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M One of the quickest methods of monetising a website is through a membership site. Membership sites have increasingly become popular and so have the plugins and themes that make them so easy and satisfyingly enjoyable to build. ! Providing you have what people want and are able to reach out to them, consider yourself on a sure bet to receiving recurring income for years to come. Alternatively there are many other ways of benefiting from membership sites, which you will discover as you uncover how they work. ! Besides the popular PayPal, there are other services offering similar or related services. You can find a list here: How do I receive payments ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 17
- 18. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! Tangibles four: - how to receive online payments ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! - Membership sites and managing your own affiliates sales team ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 18
- 19. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M five A PREMIUM WORDPRESS THEME BUSINESS - video training, demonstrating two ways to get into the Premium WordPress Themes Business. ! ! Creating your own WordPress Theme can be as complex or as simple as you decide. If you ever have the thought to start your own Premium WordPress Theme business, depending on your level of skill and technical experience with professional industry standard software, there is one major thing you need to consider, and that is whether to outsource or not. ! Many web-masters and designers create their own themes from scratch using professional Theme Editors or playing around with script. Some do this specifically for the purpose of creating saleable themes. ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 19
- 20. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! As building a website no longer requires you to poses the coding skills of an experienced programmer, it is within your reach to successfully create a Premium WordPress based theme, all on your own. Using the right software, resource and training. A great deal of such themes are sold on to clients, or are made available for purchasing online in this way. ! The whole process involves a lot more than some people may think, working with Photoshop and html is just one of the steps you may need to know about. It is also the step that leave most people standing. Fortunately, all is revealed in this collection of over 15 candidly delivered videos contained within SoftwareFolder’s ThemeMaster Training kit. ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 20
- 21. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! Tangibles five: - video training, demonstrating two ways to get into the Premium WordPress Themes Business ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 21
- 22. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M drawbacks We mustn’t forget WordPress does come with its drawbacks. For example, often and not due to the actual WordPress platform itself, themes and plugins can inadvertently create security holes which allow malicious code to access your data. Other oversights include overloading with too many plugins, large images and other item that affect website performance. ! ! ! PRE-EDITION: This is an interim copy of Why Choose WordPress ? Please make comments or contributions before final release. Your comments and contributions are greatly appreciated Comments here please: https://www.facebook.com/wordonpress ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Big Thanks ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 22
- 23. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! ! ! ! check out relevant Facebook Pages: https://www.facebook.com/wordonpress ! we like: https://www.facebook.com/INeedHelpWithWordPress https://www.facebook.com/practicalhomebusiness https://www.facebook.com/ilovecopywriting ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 23
- 24. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! Where to find and buy premium themes… ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! STUDIO PRESS ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! DIY THEMES ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 24
- 25. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! THEMEFOREST ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! TEMPLATIC ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 25
- 26. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! MOJO THEMES ! ! ! ! ! INK THEMES ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 26
- 27. M O R E T H A N J U ST A B LO G G I N G P L AT F O R M ! PRE-EDITION: This is an interim copy of Why Choose WordPress ? Please make comments or contributions before final release. Your comments and contributions are greatly appreciated Comments here please: https://www.facebook.com/wordonpress ! Big Thanks ! ! ! notes Evernote | Google Keep | Simplenote | Springpad | ! PRE EDITION: Copyright © 2013 Word-on-Press | brianjonesfrancis PAGE 27