WordPress Site DesignACE #CT01756 Intro to WordPress

By Adrian Mikeliunas

http://learnwp.us/week3/

SESSION# 3 of 6

Themes, Plugins & Widgets

How to find and how to install them

Themes provide all of the front end styling of your WordPress site

Widgets add additional content and features to your WordPress site’s sidebars, configured via Theme

Plugins are bits of software that can be uploaded to extend to expand the functionality of your WordPress site

Week 3 Agenda

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Themes Widgets Plugins

eCommerceMembership

Site

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WordPress Extensions

Examples:

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WordPress Themes

http://learnwp.us http://learnwp.us/wp-admin

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People say: “Content is King” They will come back to your blog…

Or they will run away if they

can’t find what they want

It’s not aesthetically pleasing

If looks are NOT important… 25 Remarkable Examples of WordPress Websites

https://www.elegantthemes.com/blog/resources/25-cool-websites-made-with-wordpresshttp://www.tripwiremagazine.com/examples-of-wordpress-websites/

Content vs. Looks

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Make your site Unique!

Integrate with current company Logo or color theme

Integrate with existing web site

Seasonal changes [community, retailer]

Special occasions [protests]

Why Change Looks?

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Configurable via Dashboard, Appearance:

Theme: change to another theme

Customize (Color, Logo & Banner)

Widgets

Menus

Header/Footer area

Background

Editor [WARNING!]

Theme Options

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Paid Themes ($10-$100) Features, Quality, Support, Uniqueness Examples:

http://themeforest.net/category/wordpress http://www.elegantthemes.com http://www.woothemes.com

Free Themes Less Features NOT Unique! “50+ Beautiful & Free WordPress Themes”

https://colorlib.com/wp/free-wordpress-themes

Themes

Atahualpa 3.7.23 , over 1 million downloads! http://wordpress.bytesforall.com

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WordPress Showcasehttps://wordpress.org/showcase

WordPress sitehttps://wordpress.org/themes

Start Here:

THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF CHOOSING A WORDPRESS THEME https://wpengine.com/blog/dos-donts-wordpress-theme/

Selecting the Perfect WordPress Themehttp://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-themes/selecting-the-perfect-theme-for-wordpress/

Find a Theme

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Find out the technology behind a website:

http://builtwith.com

Or, for a WordPress site:

www.wpthemedetector.com

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Research

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/charlescal203963.html

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List of features Columns, colors, sliders or hero image, features

Fast and Lightweight

Responsive looks good in all devices/browsers: mobile, desktop, IE, FF,

Support Free or paid? Frequent updates?

Colors & Fonts, custom CSS

Test before deploying!

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Selecting a WordPress Theme

Lightweight and adaptable

Custom menu, header image, and background

Showcase page template, widget support…

RESPONSIVE!

Twenty Eleven (2011) Theme

http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/twentyeleven

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Last updated: November 15, 2017Active Installs: 300,000+

Header video and immersive featured images

focus on business sites, it features multiple sections on the front page as well as widgets, navigation and social menus, a logo, and more

2017 Theme

wordpress.org/themes/twentyseventeen

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Last updated: November 15, 2017Active Installs: 1M+

From Dashboard, Appearance, Themes, Install Themes

2 Steps for paid themes!

Download from vendor site

Install from local hard drive

1 step from Dashboard for free themes

Install

Activate Theme!

TIP: Always preview your theme before you install it!

Installing a Theme

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At a minimum:

index.php

style.css

A javascript.js file

Additional PHP files

Theme Components

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http://codex.wordpress.org/Site_Design_and_Layout

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Themes Directory

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1) Hire a programmer or designer $$$https://www.upwork.com

http://www.peopleperhour.com

http://creativefolks.net http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/cpg/CraigsList

https://www.fiverr.com/categories/programming-tech/wordpress-services

2) Build custom WordPress Themes without coding!http://themeframe.com [old!]

https://www.optimizepress.com/

3) Take another course! $99https://www.udemy.com/building-custom-wordpress-sites-from-scratch/

Build a Theme

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Price $10 to $100 per year

Online or telephone Support

Money-back guarantee

May offer some plugin bonuses

Examples: https://themeforest.net/category/wordpress?sort=sales

http://www.elegantthemes.com

http://www.woothemes.com

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Commercial Themes

Avada, 400k+ $60

X Theme, 175k $45

Enfold, 147k $59

The 7, 100k $39

Be Theme, 99k $59

Frameworks http://diythemes.com/ $87 - $197

https://www.studiopress.com/ $59 - $499

https://www.elegantthemes.com/gallery/divi/ $89 - $249

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Best Seller$

Both are based on PHP+JS+CSS!

Widgets focus on the UX (user experience)

They get activated by dragging them in Theme, Appearance,

Plugins offers new functionality

May or may not be viewable by some users

User verification

Multimedia: Slide shows, Video or Music players

Widgets & Plugins

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Widgets are drag-and-drop design elements that you can easily add to your WordPress site

On Main Page, Blog Posts, sidebars, or footer

WordPress has a few built-in widgets

Calendar, Tag Cloud, Archives, Pages, Search, …

Thousands more available at WordPress.org!

http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Widgets

Widgets

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Widgets are installed & activated same as plugins

Once installed, go to: Appearance, Widgets to select them via drag and drop!

Or on some themes:

Appearance

Customize

Widgets

+ Add a Widget

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Widget – Installation

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Some themes offer a Widget options feature without the tricky drag and drop! Example: 2015

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Widget –Theme Customizer

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Examples:

Search

Archives

Categories

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Widgets in Action

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My criteria

Check Rating, at least 3 out of 5 stars, and from more than 5 reviewers!

Tested and popular: At least version 1.0!

many plugins are still version 0.x or BETA

Updated: preferably less than 1 year old

older plugins may NOT be compatible with your site

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Plugin Selection Criteria

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Plugins can extend WordPress to do almost anything you can imagine!

In this directory you can find, download, rate, and comment on all the best plugins the WordPress community has to offer…

https://wordpress.org/plugins/

To manage plugins, you need to go to the PLUGINS section of your dashboard, where you’ll find a list of plugins already installed…

Plugins

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Create a backup of your site

Better Editor toolbar for your posts!

Receive data or news feeds from other sites:

stocks, weather, news, etc.

Receive Donations via PayPal

Take look at the most popular plugins here: https://wordpress.org/plugins/browse/popular

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Plugin Ideas

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Most hosting providers include

Akismet - the best way in the world to protect your blogfrom comment and trackback spam

Hello Dolly – first oficial plugin

GoDaddy and HostGator include a few extra plugins

Plugins need to be ACTIVATED before they run!

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Default Plugins

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Plugins- Installation

TIP: Check the RATING and the version [at least 1.0 recommended!]

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Plugins- Update & Delete

TIP: Check on a weekly basis for plugin updates… WordPress #3 30

Find plugins for your site from our curated plugin directory http://wpplugindirectory.org

Best WordPress Plugins http://www.wpbeginner.com/category/plugins/

Plugins https://codecanyon.net/category/wordpress

Widgets https://codecanyon.net/category/wordpress/widgets

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Commercial Plugins

Themes, Plugins & Widgets

How to find and how to install them

Themes provide all of the front end styling of your WordPress site

Widgets add additional content and features to your WordPress site’s sidebars, configured via Theme

Plugins are bits of software that can be uploaded to extend to expand the functionality of your WordPress site

Week 3 Summary

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