WordPress All-In-One for Dummies 3175723993, 9780470877012, 0470877014

Table of contents :
WordPress All-In-One For Dummies......Page 1
About the Authors......Page 7
Dedication......Page 8
Authors’ Acknowledgments......Page 9
Contents at a Glance......Page 11
Table of Contents......Page 13
Foolish Assumptions......Page 27
What You Don’t Have to Read......Page 28
How This Book Is Organized......Page 29
Icons Used in This Book......Page 33
Where to Go from Here......Page 34
Book I: WordPress Basics......Page 35
Contents at a Glance......Page 36
Chapter 1: Exploring Basic WordPress Concepts......Page 37
Introducing the World of Blogging......Page 38
Understanding Blogging Technologies......Page 39
Using WordPress as a Content Management System......Page 45
Chapter 2: Exploring the World of Open Source Software......Page 49
Defining Open Source......Page 50
Understanding WordPress Licensing......Page 53
Applying WordPress Licensing to Your Projects......Page 54
Discovering WordPress Release Cycles......Page 59
Keeping Track of WordPress Development......Page 63
Downloading Nightly Builds......Page 65
Chapter 4: Introducing the WordPress Community......Page 67
Finding Other WordPress Users......Page 68
Users Helping Users......Page 69
Discovering Professional WordPress Consultants and Services......Page 71
Contributing to WordPress......Page 76
Participating in Live WordPress Events......Page 77
Comparing the Two Versions of WordPress......Page 79
Hosting Multiple Sites with One WordPress Installation......Page 86
Discovering WordPress VIP Services......Page 88
Book II: Setting Up the WordPress Software......Page 91
Contents at a Glance......Page 92
Establishing Your Domain......Page 93
Finding a Home for Your Blog......Page 96
Introducing FTP Concepts......Page 103
Setting Up FTP on Your Hosting Account......Page 104
Finding and Using Free and Easy FTP Programs......Page 107
Understanding How PHP and MySQL Work Together......Page 115
Exploring PHP Basics......Page 116
Trying Out a Little PHP......Page 118
Managing Your MySQL Database......Page 120
Installing the WordPress Files......Page 125
Chapter 5: Configurations for Optimum Performance and Security......Page 141
Discovering the Configuration File......Page 142
Using a Caching System for Speed and Performance......Page 152
Editing Files and Testing Performance with WordPress Tools......Page 155
Getting Notified of an Available Upgrade......Page 167
Backing Up Your Database......Page 170
Upgrading WordPress Automatically......Page 171
Upgrading WordPress Manually......Page 173
Migrating Your Existing Blog to WordPress......Page 177
Moving Your Web Site to a Different Host......Page 189
Book III: Exploring the WordPress Dashboard......Page 193
Contents at a Glance......Page 194
Logging In to the Dashboard......Page 195
Navigating the Dashboard......Page 196
Arranging the Dashboard to Your Tastes......Page 209
Finding Inline Documentation and Help......Page 213
Creating Your Own Workspace......Page 214
Configuring the Settings......Page 217
Creating Your Personal Profile......Page 240
Setting Your Blog’s Format......Page 243
Understanding User Roles and Capabilities......Page 249
Allowing New User Registration......Page 251
Adding New Users......Page 252
Editing User Details......Page 254
Managing a Multi-Author Site......Page 255
Deciding to Allow Comments on Your Site......Page 259
Interacting with Readers through Comments......Page 261
Managing Comments and Trackbacks......Page 264
Dealing with Comment and Trackback Spam......Page 266
Tackling Spam with Akismet......Page 267
Organizing Your Links......Page 273
Displaying Link Lists on Your Site......Page 280
Archiving Content with WordPress......Page 283
Creating and Editing Tags......Page 291
Book IV: Publishing Your Site with WordPress......Page 295
Contents at a Glance......Page 296
Composing Your Blog Post......Page 297
Refining Your Post Options......Page 302
Creating Your Own Workspace for Writing......Page 308
Understanding the Difference between Posts and Pages......Page 313
Creating the Front Page of Your Web Site......Page 314
Adding a Blog to Your Web Site......Page 320
Inserting Images into Your Blog Posts......Page 323
Inserting a Photo Gallery......Page 329
Inserting Video Files into Your Blog Posts......Page 335
Inserting Audio Files into Your Blog Posts......Page 338
Podcasting with WordPress......Page 339
Keeping Media Files Organized......Page 341
Understanding Custom Fields......Page 345
Exploring the Custom Fields Interface......Page 346
Adding Custom Fields to Your Template File......Page 349
Exploring Different Uses for Custom Fields......Page 354
Creating Different Page Views Using WordPress Templates......Page 359
Creating a Template for Each Post Category......Page 363
Pulling in Content from a Single Category......Page 364
Using Sidebar Templates......Page 367
Custom Styles for Sticky, Category, and Tag Posts......Page 368
Working with Custom Post Types......Page 370
Optimizing Your WordPress Blog......Page 376
Book V: Examining SEO and Social Media......Page 383
Contents at a Glance......Page 384
Understanding the Three C’s of the Social Web......Page 385
Making It Easy for Users to Share Your Content......Page 392
Determining Where You Need to Participate......Page 396
Finding Influencers......Page 398
Leveraging Twitter for Social-Media Success......Page 402
Engaging with Facebook......Page 405
Chapter 2: Creating a Social-Media Listening Hub......Page 407
Exploring Reasons for a Social-Media Listening Hub......Page 408
Exploring Different Listening Tools......Page 409
Creating Your Own Personal Monitoring Mix......Page 418
Editing the Dashboard to Create a Listening Post......Page 426
Understanding the Importance of Analytics......Page 429
Exploring the Options to Track Data......Page 430
Understanding Key Analytics Terminology......Page 433
Signing Up and Installing Google Analytics on Your WordPress Site......Page 435
Using PostRank with WordPress......Page 444
Understanding the Importance of Search Engine Optimization......Page 447
Outlining the Advantages That WordPress Presents for SEO......Page 448
Understanding How Search Engines See Your Content......Page 450
Researching Your Niche......Page 454
Creating Search Engine Strategies......Page 456
Exploring Must-Use Plugins for SEO Best Practices......Page 463
All in One SEO Pack......Page 464
XML Sitemap Generator for WordPress......Page 466
Redirection......Page 468
WP-Page Navi......Page 469
Robots Meta......Page 471
Book VI: Customizing the Look of Your Site......Page 473
Contents at a Glance......Page 474
Exploring the Layout and Structure......Page 475
Customizing the Header Image......Page 479
Customizing the Background Color......Page 482
Including Custom Navigation Menus......Page 485
Enhancing Your Web Site with Widgets......Page 488
Getting Started with Free Themes......Page 497
Understanding What to Avoid with Free Themes......Page 499
Installing a Theme......Page 501
Exploring Premium Theme Options......Page 506
Chapter 3: Exploring the Anatomy of a Theme......Page 511
Starting with the Basics......Page 512
Understanding the Stylesheet......Page 515
Exploring Template Tags, Values, and Parameters......Page 516
Creating New Widget Areas......Page 521
Examining the Main Index and The Loop......Page 524
Examining Other Template Files......Page 532
Customizing Your Blog Posts with Template Tags......Page 533
Putting It All Together......Page 534
Chapter 4: Customizing Your Theme......Page 543
Changing Your Background Graphic......Page 544
Changing Your Header Graphic......Page 549
Personalizing Your Theme with CSS......Page 553
Understanding Basic HTML Techniques......Page 558
Changing Basic Elements for a Unique Look......Page 559
Finding Additional Resources......Page 562
Customizing Theme Style with Child Themes......Page 563
Modifying Theme Structure with Child Themes......Page 574
Preparing a Parent Theme......Page 579
Getting Started with Advanced Theming......Page 581
Adding New Template Files......Page 583
Adding Theme Support for Built-In Features......Page 590
Adding Support for Custom Taxonomies......Page 609
Exploring Theme Options......Page 621
Chapter 7: Using Theme Frameworks to Simplify Customization......Page 627
Discovering Popular Frameworks......Page 628
Common Framework Features......Page 634
Customizing Theme Frameworks......Page 637
Book VII: Using and Developing Plugins......Page 639
Contents at a Glance......Page 640
Extending WordPress with Plugins......Page 641
Getting Started with Popular Free Plugins......Page 653
Installing WordPress Plugins via the Dashboard......Page 659
Manually Installing Plugins......Page 664
Upgrading Plugins......Page 665
Activating and Deactivating Plugins......Page 668
Uninstalling Plugins......Page 670
Discovering Global and Page/Post Specific Settings......Page 673
Advanced Plugin Configuration......Page 675
Widget Settings......Page 680
Setting Up a Test Site......Page 686
Finding Technical Support......Page 688
Troubleshooting Plugin Problems......Page 689
Locating Plugin and Theme Conflicts......Page 692
Exploring Plugin Interaction with WordPress......Page 695
Identifying Functions within a Plugin......Page 699
Identifying Functionality and Output......Page 700
Editing Plugin Files......Page 703
Understanding Plugin Structure......Page 707
Creating Your First Plugin......Page 712
Fixing Problems......Page 714
Filtering Content......Page 716
Creating Shortcodes......Page 723
Adding Widgets......Page 730
Building a Settings Page......Page 740
Attending to the Basics......Page 757
Creating a readme.txt File......Page 761
Internationalizing or Localizing Your Plugin......Page 763
Using a Plugin Template......Page 767
Making Your Plugin Pluggable......Page 770
Enhancing Plugins with CSS and JavaScript......Page 771
Custom Post Types......Page 776
Using Custom Shortcodes......Page 779
Adding Functionality to Profile Filters......Page 781
Correcting Hyperlink Problems......Page 783
Book VIII: Running Multiple Sites with WordPress......Page 785
Contents at a Glance......Page 786
Exploring the Merge from Multiuser to Network......Page 787
Understanding the Difference between Sites and Blogs......Page 788
Discovering When You Should Use the Network Feature......Page 789
Setting Up the Optimal Hosting Environment......Page 791
Enabling the Network Feature......Page 797
Exploring the Difference between Subdirectories and Subdomains......Page 798
Installing the Network on Your Site......Page 800
Disabling the Network......Page 803
Dealing with Common Errors......Page 804
Exploring the Network Admin Menu......Page 805
Managing Your Network......Page 808
Stopping Spam Sign-Ups and Splogs......Page 823
Setting Default User Permissions......Page 825
Changing Defaults......Page 830
Exploring Default Site Settings......Page 833
Chapter 5: Using Network Plugins and Themes......Page 835
Using One Theme on Multiple Sites......Page 836
Gathering and Displaying Network-wide Content......Page 842
Using and Installing Network-wide Plugins......Page 848
Discovering Handy Network Plugins......Page 850
Introducing Domain Mapping......Page 851
Installing the Domain Mapping Plugin......Page 856
Mapping a Large Volume of Domains......Page 859
Setting Up Multiple Networks......Page 864
Special Characters and Numerics......Page 867