WP Hosting

In this screencast I’ll show you how easy it is to upgrade the WordPress Core, Themes and several Plugins at once. Note that this may not work on some hosts. If you’re hosting with me you have nothing to fear of course

Check out my other workshops in this series here.

In this screencast I’ll talk you through the basics of WordPress. I like to call it the “anatomy” – i.e.

• Front Page
• Header
• Sidebar
• Footer

I’ll also show you how to login to your backend and how to work with two browser tabs open at the same time. Enjoy!

Check out my other workshops in this series here.

Let’s have a look at the basics of working with WordPress. I’ll show you how to use the “back end” and the “front end” at the same time.  I’ll also demonstrate how a change you make to your website will become live on your front page.

Check out my other workshops in this series here.

In this screencast I’ll tell you everything you need to know about writing pages in WordPress. These are great for static information that does not change over time.Once you grasp this, you’ll be able to build brochure sites quickly and you’ll be able to update pages. This used to take forever with static HTML!

Pages are complex (mind you, so is WordPress) so I’ll try to pack in as much info as possible without overwhelming you. Things I’ll talk about are:

• How to create a new page
• How to update an existing page
• How to insert text and a picture into your page
• How to get rid of the Comment Box
• How to use a Page Template (like the no-sidebar template)

Remember that some functionality is down to the actual Theme you’re using. I’m using the Twenty-Ten Default Theme for this demo.

Check out my other workshops in this series here.

If you want a static page instead of your blog posts on the front page, this screencast is for you. I’ll explain all you need to know to remove the blog from your home tab (as is the default). I’ll also explain how to do the opposite and will talk more about pages and the quick edit option.

Check out my other workshops in this series here.

In this screencast I will introduce you to the WordPress Menu System. With it you can add pages, blog categories and even internal/external hyperlinks to your menu. You can even create pages that will never show up in your navigation – that’s great for landing pages and content you don’t want every visitor to see.

For this demo, I’m using the WordPress Default Theme called Twenty-Ten.

Please note that those menus need to be supported by the Theme you’re using. Many free Themes support this feature, but some older ones may not. I’ll cover how to hack unsupported themes in another workshop.

Check out my other workshops in this series here.

In this screencast I’ll explain how you populate your sidebar with useful widgets. WordPress has plenty of them built-in and it’s really easy to add them to your site.

Many websites offer badges for their services, and I’ll explain how you can embed them into your own site using the Text widget.

Check out my other workshops in this series here.

Get up-close and personal with the WordPress Dashboard!

In this screencast I will explain how to operate and customise your first port of call after login. You’ll learn all about how to customise the amount of information you’re greeted with and how to move the dashboard boxes around. Well worth watching even for seasoned WordPressers – you may notice something you’ve never spotted before.

Check out my other workshops in this series here.

In this workshop I’ll tell you about the styling options of the Twenty-Ten default theme. This is a great starting point to get a feel for what you can do with your new site.

Twenty-Ten is ideal because it allows you to use Custom Menus, a Custom Header and a Custom Background. Not ever theme allows you to change all these options as you will soon discover. Typographically it looks great too so I reccommend you stick with it for a while.

Enjoy Twenty-Ten responsibly

Check out my other workshops in this series here.

Let’s take a look at how to add new layout designs (Themes) to your website and how to activate them. You’ll love this feature about WordPress: your content stays the same while the look and feel of your site changes completely. Webdesign was never easier – from a creative mind’s point of view that is (it’s still a tough task to build good themes that you can use at the touch of a button though).

Every Theme provides its own options in the back end, which is why I’m exploring some in more detail in my Theme Workshops section.

There are countless free and Premium Themes out there – the dialogue I’m showing here pulls in free Themes from WordPress.org but you’ll soon find many others if you search for “wordpress themes” in your favourite search engine.

Most of those will come as a .ZIP file which you can install on your site via Appearance – Themes – Install Themes – Upload.

Have fun

Check out my other WordPress workshops in this series here.