WordPress Essentials for Business

Course Name

WordPress Essentials for Business

Contact Hours: 24 (an estimated time frame devoted to a course of study from start to finish that can vary from student to student)

Course Description

The course covers almost all of the WordPress user interface. We learn by doing as we build out an actual website for a client of ours, explaining and demonstrating key concepts along the way, such as themes, plugins, widgets, images, and more.

This course can be completed as quickly as you care to progress through it. As a benefit, the e-learner is provided 1 year post course completion access to this course including any updates that are made to the curriculum from the time of official enrollment.

Outcome

You will learn:

  • How to use image cropping and resizing tools that have been available since WordPress 3.5 only
  • How to use the Custom Menu Widget which has replaced the Links widget since WP 3.5
  • How to use commercial plugins (and when you would need one)
  • How to setup multiple blog pages on a single site
  • How to use WordPress security fundamentals (to avoid getting hacked)

Assessment

This course allows for self-directed work and does not require that you take a test. Apply what you have learned to your own projects.

Outline

Lesson 1: WordPress Fundamentals

  • WordPress: What & Why
  • WordPress.org or WordPress.com?
  • What You Will Need

Lesson 2: Hosting WordPress

  • Understanding Domain, Hosting, & Name Servers
  • Choosing a Domain Registrar & Hosting Company
  • Installing WordPress on Your Domain

Lesson 3: Building Out Your Site: Content & Navigation

  • Tour of an Out-of-the-Box WordPress Site
  • Tour of the WordPress Dashboard
  • Creating Pages & Posts
  • Using the Visual Editor
  • Working with Images
  • Hyperlinking
  • Configuring a Blog, Static Site, & Mixed Site
  • Removing the Home Page Title & Comments Box
  • Adding a Flat Navigation Bar
  • Adding a Drop-Down Navigation Bar
  • Installing a Free Theme
  • Installing a Commercial Theme
  • Modifying Your Theme Settings & Adding a Header
  • Working with the Weaver Theme
  • Setting Up Post Categories & Blog Pages
  •  
Lesson 4: Widget & Widget Area

  • Using the Latest Posts, Post Categories & Custom Menu Widgets
  • Using the Text Widget to Post Arbitrary Text or Images to Your Sidebar
  • Using the Text Widget to Post a YouTube Video
  •  
Lesson 5: Plugins

  • Introduction to Plug-ins: Akismet Comment Spam Protection
  • Using the RSSImport Plug-in; Plug-ins that Require Shortcodes
  • Installing a Commercial Plug-in
  •  
Lesson 6: Fine-Tuning Your Site

  • Permalinks
  • Discussion Settings & Comment Moderation

Lesson 7: Next Steps

  • Commercial Themes
  • Graphic Sources
  • WordPress Security
  • How to Learn More