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WordPress® All-in-One For Dummies®

WordPress® All-in-One For Dummies®

by Michael Torbert, Andrea Rennick, Kevin Palmer, Cory Miller, Lisa Sabin-Wilson
Publisher: For Dummies
Release Date: April 2011
ISBN: 9780470877012
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Book Description

A convenient how-to guide for maximizing your WordPress experience

WordPress is a state-of-the-art blog publishing platform with nearly ten million active installations. Eight minibooks provide you with expanded coverage of the most important topics to the WordPress community, such as WordPress basics, theme designs, plug-in development, social media integration, SEO, customization, and running multiple sites. Veteran author Lisa Sabin-Wilson leads an authoritative team of authors who offer their unique knowledge and skillset while sharing invaluable advice for maximizing your site's potential and visitor experience.

  • Presents straightforward and easy-to-understand coverage of the basics of WordPress, the most popular blog software in use today

  • Delves into the topics that matter most to the WordPress community, such as theme design, plug-in development, and social media integration

  • Addresses ways to handle a variety of WordPress security issues

  • Examines the WordPress network

The word on the street is that WordPress All-in-One For Dummies presents everything you need to know about WordPress in one convenient book!

Table of Contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. About the Authors
  5. Dedication
  6. Authors' Acknowledgments
  7. Publisher's Acknowledgments
  8. Contents at a Glance
  9. Table of Contents
  10. Introduction
    1. About This Book
    2. Foolish Assumptions
    3. Conventions Used in This Book
    4. What You Don't Have to Read
    5. How This Book Is Organized
    6. Icons Used in This Book
    7. Where to Go from Here
  11. Book I: WordPress Basics
    1. Chapter 1: Exploring Basic WordPress Concepts
      1. Introducing the World of Blogging
      2. Understanding Blogging Technologies
      3. Using WordPress as a Content Management System
    2. Chapter 2: Exploring the World of Open Source Software
      1. Defining Open Source
      2. Understanding WordPress Licensing
      3. Applying WordPress Licensing to Your Projects
    3. Chapter 3: Understanding Development and Release Cycles
      1. Discovering WordPress Release Cycles
      2. Keeping Track of WordPress Development
      3. Downloading Nightly Builds
    4. Chapter 4: Introducing the WordPress Community
      1. Finding Other WordPress Users
      2. Users Helping Users
      3. Discovering Professional WordPress Consultants and Services
      4. Contributing to WordPress
      5. Participating in Live WordPress Events
    5. Chapter 5: Discovering Different Versions of WordPress
      1. Comparing the Two Versions of WordPress
      2. Hosting Multiple Sites with One WordPress Installation
      3. Discovering WordPress VIP Services
  12. Book II: Setting Up the WordPress Software
    1. Chapter 1: Understanding the System Requirements
      1. Establishing Your Domain
      2. Finding a Home for Your Blog
    2. Chapter 2: Using File Transfer Protocol
      1. Introducing FTP Concepts
      2. Setting Up FTP on Your Hosting Account
      3. Finding and Using Free and Easy FTP Programs
    3. Chapter 3: Introducing PHP and MySQL
      1. Understanding How PHP and MySQL Work Together
      2. Exploring PHP Basics
      3. Trying Out a Little PHP
      4. Managing Your MySQL Database
    4. Chapter 4: Installing WordPress on Your Web Server
      1. Installing the WordPress Files
    5. Chapter 5: Configurations for Optimum Performance and Security
      1. Discovering the Configuration File
      2. Using a Caching System for Speed and Performance
      3. Editing Files and Testing Performance with WordPress Tools
    6. Chapter 6: Upgrading WordPress
      1. Getting Notified of an Available Upgrade
      2. Backing Up Your Database
      3. Upgrading WordPress Automatically
      4. Upgrading WordPress Manually
    7. Chapter 7: Backing Up, Packing Up, and Moving to a New Host
      1. Migrating Your Existing Blog to WordPress
      2. Moving Your Web Site to a Different Host
  13. Book III: Exploring the WordPress Dashboard
    1. Chapter 1: Logging In and Taking a Look Around
      1. Logging In to the Dashboard
      2. Navigating the Dashboard
    2. Chapter 2: Customizing Your Dashboard
      1. Arranging the Dashboard to Your Tastes
      2. Finding Inline Documentation and Help
      3. Creating Your Own Workspace
    3. Chapter 3: Exploring Tools and Settings
      1. Configuring the Settings
      2. Creating Your Personal Profile
      3. Setting Your Blog's Format
    4. Chapter 4: Managing Users and Multiple Authors
      1. Understanding User Roles and Capabilities
      2. Allowing New User Registration
      3. Adding New Users
      4. Editing User Details
      5. Managing a Multi-Author Site
    5. Chapter 5: Dealing with Comments and Spam
      1. Deciding to Allow Comments on Your Site
      2. Interacting with Readers through Comments
      3. Managing Comments and Trackbacks
      4. Dealing with Comment and Trackback Spam
      5. Tackling Spam with Akismet
    6. Chapter 6: Building Link Lists
      1. Organizing Your Links
      2. Displaying Link Lists on Your Site
    7. Chapter 7: Creating Categories and Tags
      1. Archiving Content with WordPress
      2. Creating and Editing Tags
  14. Book IV: Publishing Your Site with WordPress
    1. Chapter 1: Writing Your First PostIn
      1. Composing Your Blog Post
      2. Refining Your Post Options
      3. Creating Your Own Workspace for Writing
    2. Chapter 2: Examining the Difference between Posts and Pages
      1. Understanding the Difference between Posts and Pages
      2. Creating the Front Page of Your Web Site
      3. Adding a Blog to Your Web Site
    3. Chapter 3: Uploading and Displaying Photos and Galleries
      1. Inserting Images into Your Blog Posts
      2. Inserting a Photo Gallery
    4. Chapter 4: Exploring Podcasting and Video Blogging
      1. Inserting Video Files into Your Blog Posts
      2. Inserting Audio Files into Your Blog Posts
      3. Podcasting with WordPress
      4. Keeping Media Files Organized
    5. Chapter 5: Working with Custom Fields
      1. Understanding Custom Fields
      2. Exploring the Custom Fields Interface
      3. Adding Custom Fields to Your Template File
      4. Exploring Different Uses for Custom Fields
    6. Chapter 6: Using WordPress as a Content Management System
      1. Creating Different Page Views Using WordPress Templates
      2. Creating a Template for Each Post Category
      3. Pulling in Content from a Single Category
      4. Using Sidebar Templates
      5. Custom Styles for Sticky, Category, and Tag Posts
      6. Working with Custom Post Types
      7. Optimizing Your WordPress Blog
  15. Book V: Examining SEO and Social Media
    1. Chapter 1: Exposing Your Content
      1. Understanding the Three C's of the Social Web
      2. Making It Easy for Users to Share Your Content
      3. Determining Where You Need to Participate
      4. Finding Influencers
      5. Leveraging Twitter for Social-Media Success
      6. Engaging with Facebook
    2. Chapter 2: Creating a Social-Media Listening Hub
      1. Exploring Reasons for a Social-Media Listening Hub
      2. Exploring Different Listening Tools
      3. Creating Your Own Personal Monitoring Mix
      4. Editing the Dashboard to Create a Listening Post
    3. Chapter 3: Understanding Analytics
      1. Understanding the Importance of Analytics
      2. Exploring the Options to Track Data
      3. Understanding Key Analytics Terminology
      4. Signing Up and Installing Google Analytics on Your WordPress Site
      5. Using PostRank with WordPress
    4. Chapter 4: Search Engine Optimization
      1. Understanding the Importance of Search Engine Optimization
      2. Outlining the Advantages That WordPress Presents for SEO
      3. Understanding How Search Engines See Your Content
      4. Optimizing Your Blog under the Hood
      5. Researching Your Niche
      6. Creating Search Engine Strategies
    5. Chapter 5: Exploring Popular SEO Plugins
      1. Exploring Must-Use Plugins for SEO Best Practices
      2. All in One SEO Pack
      3. XML Sitemap Generator for WordPress
      4. Redirection
      5. Yoast Breadcrumbs
      6. WP-Page Navi
      7. Robots Meta
  16. Book VI: Customizing the Look of Your Site
    1. Chapter 1: Examining the Default Theme: Twenty Ten
      1. Exploring the Layout and Structure
      2. Customizing the Header Image
      3. Customizing the Background Color
      4. Including Custom Navigation Menus
      5. Enhancing Your Web Site with Widgets
    2. Chapter 2: Finding and Installing WordPress Themes
      1. Getting Started with Free Themes
      2. Understanding What to Avoid with Free Themes
      3. Installing a Theme
      4. Exploring Premium Theme Options
    3. Chapter 3: Exploring the Anatomy of a Theme
      1. Starting with the Basics
      2. Understanding the Stylesheet
      3. Exploring Template Tags, Values, and Parameters
      4. Creating New Widget Areas
      5. Examining the Main Index and The Loop
      6. Examining Other Template Files
      7. Customizing Your Blog Posts with Template Tags
      8. Putting It All Together
    4. Chapter 4: Customizing Your Theme
      1. Changing Your Background Graphic
      2. Changing Your Header Graphic
      3. Personalizing Your Theme with CSS
      4. Understanding Basic HTML Techniques
      5. Changing Basic Elements for a Unique Look
      6. Finding Additional Resources
    5. Chapter 5: Understanding Parent and Child Themes
      1. Customizing Theme Style with Child Themes
      2. Modifying Theme Structure with Child Themes
      3. Preparing a Parent Theme
    6. Chapter 6: Digging into Advanced Theme Development
      1. Getting Started with Advanced Theming
      2. Adding New Template Files
      3. Adding Theme Support for Built-In Features
      4. Adding Support for Custom Taxonomies
      5. Exploring Theme Options
    7. Chapter 7: Using Theme Frameworks to Simplify Customization
      1. Understanding Theme Frameworks
      2. Discovering Popular Frameworks
      3. Common Framework Features
      4. Customizing Theme Frameworks
  17. Book VII: Using and Developing Plugins
    1. Chapter 1: Introducing WordPress Plugins
      1. Extending WordPress with Plugins
      2. Getting Started with Popular Free Plugins
    2. Chapter 2: Installing and Activating Plugins
      1. Installing WordPress Plugins via the Dashboard
      2. Manually Installing Plugins
      3. Upgrading Plugins
      4. Activating and Deactivating Plugins
      5. Uninstalling Plugins
    3. Chapter 3: Exploring Plugin Options and Settings
      1. Discovering Global and Page/Post Specific Settings
      2. Advanced Plugin Configuration
      3. Widget Settings
      4. Setting Up a Test Site
      5. Finding Technical Support
    4. Chapter 4: Modifying Existing Plugin Code to Your Liking
      1. Troubleshooting Plugin Problems
      2. Locating Plugin and Theme Conflicts
      3. Exploring Plugin Interaction with WordPress
      4. Identifying Functions within a Plugin
      5. Identifying Functionality and Output
      6. Editing Plugin Files
    5. Chapter 5: Creating Simple WordPress Plugins from Scratch
      1. Understanding Plugin Structure
      2. Creating Your First Plugin
      3. Fixing Problems
      4. Filtering Content
      5. Creating Shortcodes
      6. Adding Widgets
      7. Building a Settings Page
    6. Chapter 6: Exploring Plugin Development Best Practices
      1. Attending to the Basics
      2. Creating a readme.txt File
      3. Internationalizing or Localizing Your Plugin
    7. Chapter 7: Plugin Tips and Tricks
      1. Using a Plugin Template
      2. Making Your Plugin Pluggable
      3. Enhancing Plugins with CSS and JavaScript
      4. Custom Post Types
      5. Using Custom Shortcodes
      6. Adding Functionality to Profile Filters
      7. Correcting Hyperlink Problems
  18. Book VIII: Running Multiple Sites with WordPress
    1. Chapter 1: An Introduction to Multiple Sites
      1. Exploring the Merge from Multiuser to Network
      2. Understanding the Difference between Sites and Blogs
      3. Discovering When You Should Use the Network Feature
      4. Setting Up the Optimal Hosting Environment
    2. Chapter 2: Setting Up and Configuring Network Features
      1. Enabling the Network Feature
      2. Exploring the Difference between Subdirectories and Subdomains
      3. Installing the Network on Your Site
      4. Disabling the Network
      5. Dealing with Common Errors
    3. Chapter 3: Becoming a Network Admin
      1. Exploring the Network Admin Menu
      2. Managing Your Network
      3. Stopping Spam Sign-Ups and Splogs
    4. Chapter 4: Management of Users and Access Control
      1. Setting Default User Permissions
      2. Changing Defaults
      3. Exploring Default Site Settings
    5. Chapter 5: Using Network Plugins and Themes
      1. Using One Theme on Multiple Sites
      2. Gathering and Displaying Network-wide Content
      3. Using and Installing Network-wide Plugins
      4. Discovering Handy Network Plugins
    6. Chapter 6: Using Multiple Domains within Your Network
      1. Introducing Domain Mapping
      2. Installing the Domain Mapping Plugin
      3. Mapping a Large Volume of Domains
      4. Setting Up Multiple Networks
  19. Index