WordPress Web Design For Dummies

387 Pages · 34.48 mb ·

Web Design

Table of contents

- Table of Contents (Page 5)
- Introduction (Page 11)
- About This Book (Page 11)
- Foolish Assumptions (Page 12)
- Icons Used in This Book (Page 13)
- Beyond the Book (Page 13)
- Part I: Establishing a WordPress Foundation (Page 15)
- Chapter 1: Exploring Web Design with WordPress (Page 17)
- Delving Into the Differences between Blogs and Websites (Page 18)
- Using WordPress as a Content Management System (Page 21)
- Discovering the World of WordPress Themes (Page 23)
- Checking Out Premium WordPress Themes and Frameworks (Page 25)
- Getting Your Site Up and Running (Page 26)
- Chapter 2: Understanding WordPress Requirements (Page 27)
- Establishing Your Domain (Page 27)
- Finding a Home for Your Website (Page 31)
- Chapter 3: Installing WordPress on Your Web Server (Page 37)
- Installing WordPress (Page 37)
- Discovering WordPress Release Cycles (Page 49)
- Keeping Track of WordPress Development (Page 52)
- Chapter 4: Managing Content with WordPress (Page 55)
- Archiving Content with WordPress (Page 55)
- Customizing Permalinks (Page 65)
- Syndicating Your Content with RSS Feeds (Page 71)
- Part II: Choosing the Right Tools (Page 75)
- Chapter 5: Exploring Editors, Browsers, and FTP (Page 77)
- Choosing the Right Text Editor for You (Page 78)
- Understanding and Choosing a Web Browser (Page 81)
- Introducing File Transfer Protocol (FTP) (Page 86)
- Setting Up FTP on Your Hosting Account (Page 87)
- Transferring Files with an FTP Client (Page 90)
- Chapter 6: Choosing Graphics and Software Resources (Page 97)
- Exploring Image Types and Formats (Page 97)
- Exploring Graphic Design Software (Page 102)
- Using Online Image-Optimization Tools (Page 109)
- Finding Online Image Libraries (Page 110)
- Chapter 7: Choosing Colors and Fonts (Page 113)
- Understanding Color (Page 113)
- Creating Color Schemes with Helpful Tools (Page 116)
- Understanding Typography Essentials (Page 120)
- Finding and Using Fonts for Graphic Design (Page 124)
- Chapter 8: Planning Your Design Strategy (Page 127)
- Choosing the Width of Your Website (Page 128)
- Choosing the Number of Columns (Page 139)
- Determining Website Navigation (Page 141)
- Understanding Content Display Options (Page 143)
- Testing Your Design in a Sandbox Environment (Page 144)
- Part III: Working with WordPress Themes (Page 151)
- Chapter 9: Finding and Installing a WordPress Theme (Page 153)
- Finding and Installing a Theme from the Themes Directory (Page 154)
- Deciding to Use a Premium Theme (Page 156)
- Chapter 10: Working with the Default Theme: Twenty Thirteen (Page 157)
- Exploring the Layout and Structure (Page 157)
- Customizing the Header Image (Page 160)
- Including Custom Navigation Menus (Page 164)
- Enhancing Your Website with Widgets (Page 168)
- Chapter 11: Dissecting Themes and Templates (Page 177)
- Understanding How PHP and MySQL Work Together (Page 178)
- Exploring PHP Basics (Page 178)
- Managing Your MySQL Database (Page 182)
- Viewing the Template Files in a WordPress Theme (Page 185)
- Examining the Templates That Make Up a WordPress Theme (Page 187)
- Exploring Template Tags, Values, and Parameters (Page 198)
- Customizing Your Blog Posts with Template Tags (Page 201)
- Putting It All Together (Page 202)
- Chapter 12: Displaying Content with Widgets and Template Tags (Page 211)
- Exploring Common Template Tags (Page 212)
- Adding New Widget Areas to Your Theme (Page 223)
- Using Template Files (Page 225)
- Adding Theme Support for Built-In Features (Page 232)
- Chapter 13: Understanding Parent and Child Themes (Page 259)
- Customizing Theme Style with Child Themes (Page 259)
- Modifying Theme Structure with Child Themes (Page 269)
- Preparing a Parent Theme (Page 276)
- Part IV: Building Your Custom Website (Page 279)
- Chapter 14: Using Basic CSS and HTML to Customize Your Site Design (Page 281)
- Styling with CSS: The Basics (Page 282)
- Changing the Background Image or Color Used in Your Theme (Page 287)
- Defining and Positioning Your Header Image with CSS (Page 291)
- Changing Basic Elements to Create a Unique Look for Your Site (Page 294)
- Understanding Basic HTML Techniques to Use on Your Site (Page 297)
- Chapter 15: Designing for WordPress as a CMS (Page 303)
- Creating the Front Page of Your Website (Page 304)
- Adding a Blog to Your Website (Page 310)
- Creating Custom Page Templates to Achieve Different Layouts and Styles (Page 312)
- Creating Different Sidebar and Footer Templates for Your Pages (Page 317)
- Creating Custom Styles for Sticky, Category, and Tag Posts (Page 318)
- Chapter 16: Enhancing Your Website with Plugins (Page 321)
- Installing WordPress Plugins via the Dashboard (Page 322)
- Installing Plugins Manually (Page 326)
- Exploring E-Commerce Plugins to Use on Your Site (Page 326)
- Creating Photo Galleries or Portfolios (Page 331)
- Creating Web Forms for Your Site with Plugins (Page 342)
- Building a Social Community with BuddyPress (Page 347)
- Using Plugins to Integrate Popular Social Networks with Your Blog (Page 349)
- Part V: The Part of Tens (Page 353)
- Chapter 17: Ten Powerful Plugins for WordPress (Page 355)
- All in One SEO Pack (Page 355)
- BackupBuddy (Page 356)
- WP-Print (Page 356)
- PluginBuddy Mobile (Page 357)
- ShareThis (Page 358)
- Subscribe to Comments (Page 358)
- WordPress.com Stats (Page 359)
- WP Security Scan (Page 359)
- WP Super Cache (Page 359)
- WPMU Premium (Page 360)
- Chapter 18: Ten Well-Designed Sites That Use WordPress as a CMS (Page 361)
- IconDock (Page 361)
- Kate Rusby (Page 362)
- Katy Perry (Page 363)
- LIVESTRONG (Page 363)
- Mozilla Labs (Page 364)
- MSNBC (Page 364)
- Time Healthland (Page 365)
- WebDevStudios (Page 366)
- WeGraphics (Page 367)
- WordPress.org (Page 368)
- Index (Page 369)
- About the Author (Page 385)