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WordPress: Getting Started with WordPress

Tips, tutorials, and recommendations for using Wordpress to create digital portfolios, websites, publish online multimedia exhibits, digital heritage and research projects.

WordPress Resources

Getting Started at WordPress.com.  Tutorials from Learn WordPress.com ("Learn WordPress.com," n.d.).

Other Helpful Resources 

Additional Resources and Tutorials

Getting Started with WordPress

This 5-minute video from Shawn Hesketh (WP101) provides a brief introduction to the differences between using the WordPress.com hosted (free) service and downloading and installing the free open source WordPress software from WordPress.org) on your own web server.

 

WordPress.org (self-hosted): The WordPress web publishing software is available for free download.  The free, open source version can be self-hosted on a web hosting server or your personal PC if a virtual server program is installed (i.e. MAMP). Commercial web hosting is also available, for more information review WordPress.org hosting suggestions. When you download and self-host WordPress, you can customize it as much as you want and install it as many times as you like, but creating and supporting self-hosted sites may take a good bit of knowledge and time. (adapted from French, 2013). For step-by-step instructions and video tutorials, visit WordPress Documentation.

WordPress.com (hosted):  Some organizations and individuals couldn’t or didn’t want to run their own server or buy commercial server space.  WordPress.com is a hosted version of WordPress that requires much less technical knowledge, infrastructure, and labor. When you use the hosted version of WordPress at WordPress.com, it’s much easier, but you will run up against certain limits in your ability to customize themes and add plugins (adapted from French, 2013). WordPress.com offers free and premium plans, along with your own domain name options to choose from. 

Planning and Organizing Content (Online Portfolio and Social Media) - Picking the Right Theme for your Project

It is important to develop an initial wireframe for your project so that you can select the best theme with the options you plan on including on your site.  You don't want to pick a theme, populate it, and later find out that the theme you selected doesn't support the plugins or widgets, or other customizations you wan to include.  A wireframe can be developed using pen and paper, concept mapping software, or any other type of software.  What you use is totally up to you.

Take a moment to review the links below to learn more about creating a wireframe for your site and theme options at WordPress.com.

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