how the wordpress cms really works

HandsOnWP.com @nick_batik@sandi_batik

How the WordPress CMS Really Works

January 16, 2017Presented by Sandi & Nick Batik

http://handsonwp.com/


How the WordPress CMS Really WorksTonight’s WordPress Beginner’s class is devoted to learning the vocabulary and structure of WordPress Content Management System. The goal of this class is to help our community of WordPress Beginners really understand how WordPress handles content and displays it in a web browser.



WordPress is a Content

Management System

A Content Management System gives

non-technical folks the ability to publish

their content on the Web



How the WordPress CMS WORKS

Clicking the “Publish” button in your WordPress Dashboard isn’t JUST changing words from private to public. It’s putting those words into one or more “boxes” of organizational structure within the WordPress database.



What does WordPress Consider

ContentContent is more than text on a screen Content also includes: ImagesAudioVideo



Some Content Management System

BasicsA Content Management System (CMS) is a Database-driven software applicationThe CMS runs on a computer (server) connected to the webWebsite content is stored in the databaseThe software queries (Asks) the database for the content to present on a web page




BasicsThe WordPress program communicates with the MySQL database to retrieve and display your content in a web browser



How Does It Retrieve?Your WordPress theme

A theme is a collection of templatesEach template contains the programming code to get specific content from the databasee.g. display the 5 most recent posts



Content vs. AppearanceWordPress separates the content

(database) from how it appears (theme)WordPress holds ALL Content in the Database How that Information is Presented on the Web is the Job of the ThemeWith WordPress You can Change the Theme without Affecting The Content



The WordPress ThemeThe Theme you choose

determines the look of your site.The Theme consists of PHP files with HTML, CSS, and Javascript all working together to display your site in a unique wayYou can change your Theme without effecting the content of your site.



Benefits of the WordPress CMSQuick and easy page management –

Any approved user can quickly and easily publish online without complicated software or programming.Design is separate from content – You can manipulate content without fear of accidentally changing the design.Consistent site branding and navigation – Design templates provide a consistent branding and standard navigation across your websites.



Benefits of the WordPress CMSDatabase-driven – You only need to

change data once for it to be updated throughout your site.Shared resources – Website managers will have access to shared resources, such as modules, images, audio and video files, etc.Approval systems – You can give different levels of access to different users, and the CMS has mechanisms to ensure content is approved before going live.



Benefits of the WordPress CMS

Mobile ready – The WordPress CMS helps to scale your site’s content to fit tablets, mobile devices and smaller browser windows.Archive capabilities –display a list of historic or related content.



Benefits of the WordPress CMSSearch engine-friendly – The

WordPress CMS helps to optimize your website so that search engine users can easily find your information.Revisions – You can track who has made changes to your page and archive previous versions of your page.




BasicsYour WordPress Site’s Dashboard is how you control the Words and Media (Content) that are part of your site



Understanding the WordPress

“Dashboard”There are Two Parts To WordPress: The Public Part, andThe Private Part

This is similar to the public area and back office of any businessThe front end of the site is what the site visitor sees in their Browser the private part is your Dashboard



How Content Gets Into Your Site so WordPress Can “Manage” It



Who Gets To Do What—CMS Roles and Responsibilities

The CMS allows users of various skill levels to be involved in managing a WordPress website. How you use the CMS will depend on your role



ContributorsContributors can create, post and update content, including Text and images. Contributors can only add or update their own content, but can’t publish the results. Multiple people in organization can be designated Contributors, allowing subject matter experts to create and update content in their own areas within the organization.



EditorsEditors have the ability to create, post and update content, including text and images. Editors also can approve content to be published on WordPress sites they are assigned to manage.As Editors have the ability and the authority to review and publish content―making it visible to the public―this role should be limited to individual responsible for the site’s content.



Site AdministratorsSite Administrators are most closely aligned with the traditional role of webmaster. In addition to the ability to create, approve and publish content, they are responsible for the overall design and functionality of the site.Site Administrators can build and integrate modules, modify administrative features, authorize and set up user profiles for Contributors, Editors and peer Site Administrators.



WordPress CMS Structure

PagesWordPress pages are called ‘Static Pages’Static does NOT mean the Page can never change…but are less time-dependent than Posts Pages display content that isn’t time-sensitive, like the Home page, About Us, Services etc.




PagesPages are used to populate the site navigation (Menu) bar Many WordPress sites skip the blogging option and chose to have only static pagesPages do not normally allow comments




PagesPages can be organized in a hierarchical fashion— arranged in order of rank Hierarchical Pages can act as a “Parent” to “Child” pagesIf your theme supports drop-down menus then the “Child” page will appear under the “Parent” page in the navigation bar




PagesPages can also be used to present a selected archive collection of blog postsPage Templates apply only to pages to change their look and feel A page template can be applied to a single page, a page section, or a class of page Think of Parent pages and Child pages as a site’s Tables of Contents




PostsWordPress was originally created for blogging, the writing and publishing chronological “Posts”Posts are time-sensitive articles normally listed on your Blog pagePosts usually appear in reverse chronological order



Sticky Posts

Sticky Posts – sometimes called Featured Posts — override the reverse chronological order of the blog page and stay at the top of the blog



Post Comments

Posts allow commentsPosts allow you to close or disable comments on individual posts




PostsPosts have categories You setup your post categories in the Posts > Categories menu If you create a post — but don’t assign a category, it automatically gets assigned to the ― “Uncategorized” category Post categories can show up on your sidebar



CategoriesCategories tend to be pre-defined and broad rangingLike pages, categories are hierarchicalA post can be added to more than one category. Try to keep categories “big picture” and to not have a category with less than 3 posts in it (unless your blog is brand new of course).



TagsTags are similar to Categories in that they’re also a “Taxonomy” — a system of classification — a way to group things together (https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies)Tags are non-hierarchical — like posts, there are no parent and child tags, and you can have as many as is appropriate for your subject matter.


https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies

https://codex.wordpress.org/Taxonomies


How to Use Categories and Tags

Live Demonstration:Creating CategoriesCreating TagsEditing and Managing Categories and Tags



Review—The Difference Between

Pages and PostsWhen you’re writing a regular blog entry, you are writing a “POST”In the default WordPress set-up a POST will appear in reverse chronological order on your blog’s home page.PAGES are for content such as “About,” “Contact,” etc.PAGES are outside of the blog chronological structure, and are used to present timeless information about your site — information that is always applicable.PAGES can be used to organize and manage any content.



Creating ContentLive DemoWork in Progress, or ready to

publish? Saving and publishing Pages and Posts

Changing the display order of pagesUsing the publish date of Posts – publication schedules and building history



Other Ways to Extend Content —Custom Post Types

Custom Post Types

A Custom Post Type (CPT) can be page-like or post-like in its usageCPT can be used solely for bundling content in a theme or plugin — not actually displayed individually on the front-end



Other Ways to Extend Content —Custom Post Types

Use Custom Post Types to separate types of content

product listingsreal estate listingsmovie/music databasetestimonials or portfolio items



Other Ways to Extend Content —Custom Post TypesCustom Post Type Plugins

There are several CPT creator/manager Plugins that help you efficiently many-to-many connections between posts, pages, custom post types —

A slider plugin may create its own post type. A directory or classifieds plugin will most likely create its own post type. Themes can include their own custom post types



Other Ways to Extend Content —

Custom TaxonomiesReview —Taxonomies are a way to group things togetherCustom taxonomies are great for organizing custom post types. Custom post types are great for publishing similar items




Custom FieldsCustom Fields are neither Post Types nor TaxonomiesCustom Fields contain data about a Post, which is why they’re called “post meta” or “metadata” (i.e. data about data). A Custom Field for a WordPress / WooCommerce site post could be serial number, price, or warranty length.Unlike custom post types and custom taxonomies, WordPress, by default, provides a way to add custom fields and insert values for existing fields




WidgetsWidgetsWidgets appear under the Appearance tab in the admin sidebar.The Developer writes the code to create the widget areas so the user can drag and drop widgets.



Extending ContentDynamically Created

PagesWordPress displays similar posts together in dynamically-generated pages. These pages are called Archives or Archive Pages or Archive IndexesDynamically generating pages with like-kind content is one of the main benefits of using any content management system. Author pages are actually archives just like category and tag archives



Extending ContentDynamically Created

PagesWordPress has a lot of ways to display content dynamically. Some WordPress themes have distinct styling for every scenario, like category archives looking substantially different from tag archives, for whatever reasonThe archive for categories and tags would look the same but display different content.



Review – Other Sources

of ContentContent isn’t just text – The WordPress Media Library for:

ImagesVideoAudio and more



Media — Another Source

of ContentLive Demonstration of the Media Library



Looking Under The Hood of a

WordPress



What Exactly is a MySQL Database?

MySQL is The Database That Works With WordPressFunctionally a database is way to organize information so you can find it when you need itIt also connects related Information such as:

Pictures with CaptionsPictures with their Posts or PagesRelated Posts or PagesPeople with Activities



What Exactly is a MySQL Database?All this Information can be Gathered

Together and Formatted Into Reports



PresenterSandi Batik

WordPress evangelist, consultant, trainer, curricula developer, author, unapologetic geek, unrepentant capitalist, lucky enough to do what I love everyday. I’ve served as Austin WordPress Meetup co-organizer since 2010. With my husband Nick Batik, co-founded Pleiades Publishing Services in 1992 and Hands-On WordPress Training in 2010.

Follow me @sandi_batik / @WPATX

Contact me at: handsonwp.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsandrachevalierbatik





PresenterNick Batik

Started in web development in 1994 and have been a WordPress consultant, and web developer since 2007. A WordPress evangelist, I’ve served as Austin WordPress Meetup co-organizer since 2010. With my partner, co-founded Pleiades Publishing Services in 1992 and Hands-On WordPress Training in 2010.

Follow me @nick_batik / @WPATX

Contact me at: handsonwp.com

https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholasbatik




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