WPFolio Workshop

Michael Mandiberg
Michael /at/ Mandiberg /dot/ com

A hands on workshop on how to install and configure a portfolio website built on Wordpress with the WPFolio theme.

WPFolio is a free and open source portfolio theme for WordPress designed by artists specifically for visual artists who have a range of experience with the web (from none, to lots).

WPFolio was built for artists like you, by a team of open source developers, lead by artist Steve Lambert.

This two hour workshop will be designed so that you can leave having built a working test portfolio site.

PLEASE DOWNLOAD THESE SAMPLE IMAGES

 

GOALS:

You will leave having built a test site with test content, and you will be ready to do this for your own site.

You will understand the following key concepts:

You will know where the WPFolio Owners Manual lives, and how to use it

ASSESSING THE END RESULT

walk through the front end and back end of the finished test portfolio site

pages vs posts

categories vs tags vs media

DISCUSS hosting, Wordpress installation, and Image requirements:

Resize images:

resize to 900 pixels wide x 600 pixels high. Greater or lesser heights are acceptable, but width needs to be 900px.

Register for hosting (Dreamhost)

We are not covering this in the workshop, but here is a video

I recommend Dreamhost. And I discourage you from using GoDaddy and Bluehost; GoDaddy does not keep their software current (Wordpress + WPFolio requires PHP5) and Bluehost rolls over on freedom of speech. I feel like I need to make a disclaimer, though, as there is a whole industry built up around recommending web hosts: I really do believe that it is the best provider for a non-server-geek to host their sites with; there are slightly cheaper routes, but for the ~$30 per year you will save, you will likely have hours of headaches dealing with unconventional configurations and/or restrictions on what you can put on your server space. The promotional code DGTLFNDTNS or MANDI50 codes will get you a $50 discount when you sign up - this is the largest discount the host will allow.

  1. sign up for Dreamhost (they now have a 2 week trial offer)
  2. use the DGTLFNDTNS or MANDI50 codes, to get $50 off your hosting. This is the largest discount possible for Dreamhost.
  3. choose & register a domain name (your last or full name is a good choice, e.g. www.smith.com or www.janesmith.com if available)
  4. choose a user name (this will be the name you use to log in - it is not public facing)
  5. complete payment
  6. create domain to host your registered domain name
  7. wait for the computers to think...
Install Wordpress

there are many videos showing this step by step

  1. One click installation at Goodies>One-Click Installs
  2. Click on Wordpress, and choose "custom installation"
  3. Choose the domain you have created, and leave it at "create database automatically"
  4. (this will be different if you have a different host)
  5. Follow the instructions in the email to:
  6. Create your user account
  7. Login
  8. Settings>Discussion and turn comments off

CONFIGURE YOUR TEST SITE

ADD CONTENT TO YOUR TEST SITE

CONFIGURE HOME PAGE

CONFIGURE MENUS

 

Next steps

  1. Adding lots of posts with your images
  2. Change the colors and fonts: http://wpfolio.visitsteve.com/wiki/instructions/changing-colors-and-fonts
  3. Disabling comments: http://wpfolio.visitsteve.com/wiki/other-options/enabledisable-comments
  4. Stay up to date with WP upgrades (and back up!): http://wpfolio.visitsteve.com/wiki/other-options/updating-and-backing-up
  5. embedding youtube or vimeo: http://wpfolio.visitsteve.com/wiki/other-options/adding-video
  6. setting historical dates on your work: http://wpfolio.visitsteve.com/wiki/other-options/dating-your-work
  7. install plugins, like JQuery Lightbox for Native Galleries

So you need help?

Paul Barry
p.barry@gmail.com
http://www.paulbarry.org/

Daniel Wiener
daniel@danielwiener.com
http://www.danielwiener.com