Understanding WordPress Online Courses
These courses are offered through this website and can be considered “self-study” which includes email support from the instructor.
Introduction to WordPress: ($25) Six lessons guiding you step-by-step through all of the basic aspects of WordPress development. The materials that are used are the same as the class I teach at eClasses.org.
- Manual installation of WordPress software on a remote web server.
- Understanding the Dashboard interface
- Installing different themes to change your blog design.
- How to use plugins to extend the functionality
- How to market and monetize your blog
- How to secure your blog and best practices
- SEO tips and tricks
- Review of WordPress template tags
- Learn the basics of PHP syntax.
- Creating a basic theme from scratch (including example files).
- Code review of basic theme (line by line).
View the complete first lesson (.pdf) to give you an idea of how topics are covered.
Intermediate WordPress: ($5) One lesson on how to setup and install a local ‘development’ blog on your home computer.
Once you creating your online blog, you will probably want to continue ‘tweaking’ it (themes, plugins, pages, etc.). Professional designers and developers always have a local environment to develop and test before it goes ‘live’. WordPress is no different.
- Easily install Apache, PHP, and MySQL on any Windows PC (or Mac)
- Setup a local installation of WordPress as your local ‘development’ blog site
Intermediate WordPress: ($15) Three lessons showing you how to create a theme from scratch.
- Blog design considerations
- Development of a 3-column HTML/CSS theme mockup
- Explanation and use of various WordPress template tags
- Breaking up mockup to various template files
- Understanding template files for use with static pages
- Creation of a Magazine format WordPress them
- Debugging and troubleshooting best practices
- All files (JPG, HTML, CSS, PHP) included
Intermediate WordPress: ($5) One lesson on learning more useful plugins that can be used with your blog.
- Speed up your blog’s performance
- Help you get more traffic
- Give better search results
- Display multiple posts more efficiently
- Add a forum to your site
When Do the Courses Start?
You can start the class anytime you want since after you sign up, I will send you all the materials for class (lessons in PDF format). When you have any questions about the material you can just send me an email.
The materials are laid out starting with a very fundamental tutorial on how to get your WordPress blog up and running. The materials become increasingly more technical and complex as the student progresses through the training.
Within hours of receiving your course material, my blog was up and running in a self-hosted environment.
I have since added some new features to suit my needs and have even used your guidance to get into the coding itself, something I was not really excited about doing when I first started this project.
I think your documentation is a great value, actually I have paid a lot more for self-paced courses that are not nearly as through as yours. I am very pleased with my purchase and encourage any do-it-yourselfers to take advantage of your product.
Hi Joseph
Glad your blog is up and running. Nice work.
Frank
Hey, Frank:
Your six chapter “Understanding WordPress,” helped me to resolve several problems in setting-up my WP blogs. I had bogged down trying to use Codex and Lynda.com lessons keyed to various versions of WP (my Yahoo Host likes to stay several editions behind the curve). I had decided to give-up and start anew, when I got your six chapters by e-mail.
I printed them all, put them into a binder and Lo! the scales were lifted from my eyes. I saw clearly how to work-through my half-implemented WP blog without throwing away any of my old work. This blog is an important extension of our floral design business website, therefore, handling of images and text wrapping were critical.
Thanks to your “Understanding WordPress” It works! Also, this blog, photos and all, is the primary feed to our FaceBook page, Yukiko’s Floral Design Studio. It works!
Thank you
Thanks Peter, glad you liked the lessons and they helped you with your site.
Frank
Interested in your class for these reasons – my husband hired a guy to create a website for our construction company and the site was created with WordPress. I am a mortgage loan officer and would like to start a blog and wordpress came highly recommended. If I create a blog from scratch in WP, can I link to our construction site? I don’t want my blog created from our construction company site – kind of want to keep them separate – but slightly linked…get it? Is that possible? Also, I was thinking of buying my domain name from Godaddy. Would there be a way to integrate a WordPress Blog site with a Godaddy-purchased domain?
Kate,
Hi, sure you can link one blog to another website or blog. It depends on a few things such as if how you want them to be linked, whether it be from a menu option or regular hyperlink or if they share some content or layout.
Yes, you can buy a GoDaddy domain and buy a hosting account and use that domain for your WordPress site very easily.
Any othoer questions let me know.
Thanks.
This link is dead.
View the complete first lesson (.pdf) to give you an idea of how topics are covered.
I wanted to see a sample of your lesson if possible. Can you reset?
Thanks!
Andrea
Andrea
Sorry, the link is fixed. If you have any questions about the lessons let me know.
Thanks,
Frank
Hi Frank!
I have one questionn. You will teach a class introduction to worldpress the 23rd of may at, http://iwa-hwg.eclasses.org/courseB129/. The question I have is that it only mentions blogging but I am mostly interested in creating a homepage which may be very sÃmilar, or not? Is this course then appropriate for creating a homepage? Or is Joomla then a better tool to use? I only want to create a simle homepage but with many pictures on it since I will display all my photo projects there. I am also concerned about a nice layout but I can use themes instead of creating my on layout. I hope you understand my questions?
Best Regards,
Fredrik
Hi Fredrik,
Creating a homepage? Do you mean create a website? I am guessing you are referring to create a website that has the same look and feel as an existing website you have? I hae never used Joomla but it is more similiar to Drupal than WordPress. As far as themes go, WordPress has many themes to choose from, but no matter what you choose you still will need to modify it slightly at least. The same goes for Joomla or Drupal or any other CMS you may use.
WordPress is a blogging tool, as well as a simple, easy to use CMS (Content Management System), it is not as robust as Joomla or Drupal but it depends on the complexity of the website you want to create.
Hope that helps.
Frank
Hi Frank,
I’m interested in taking your class. Is the e-mail an mp3 download video where you’re actually showing us what to do or is it written instructions?
Hi Erica,
Just like the sample first lesson that is given, all lessons (6) are written in PDF format.
Frank
Hi, I have a WordPress website that was set up for me by someone else and I don’t fully understand it. I know just enough to add content (book covers, new pages, etc.) but not enough to fix anything that goes wrong. Right now my site seems to be malfunctioning–it’s getting much harder to add new media and I have no idea why. I have an older version and I see the button that says I should upgrade now but I’m afraid to in case I lose my content.
Will your course help me troubleshoot my site and find out why it is doing all these annoying little things that it didn’t used to do?
Hi Evangeline,
WordPress is very good at making sure you don’t lose any content when you upgrade to a new version. But as always you should always backup your blog, before any type of upgrade or move of your site.
A great backup plugin is Wp-DB-Backup
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-db-backup/
Of course you can manually back up your WP database using phpMyAdmin, but that can be tricky for non-technical users.
A great guide on backing up your WP site can be found here on the codex:
http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Backups
If you have any specific questions let me know.
Frank
Dear Frank:
I already have several WP-based web sites, but have trouble organizing my files on HostGator (without losing track of them). I’m also challenged by regular site backup. Recently, I updated my WP version and had to have HostGator disable my plug-ins, which I now cannot enable. Would your troubleshooting segment in the intermediate WP course advise me of how to take care of such issues? Thank you!
-Halina
Hi Halina,
Troubleshooting is normally different for each instance dealing with webhosts and WordPress, but I’d be happy to take a quick look at your host setup and let you know what I see.
Frank
Do you offer a class that shows ways to place a shopping cart on your site? Thanks,
Hi Kerry,
Do you mean how to install an e-commerce plugin for WordPress? If so, there are a few good plugins for WP that I can show you.
Here are a few (some are free, some are not)
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/eshop/
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-e-commerce/
http://www.phpurchase.com/
I don’t have a lesson on how to set one up specifically, but if you have any questions let me know.
Frank
I understand the very basics of WordPress. I am a Realtor and want to use WordPress as my main website and be able to have a “featured properties” tab, while also maintaining a blog. I would like to connect this blog to my facebook and have links on my facebook that will link back to my website. Will the above classes help me? Based on one of your classes, I could build a theme from scratch, which might be what I need. Also, I want to know how to put links on my website to other websites without taking them away from my website?
Thank you so much for your input.
Hi Tammy,
I don’t have specific instructions on how to link to Facebook since that is more HTML understanding than WordPress, but that is easy to setup. I’d be more than happy to show you how on your WordPress site.
Frank
Hi Frank
Does you on-line class also involve information to build a web-site which I understand can be done using word-press? or is that one and the same as a blog?
best
Douglas
Hi Douglas
The class covers how to use WordPress which allows you to build a website using WordPress. WordPress is a blogging platform that is a website with a blog.
Frank
Hi Frank,
I need help. I’ve been running a blog for several months, but am frustrated because I moved from a WP-hosted blog to a self-hosted blog without FTP access. I’m in a no-man’s land when it comes to finding plugins that work! I need to learn about php, css, MySQL, all that good stuff so I can figure out what to do next. Where do you recommend I start?
Peggi
Hi Peggi
My Introduction to WordPress 6-lesson course will give a great starting point about WordPress, PHP and how themes work. As far as CSS and more on development of themes, you can purchase my Creating WordPress themes 3-lesson course.
Frank
Hi,
I have a website that is about to be launched. My designer has created it in wordpress. I would like to be able to work on this site myself when I want to to either add things or change things. I also need to keep up the SEO aspect of the site, which I am not so such my designer knows how to do either.
Will this class teach me enough to manage my own site?
I am on a mac.
Thanks,
Christine
Hi Christine,
Yes, this class will go through and show you how to setup, maintain and customize your blog, from showing you how to update and add plugins to show and explain how themes work if you ever have to modify your own.
Since your website is online, it doesn’t matter if you have a mac or not. WordPress installs on a webhost with Linux/UNIX.
Frank
Hi Frank. I’m interested in your Introduction to WordPress class, but have a question. I’ve already installed WordPress on my PC, and barely started on my web site.
Will that cause any problems or hitches if I take your class?
Thanks,
Camille
Hi Camille,
Nope, you can either install WordPress on a webhost (most do it that way), or locally on your PC.
No matter where it is installed, it works the same way so there would not be any problems.
Frank
Are your classes and materials fully up-to-date for the latest version of WordPress (as of today, 4-26-10)? Thx
Hi Sam,
Well, the current version of WP is 2.9.2. There really hasn’t been much of an interface change since 2.8.x so that is the last time I updated my lessons.
When the BIG version upgrade to 3.0 happens sometime in the summer, I will re-vamp the lessons based upon those new changes.
Frank
Hi Frank,
Looking forward to receiving the classwork via pdf files. Thanks for offering the course.
Hi Kim,
Materials were just emailed out. Let know if you have any questions.
Frank
Hi. Is this class still active?
Thanks
Hi David,
Yes, of course. They run all the time, just need to sign up and I will send you all the materials.
Frank
Will this class cover WordPress for building websites, or just for blogging?
Hi Eric,
Do you mean using WordPress as a CMS? I do not specicially go into that topic in my classes so far, but I am creating a 6-8 week intermediate class that I can include that topic as well.
Stay tuned…
Frank
Hi Frank,
I really enjoyed the class lessons, it was a great introduction to getting WordPress installed and running. It also gave me an appreciation for the range of options and customization possible with the program, and the need to test themes to find compatible versions.
It also became clear that I will need to become more familiar with modifying php code to add or modify features.
Thanks again,
Ian
Thanks Ian.
I’ll be moving to WordPress with my new domain this weekend then I’ll get started. I’ll move my blog over at that point.
My questions are; once I move over to WordPress will FeedBurner bring over subscribers?
Also, should I learn basic HTML and CSS for the screen design?
Thanks
Bill Morgan
Hi Bill,
Yes, your subscribers should still be connected to your feed but you will need to update your new feed address under “Edit Feed Details”.
If you wish to customize your own WordPress theme (or create your own), you will need a good understanding of XHTML and CSS.
Basic XHTML and CSS is not hard to learn, just takes a little time. I have some other online resources on both topics on this site. Feel free to search in both those categories for more information.
The last lesson of the class (6th lesson), I show you step-by-step a very basic theme created from scratch.
Look forward to seeing you in class.
Hi,
I am interested in signing up for your class. When does it begin?
Thanks!
Kate
Hi Kate,
The class starts whenever you sign up. It is a self-study class and you get all the materials at once. You read the weekly lessons at your own pace and you can email me questions about it whenever you want.
Frank
I’m using a Mac. Will I be able to understand your class? Your requirements are for Apache, PHP and MySQL – I’ve heard of these but I have no idea if I have them or if I can run them on my computer.
Thanks!
Hi Leanne,
Yes of course, you can run WordPress locally on a Mac.
Here is a link to get you started:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress_Locally_on_Your_Mac_With_MAMP
After you install it, everything else is the same and you should have no problems.
Any other questions let me know.
Thanks
Is this still something you are offering? Can I sign up anytime or do the classes start at a certain date? As for the requirements, I have a self-hosted WordPress blog and cPanel. Is that all I need?
Hi April,
No it runs anytime, because I send you all the materials you need.
Students then can ask me questions about the materials whenever they want. I normally give students between 6 – 8 weeks to read over the 6 lessons (1 per week).
Since your webhost supports WordPress and incluides automatic installation, you can go right into Lesson 2 – Administration. If you already have a blog running with some content, then Lesson 3 focuses on using Themes (finding and customizing).
Thanks
Just signed up and looking forward to the upcoming class.
Hi Steven,
I just sent you an introductory email about the class and a separate email(s) with all the class materials (.pdf and .zip).
Let me know if you have any questions in the upcoming weeks.
Thanks
I have an existing website that I’d like to convert to a WordPress blog/site. Will your class help me to do that? My site is hosted on Yahoo and I don’t fully understand all the lingo. And are you available for questions and help throughout the course?
Thanks!!
Hi Desiree,
Basically, the class runs through how you create a WordPress blog from scratch. It starts from installation and finishes up with showing you how to create your own theme from scratch.
The site you have now on Yahoo!, where is your content stored? Just in the regular .html pages or in a database? Moving a site (non-CMS or blog) is time consuming because basically you will have to copy and paste all your content into your blog manually. It is a pain (I’ve done it a few times), but will make your life easier in the long run.
Yes, I can answer your questions about your existing site as well.
Thanks,
Frank
Please let me know when you will doing the wordpress class, as I would like to sign up.
Thank you
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer,
You can sign up for it now.
This class is offered through my website and me personally (no 3rd party website) so you will get all my lessons in an email (PDF) after your signup. Since there are 6 lessons, I give student 6 – 8 weeks to ask me questions about the material.
But I never refuse a question, so basically you can ask me anytime afterward too.
Thanks