The Official WordPress Thread

[yoink*gasp*]

Since Jon has created the Winter 07 Case Study, a lot of people (myself included) are migrating to WordPress for the first time.

To avoid the inevitable barrage of posts asking questions about WordPress (there were 2 new ones as of me posting this), why don't we try and make one stickied FAQ for WordPress.

So if anyone has any questions they want answered, ask them in here and as they are answered I will add them to this post.

The quesitons that I have are:

1) How can I edit my theme to the way I like?

Answer by barman:
Here's what I learned from editing my own wordpress themes. Maybe I'm stupid and clueless, but I could never figure out how to make my own theme, so I just edit the default theme. This is geared towards people with web design experience.

You can edit your wordpress CSS through the wordpress panel, but I download all my files to the hard drive and edit them through dreamweaver. Then I upload through the FTP route.

The default theme's files can be found in wordpress > wp-conent > themes > default. Everything in wordpress is modular, so you really only have to edit a few files (index, header, sidebar, footer, and style.css ) to begin putting your new theme together.

If you're designing custom graphics for your WP, then try to keep those files in mind... it helps first to understand how they're all put together. Wordpress.org documentation is very good though, so anytime you need help with something its worth checking out.

Answer by Jenn
These articles will help you understand how all the WordPress components fit together, and how you can begin to get your hands dirty. The author assumes a basic knowledge of html/css.
Dissection of a WordPress theme: Part 1
Dissection of a WordPress theme: Part 2

You may also want to check out the Sandbox theme. It's a great, barebones point of departure for creating your own theme. You can easily switch between one, two, or three columns, and there are skins available or you can style the CSS yourself.

2) How do I place ads in WordPress?

For AdSense
Answer by barman
I know there is an adsense plug-in out there, and I'm certain there are plug-ins (once again, check out wordpress.org: AdSense-Deluxe WordPress Plugin » Acme Technologies Zeitgeist) .

Basically you tie your ads to certain code, like <!--adsense01--> and plop it in when you write your article. You could also hardcode your adcode when you're designing your template.

Answer by Jenn
In addition to Adsense-Deluxe (mentioned by barman), I have used the following plugins for ad management:

Ad Rotator
Allows you to rotate ads in the same location (for example, swapping Adsense with an affiliate banner.)

Adsense Injection
Reduces ad blindness by randomly changing the location of your Adsense code.

WordPress - add Adsense to your blog
This is not a plugin, but rather a tutorial on using small snippets of PHP to give you greater control over your Adsense placement. The instructions are very clear and don't assume prior knowledge of PHP.

3) What is a "widget"?

Answer by wa67
A widget is just an add-on that you can plug in to your site that provides extra functionality, like "related posts" or a blogroll, or a todo-list.

See here: WordPress Widgets

Answer by Jenn
That's all true, but a widget can also be as simple as a text box in your sidebar. The point of WordPress widgets is that they can be placed, replaced, reorganized, and removed without knowing any code.

If you're using a widget-ready theme with the widgets plugin installed, you can use the wp-admin interface to drag and drop items into and out of your sidebar. Essentially, it makes WordPress customization more accessible to the masses. You can have a say in what your sidebar looks like without having to mess with any code.

Here's a list of WordPress themes that support widgets:
WordPress Codex: Widgets

[barman]

Wordpress is a tight little CMS, especially for articles, but it is a pain in the butt making your own theme the first time around. (this is especially true for those with no HTML, CSS, and php experience.)

1. Here's what I learned from editing my own wordpress themes. Maybe I'm stupid and clueless, but I could never figure out how to make my own theme, so I just edit the default theme. This is geared towards people with web design experience.

You can edit your wordpress CSS through the wordpress panel, but I download all my files to the hard drive and edit them through dreamweaver. Then I upload through the FTP route.

The default theme's files can be found in wordpress > wp-conent > themes > default. Everything in wordpress is modular, so you really only have to edit a few files (index, header, sidebar, footer, and style.css ) to begin putting your new theme together.

If you're designing custom graphics for your WP, then try to keep those files in mind... it helps first to understand how they're all put together. Wordpress.org documentation is very good though, so anytime you need help with something its worth checking out.


2.) I know there is an adsense plug-in out there, and I'm certain there are plug-ins (once again, check out wordpress.org: AdSense-Deluxe WordPress Plugin » Acme Technologies Zeitgeist) .

Basically you tie your ads to certain code, like <!--adsense01--> and plop it in when you write your article. You could also hardcode your adcode when you're designing your template.

[yoink*gasp*]

Thanks man! Exactly what I was looking for.

[dastuff]

3)
A widget is basically a variable item/product...

Instead of giving examples where you use tv's, radios, cell phones, etc.. You can use a widget to show that a multitude of items can be used in it's place.

I guess if you still don't get it then pick up an economics book, they use widgets all the time to describe businesses. Like say business A sells 400 widgets at... yada yada...

[yoink*gasp*]

Originally Posted by dastuff

3)
A widget is basically a variable item/product...

Instead of giving examples where you use tv's, radios, cell phones, etc.. You can use a widget to show that a multitude of items can be used in it's place.

I guess if you still don't get it then pick up an economics book, they use widgets all the time to describe businesses. Like say business A sells 400 widgets at... yada yada...

I don't think that's how a "widget" is referred to in WordPress. A lot of the themes are "widget ready"... implying that you can said widget to them. I just don't know what the heck that widget is.

I'm going to assume it's some kind of addition to the theme?

[waz67]

A widget is just an add-on that you can plug in to your site that provides extra functionality, like "related posts" or a blogroll, or a todo-list.

See here: WordPress Widgets

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by waz67

A widget is just an add-on that you can plug in to your site that provides extra functionality, like "related posts" or a blogroll, or a todo-list.

See here: WordPress Widgets

That's all true, but a widget can also be as simple as a text box in your sidebar. The point of WordPress widgets is that they can be placed, replaced, reorganized, and removed without knowing any code.

If you're using a widget-ready theme with the widgets plugin installed, you can use the wp-admin interface to drag and drop items into and out of your sidebar. Essentially, it makes WordPress customization more accessible to the masses. You can have a say in what your sidebar looks like without having to mess with any code.

Here's a list of WordPress themes that support widgets:
WordPress Codex: Widgets

[Jenn]

Originally Posted by yoink*gasp*

1) How can I edit my theme to the way I like?

These articles will help you understand how all the WordPress components fit together, and how you can begin to get your hands dirty. The author assumes a basic knowledge of html/css.
Dissection of a WordPress theme: Part 1
Dissection of a WordPress theme: Part 2

You may also want to check out the Sandbox theme. It's a great, barebones point of departure for creating your own theme. You can easily switch between one, two, or three columns, and there are skins available or you can style the CSS yourself.

Originally Posted by yoink*gasp*

2) How do I place ads in WordPress?

In addition to Adsense-Deluxe (mentioned by barman), I have used the following plugins for ad management:

Ad Rotator
Allows you to rotate ads in the same location (for example, swapping Adsense with an affiliate banner.)

Adsense Injection
Reduces ad blindness by randomly changing the location of your Adsense code.

WordPress - add Adsense to your blog
This is not a plugin, but rather a tutorial on using small snippets of PHP to give you greater control over your Adsense placement. The instructions are very clear and don't assume prior knowledge of PHP.

[yoink*gasp*]

^^^ Thanks Jenn! That's a lot of good information!

Does anyone else have any WP related questions?