WordPress Web Design For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Learn how WordPress can help you create a unique, customized Web siteOnce only a platform for bloggers, WordPress is gaining popularity as a tool for creating individualized Web sites. WordPress expert Lisa Sabin-Wilson makes it easy for anyone with a basic knowledge of the WordPress software to create a custom site using complimentary technologies including CSS, HTML, and PHP. This easy-to-follow, full-color guide helps you identify the tools and technologies you need to create the site you env
Smashing WordPress Themes: Making WordPress Beautiful (Smashing Magazine Book Series)
The ultimate guide to WordPress Themes - one of the hottest topics on the web todayWordPress is so much more than a blogging platform, and Smashing WordPress Themes teaches readers how to make it look any way they like - from a corporate site, to a photography gallery and moreWordPress is one of the hottest tools on the web today and is used by sites including The New York Times, Rolling Stone, flickr, CNN, NASA and of course Smashing MagazineBeautiful full colour throughout - web designers expe
More WordPress Products
5 responses to WordPress Web Design For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
This is the best book I have read about using WordPress for a website. It was the strength of the author’s writing (and, I suppose, the house publishing style) which caused me to shell out on this one having tried and failed with two other titles including her previous book WordPress For Dummies
This title does a better but not perfect job about focusing on the task (I want to build a website…) and avoiding telling me all about WordPress. By reputation, it’s the one to use. At risk of committing a heresy I really don’t care about its functionality in the same way I don’t care about the functionality of my office productivity suite.
The author’s previous title was a guide for people relatively new to computers and targetted at using WordPress for its original purpose as a blog with a little bit about using it as a CMS for a website. I also have WordPress 24-Hour Trainer which I am sure is a very good book but doesn’t meet my WordPress newbie’s needs. They’re both very good at telling me about WordPress but the neither of them address the task in hand. As I get a bit more knowledgeable I can see they’ll become more useful. But I don’t want a linear guide to using the features of the tool.
It used to be the case (might still be) that when learning a new programming language you’d learn how to get “hello world” to print on your screen to encourage you e.g., in “C”, you’d get a brief you’ll need all this (which is actually quite a lot) with explanation to follow. Every C programme in the world requires everything you did to get “Hello World” on to the screen so while it doesn’t do much it does get you started. Trust me, you’d give up if you started with the niceties of #
Obviously a CMS is a bit more complicated but at the start I want the instant gratification of having achieved something which encourages me to slog on with the rest of it. As with the pain of learning C I can laern the other stuff as I progress. It might not be efficient but it does enable progress.
I’m computer literate, I want a website and I’m using WordPress, where to start?
I know at some point that I’m going to need to think about colour schemes, fonts, layout, stuff but right now my understanding is that all this is configurable and solveable eventually. I’m not into delayed gratification and learning the equivalent of my Latin irregular verbs because, y’know, when I need them…
I’ve got my hosting and my domain name sorted out and this book is sufficiently task focused that it has got me started (at last) on a website powered by WordPress, configuration and polish to arrive afterwards. I wonder if then I’d prefer something equivalent to the Linux Cookbook
Was this review helpful to you?
WordPress Web Design For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
i could’ve skipped the first few chapters, but reading through refreshes a little, it’s not written in the boring way you get normally, when you already know something- and COLOUR!
Was this review helpful to you?
WordPress Web Design For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
I’ve used a few of the guides in the Smashing series now, including this author’s other book, Smashing WordPress: Beyond the Blog (Smashing Magazine Book Series), and they set a high standard for tutorial books and friendly user guides. This title is absolutely no exception, and serves as a brilliant introduction to editing and creating WordPress themes. Well-indexed, clearly laid-out and full of code examples, the book first spends time dissecting an existing theme in order to demonstrate the anatomy of a WordPress theme – where the different pieces lie, what they do and so on. Then the author moves on logically to editing / updating existing themes, before the final, meatiest section of the book dives into creating themes from scratch. It’s an approach which makes a lot of sense, and for people coming to the topic of theme creation as beginners, it’s a well-paced, graded introduction, by the end of which you’ll have a lot of confidence. Along the way there are loads of useful tips, including some pointers on security, amongst many other things.
It follows on naturally from Smashing WordPress, with several nods to using WordPress as more than just a blog. It’s packed with advice for building themes and features which could form the cornerstone of much more extensive sites like community and specialist news portals – great news if you want to push WordPress beyond the basics.
It’s not exhaustive of course, as the subject is huge, but throughout the book the author gives pointers about where to look for further information and guidance, not least from the WordPress documentation itself. You will need to have some grounding in HTML, CSS and PHP before giving it a go, although all the examples are well-explained, and you don’t have to be a coding genius to get into it yourself – just a basic grounding should do.
Clear, friendly and confidence-building – I’d thoroughly recommend this, it’s another great addition to the Smashing range.
Was this review helpful to you?
WordPress Web Design For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
A someone who has some experience as a wordpress user, I was looking for something to take me to a higher level, but it wasn’t this book. If you have little or no programming experience, this book is probably not for you. But if you have, then this book might be valuable, for it has many examples of coding which are available on a website as well. But if you can program, I wonder why you would need such a collection of code. I can see it being helpful for anyone who is at an intermediate stage of understanding, and wants to have some already developed themes to play around with, and to cross reference against their own understanding. But the point has been made by other reviewers, that there are many free themes available. Because of this uncertainty as to who will really get value from the book, I can only rate it a three. But having said that, we all know how difficult it is to get a book that fits exactly with our knowledge and experience, in any field of knowledge. So my advice would be to make sure it is a fit for you before you buy.
Was this review helpful to you?
WordPress Web Design For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Such was my naivety I didn’t realise that this book only applies to bloggers who self host, or at least aren’t just basic bloggers using WordPress.com without paying for any upgrades. This means it is entirely irrelevant for me which is a pity as it is enthusiastically written and lots of examples which again look beyond my basic (rusty) programming skills.
I feel cheeky reviewing it at all but others may make my mistake
Was this review helpful to you?
WordPress Web Design For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))
Leave a reply to WordPress Web Design For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))