WordPress: Visual QuickStart Guide

by Matt Beck, Jessica Neuman Beck (Contributor)

Visual QuickStart Guide, 2E uses a visual approach to teach the essential elements of WordPress, one of the world's most popular publishing platforms. This book gives readers the tools they need to create beautiful, functional WordPress-powered sites with minimal hassle. Using plenty of screenshots and a clear, organized format, authors Jessica Neuman Beck and Matt Beck walk new users through the installation and setup process while providing valuable tips and tricks for more experienced users. With no other resource but this guide, readers can set up a fully-functional and well-designed WordPress site that takes advantage of all the features WordPress has to offer. This new, fully updated version covers all the key new features of WordPress 3, including an improved welcome screen with enhanced security and usability; internal linking to articles on one's own blog; support for individual author templates; improved menu interface allowing for changes to be made from inside the WordPress dashboard; and the new, easily customizable Default Theme, Twenty Eleven, with support for child themes and header and background adjustments. It also covers more advanced features, such as improved content management with Custom Post types, which allow WordPress theme developers to create custom content types outside of pages and posts; and integration of the WordPress Multi-User into the WordPress core so that users can create and manage hundreds of blogs.

477 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 13, 2011

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up in the library and decided to read it through. I have been using WordPress for some years, and helped others to set themselves up with it. I have also been asked to help solve issues with a number of people whose WordPress sites have been hacked and have noticed a recurrent theme with installing plugins and propensity for getting hacked. The last few years I have largely stopped using WordPress.

I read this book both as a refresher and to see if it had any insights for me about WordPress security that would allow for more stable platforms. As a refresher it was fine, but on that second point, the answer was "not really".

This is a good book for anyone wanting to get going with WordPress, and not too happy with just making it up as you go along, or following your nose! It will tell you how to do WordPress right. It was not, however, much help to any advanced users wanting to harden their systems against attack.

Personally I think there is a fundamental issue with the WordPress plugins that renders them vulnerable in too many cases. Still, it is undoubtedly good and useful software for blogging and small web sites.

[Wen Jie Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vivid, easy to comprehend introductory book that touches on many aspect

[DeLisa Lovett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This guidebook on how to setup your "WordPress" blog was definitely insightful and very useful. This book was a step by step guide to a great website. I really appreciated the easy read. Although I read this book along with other material provided from my instructor.... this book was truly a good basis for navigating the world of "WordPress".