How to Use the WordPress Customizer

In this lesson in our WordPress series we will learn how to use the WordPress Customizer. Customize is where you design the website including the header, footer, and overall design decisions.  In addition, you use Customize to create menus for the website.  Think of Customize as where you work on everything except for the <main>…

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WordPress WooCommerce Product Entry

This article will teach you how to add a WooCommerce product. It assumes that you already have a WooCommerce website and simply need to know how to add a product. When I teach my students WordPress, I teach them how to add Posts, Pages, and Products to an existing website before I teach them how…

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Setting Up Your Freelancing Business

I recommend that students of Web Development try to find freelancing gigs in order to learn their trade and make a little money at the same time. This article describes how to set up the business side. (See the separate articles on What to Charge and How to Find Clients.) Choose a Name for your…

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Shipping Your Website: The Final Checklist

The beauty of working on websites is that they are never “done”.  Unlike print, a website is something that you make continuous quality improvements throughout the life of the website.  Even so, before you announce the completion of your website, there are some steps you should take: We’ll cover each of these in detail. 1.…

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WordPress Skill Levels (IMO)

I created this break out of the various WordPress skill levels for my Web Design students at Saint Paul College. These levels are my opinion and may differ from the opinions of other WordPress developers. I provide this information to my students so they can put their learning about WordPress into context of where they…

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How WordPress Works

If you only know HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, it can be challenging to wrap your head around how WordPress works. With HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, you create and publish files to a hosting server. With WordPress, the website content and settings are not stored in the website files. Instead, the content is stored in database tables. In this article we’ll explain what the database tables are and how the website files interact with them.

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Why are most websites made with WordPress?

As of this writing, WordPress powers 43% of the World Wide Web. And, of websites using a content management system, market share is 64%. Why are so many websites made with WordPress? This article explains why WordPress dominates the web development marketplace. A strong understanding of WordPress is critical for students of web development.

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The Magic of Publishing Your Website

Linking the Domain Name and Hosting Plan with DNS Does publishing a website really take magic? To publish a website you need to register a domain name from a domain name registrar, and you need to purchase a website hosting plan. Once you have the domain name and hosting connected with the DNS, then you…

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“What Should I Charge?”

If you are an aspiring web designer or developer, I recommend that you look for opportunities to work on websites to build your portfolio. Perhaps you find a family friend that needs help with their website. Perhaps you hear about a possible internship. At any rate, you have found a possible client who needs your…

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