In Class 4 of Introduction to WordPress, we cover:

• WordPress Theme introduction
• Introduction to the WordPress Loop
• WordPress Pageviews
• Post Formats
• Changing WordPress Themes
• Basic WordPress Theme customization

Homework Assignment

• Using Post Formats:
  • Publish an aside post.
  • Publish a status post
  • Publish a link post
  • Publish at least one other post format post.
• Sort through the various WordPress Themes on WordPress.com and test them.
• Make a list or draw an “ideal” WordPress Theme for your blog.
  • Find a similar Theme on WordPress.com (as close as you can)
• Publish a WordPress tip article using screenshots. If you need to publish code, use the sourcecode shortcode.
• Find the first post on your blog, usually called “Hello World.” Edit the post slug to change the URL to a new title.

Reading

The following are recommended reading assignments from the WordPress books in the 24×7 Book program and other resources. Please note the notes on book naming conventions and confusion in the class preparation post.

• WordPress CSS Information and Techniques
• WordPress Theme Development
• Stepping Into WordPress Templates
• The WordPress Category Template
• WordPress Loop
• The WordPress Loop in Action
• Check out the various articles on WordPress Theme Resources

WordPress Theme development and design can be approached from a variety of directions. Web designers rarely dig into the code and stay focused on HTML and CSS. WordPress design developers dig deeper into the code and want to understand WordPress template files, WordPress template tags, functions, PHP, JavaScript, jQuery, AJAX, and other code. You choose what areas of interest you wish to learn more about from the following online resources in the Clark Library’s 24×7 Book program:

• Beginning WordPress 3: Make Great Websites the Easy Way
• Build Your Own Wicked WordPress Themes
• Getting Started with WordPress: Design Your Own Blog or Website
• WordPress Theme Design: A Complete Guide to Creating Professional WordPress Themes
• WordPress 24-Hour Trainer
• WordPress All-In-One for Dummies