Sure, WordPress can be used for blogging, but this powerful software is capable of so much more. With the right combination of plugins, themes, customizations, and configurations WordPress can be transformed into a community portal, an e-commerce site, and more. There's very little that WordPress can't do—if you can image it, then it's probably possible with WordPress.
While some books merely talk about the capabilities of WordPress in general and then leave you to figure out how they apply to your situation, WordPress 3 Site Blueprints takes a different approach. As you follow along, you will learn by doing, because each of these nine chapters shows you how to build a WordPress-powered site from start to finish.
Each chapter provides easy-to-understand, step-by-step instructions, along with screenshots, to make it easy for you to follow along. In addition, detailed information is provided to help you optimally configure each and every plugin and theme mentioned in this book, so that you can get the most out of each of these sites. By the time you reach the end of each blueprint, you will have succeeded in creating a fully-functional website that's ready for use as is or that you may customize further, if you so desire.
Chapter 1, Project 1: Migrating a Static Website to WordPress shows you how to migrate from an existing static HTML website to a WordPress blog. This includes important information, such as how to transform your HTML template into a WordPress theme and how to move the content from your previous website into WordPress.
Chapter 2, Project 2: Building a Community Portal details how you can transform a typical WordPress installation into a community portal by first performing certain configurations on WordPress, so that its network functionality is useable. From there, this chapter then details how to further enhance the functionality of your site through the usage of the BuddyPress and bbPress plugins.
Chapter 3, Project 3: Building an E-Commerce Website covers the creation of an e-commerce store that's built using the WP e-Commerce plugin. Once you reach the end of this chapter, you will have a full-fledged e-commerce website that's capable of selling various products, managing inventory, and integrating with a number of popular payment processors.
Chapter 4, Project 4: Building a Local Classified Ads Website provides details on using the ClassiPress theme to build a classified ads website centered around a particular locality. This chapter also shows you how to improve upon ClassiPress by adding private messaging capabilities to your site.
Chapter 5, Project 5: Building a Consumer Review Website guides you through the creation of a consumer review website using the WP Review Site plugin. Once this project is complete, you will have a website where visitors can post their opinions about various products and/or services.
Chapter 6, Project 6: Building a Job Board Website shows you how to use the JobPress theme to create a job board where employers can post listings for prospective employees to browse. As you read, you will be shown how to create a stand-alone job board as well as how to run JobPress alongside an existing site.
Chapter 7, Project 7: Building a Microblogging Website provides information on using the P2 theme to build your very own microblog. As this project progresses, you will be shown how to perform enhancements in order to make your microblog private and to make it so that it's possible for your users to mark certain conversations as favorites.
Chapter 8, Project 8: Building a Local Business Directory covers the creation of a directory where potential clients can browse member profiles submitted by local businesses. The various plugins, custom pages, as well as configurations and edits detailed in this chapter will all help you to complete this project.
Chapter 9, Project 9: Building a Membership Website guides you through the creation of a membership site using the WishList Member plugin. Once this site is complete, you will be able to sell subscriptions of various types, add content, configure membership options, and collect subscription fees using the payment processor of your choosing.
Appendix A, provides a small collection of plugins that can be used to improve just about any website that was built with WordPress.
Appendix B, offers guidance on the installation of WordPress themes and plugins using various methods. So, if you're new to WordPress, then getting started will be easy using the instructions provided here.
In order to build the projects detailed in this book, you will need the following:
A text editor
A web browser
A web hosting account
An installation of WordPress 3.0 or greater
PHP version 4.3 or greater
MySQL version 4.1.2 or greater
Specific chapters have their own unique requirements. Here are the various themes and plugins that you will need in order to build each of the projects detailed in this book.
The following are required for Chapter 1, Project 1: Migrating a Static Website to WordPress:
The Import HTML Pages plugin 1.21 or greater
The Redirection plugin 2.1.25 or greater
The Google XML Sitemaps plugin 3.2.3 or greater
The following are required for Chapter 2, Project 2: Building a Community Portal:
The Buddypress plugin 1.2.3 or greater
The Slide2Comment plugin 1.4.13 or greater
The SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam plugin 2.5.2 or greater
The Simple Trackback Validation plugin 2.1 or greater
The BuddyPress Profile Privacy plugin 0.2-alpha or greater
The BuddyPress Template Pack plugin 1.0.2 or greater
The following are required for Chapter 3, Project 3: Building an E-Commerce Website:
The WP e-Commerce plugin 3.7.6.2 or greater
The NextGEN Gallery plugin 1.5.3 or greater
The WP e-Commerce NextGEN BuyNow plugin 1.1.0 or greater
The WP e-Commerce Gold Cart and Grid Module or greater
The WP e-Commerce DropShop or greater
The WP e-Commerce MP3 Audio Player or greater
The WP e-Commerce Members Only Module or greater
The following are required for Chapter 4, Project 4: Building a Local Classified Ads Website:
The ClassiPress theme 3.0.2 or greater
The WP Private Messages plugin 1.0.1 or greater
The New User Email Setup plugin 0.5.2 or greater
The SexyBookmarks plugin 3.2.3 or greater
The User Photo Plugin plugin 0.9.4 or greater
The WP-EMail plugin 2.52 or greater
The WP-Print plugin 2.50 or greater
The following is required for Chapter 5, Project 5: Building a Consumer Review Website:
The WP Review Site plugin 3.1 Alpha or greater
The following is required for Chapter 6, Project 6: Building a Job Board Website:
The JobPress theme 2.0 or greater
The following are required for Chapter 7, Project 7: Building a Microblogging Website:
The P2 theme 1.1.3 or greater
The Sidebar Login plugin 2.2.10 or greater
The Absolute Privacy plugin 1.3 or greater
The WP Favorite Posts plugin 1.5.1 or greater
The following are required for Chapter 8, Project 8: Building a Local Business Directory:
The Register Plus plugin 3.5.1 or greater
The User Photo plugin 0.9.4 or greater
The Exclude Pages plugin 1.8.3 or greater
The WP htaccess Control plugin 1.5.3 or greater
The Members List plugin 2.9.8 or greater
The following is required for Chapter 9, Project 9: Building a Membership Website:
The WishList Member plugin 2.20.435-2 or greater
In addition, if you would like to add to the functionality of your completed websites, then you will need these plugins, which are the subject of Appendix A.
The Akismet plugin 2.3 or greater
The WP-DB-Backup plugin 2.2.2 or greater
The WP-reCAPTCHA plugin 2.9.7 or greater
The Maintenance Mode plugin 5.2 or greater
The WP Hide Dashboard plugin 2.0 or greater
If you're a self-learner or a WordPress consultant who, instead of being content with using WordPress out-of-the-box, is interested in exploring all that this open source software has to offer, then this book is for you. The clear instructions provided in each chapter will guide you through the process of creating a varied collection of WordPress sites for either yourself or a client.
While some experience with WordPress is required to get the most from this book, if you can install themes and plugins, you should be able to follow these easy-to-understand WordPress blueprints with no problem. Some knowledge of CSS and HTML will be beneficial, but experience with PHP isn't required.
In this book, you will find a number of styles of text that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles, and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text are shown as follows: " You already began to make the switch over to your new website when you reverted index.php back to its original name and renamed index.html."
A block of code is set as follows:
<title>
<?php wp_title('«', true, 'right'); ?>
<?php bloginfo('name'); ?>
</title>When we wish to draw your attention to a particular part of a code block, the relevant lines or items are set in bold:
<title> <?php wp_title('«', true, 'right'); ?> <?php bloginfo('name'); ?> </title>
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, in menus or dialog boxes for example, appear in the text like this: " If you want to browse through a massive collection of free themes, then the Install Themes screen should be your first stop."
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