1. CHOOSING & CUSTOMIZING YOUR THEME WORDCAMP NYC 2014 INTRODUCTION TO WORDPRESS Jamie Schmid hello@jamieschmid.com @jamieschmid

2. WHAT IS A THEME? GROUP OF FILES That control your sites colors, layout & user interface. IT DOES NOT Store your content! AKA.. Global Template OFTEN DESIGNED FOR Special purposes: News, blogging, gallery, portfolio, real estate 3. FREE VS PREMIUM Can experiment as much as you like Downloadable across the internet Non-reputable sites could have unsafe code Not necessarily supported or documented Limited functionality/features Rarely updated FREE Professionally designed & developed Advanced features: ecommerce, styling, custom widgets, sliders, galleries etc Great support/documentation $30-$100 PREMIUM 4. WHERE TO FIND THEMES WP Theme directory www.wordpress.org/themes Or install directly through wp-admin WooCommerce, Themify, WPShower Do not just search Google & download any theme! FREE WooThemes, iThemes, ThemeForest, Elegant Themes, Themify PREMIUM 5. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A THEME KNOW WHAT YOURE LOOKING FOR! Create site goals Inventory content you currently have or will have List desired functionality: Necessary vs nice to have Blog, or full website/CMS 6. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A THEME DESIGN Relates to your industry Get as close to your final layout as you can! 7. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A THEME FUNCTIONALITY Strive for simplicity Load time? Complex code? Usable? SEO friendly? Plugins Never pick a theme that handles your content Once you deactivate the theme that functionality is gone Ex: SEO functionality Menus: 1 or 2 Footer nav or widgets? Ecommerce? Sliders? 8. WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A THEME CHECK FOR MALICIOUS CODE Theme Authenticity Checker http://wordpress.org/plugins/tac/ BROWSER & DEVICE SUPPORT What browsers/versions? Responsive? Check the demo! REGULAR UPDATES Works with your version of WP 9. INSTALLATION/ SETUP Download & install .zip file Install directly through admin Unzip & FTP files to wp-content/themes folder 10. CUSTOMIZING YOUR THEME Customizer Child Themes http://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes Individual theme functionalities Frameworks 11. THANK YOU! WORDCAMP NYC 2014 INTRODUCTION TO WORDPRESS Jamie Schmid hello@jamieschmid.com @jamieschmid