honey - you're not even responsive - sharon france
TRANSCRIPT
WordPress WordCamp Sydney Saturday 24 September
12:35pm session (beginners)
Presenter: Sharon France
‘Honey, you’re not even responsive!’
❤❤❤❤
… or how I learned to stop worrying
and love …
2013Cascadea personal vCard WordPress theme
from envatomarket
NOT RESPONSIVE AND SELDOM UPDATED
some hints and tips
… so this is the story of how I finally overcame my fears of web design
^
where I started the steps I took the theme I befriended
where I think I sit in the WordPress community …
peop
le who blog developers
designers
❤word and
imagry wizards
form and function
gurus
people who, well, design: sometimes
in this space
scary people with all the mad skilz
speak fluent html, css and all the other tlas
literally plugg-ed in
Wordpress.org experts
probably not frightened of spiders
people with amazing stories to tell
rugged individuals working on their
own ideasmostly using
WordPress.com
probably own casual and
formal pajamas
setting the scene
➀overwhelming need to update my company’s
website
➁no funds to pay someone else
➂25+years in publication
design
➃unrealistic,
self-imposed timeframe
(by 1 August)
➄own and use Adobe CS: Photoshop Illustrator
➅happy with my existing strong
brand
➆perceived lack
of control in the web enrironment
➇faced with the
Rumsfeldconundrum
the first steps I took
➀went to WP WC
Sunshine CoastMay 2016
➁finally went
to the WordPress Meetups
➂watched online WordPress vids and pored over many themes
➃lost 8 weeks to a ‘stuck’
and the Federal election
➄set-up local
hosting using MAMP
➅story-boarded
the site
➆flirted with a
couple of themes but then found
THE ONE!
➇prepared
all my image collateral
from design to launch (+)
➀build the front-end
overnight and the whole site
(locally) in 5 days!
➁discover my web host (of 12 yrs)
does not support WP updates
➂my trial MAMP
expires the same day my Optus service dies
➃set up new
hosting with Oz-based Crucial
(uber helpful)
➄I get help to
‘migrate’ my site: it takes more than 5 hours
➅discover that all my image assets are HUGE and
the wrong format
➆painstakingly
replace all images
➇install essential
plug-ins for security, back-ups
+ child theme
the theme I befriended: divi
drag and drop page builder
myriad layout options
heaps of great modules
great support (everywhere)
affordable pricing
pre-made layouts
savable templates
great support (everywhere)
affordable pricing
pre-made layouts
savable templates
… yep, I’m in love
❤❤❤❤
2016DIVI
‘powerful, flexible, beautiful’
from elegant themes
2016DIVI
‘powerful, flexible, beautiful’
2016DIVI
‘powerful, flexible, beautiful’
2016DIVI
‘powerful, flexible, beautiful’
2016DIVI
‘powerful, flexible, beautiful’
… responsive!
2016DIVI
‘powerful, flexible, beautiful’
… great for my portfolio
some specs on my site
one home page with five sliders,
five menus& seven pages
33 projects in the portfolio—
listed under six categories
approx 224 image
assets added: .png for line art
.jpeg for ‘photos’
images derived from the
public domain, Librestock and sampled PDFs
fonts used: Raleway Light &
Trebuchet
plugins: WordFence
WP backup to Dropbox
1-click child theme (Google analytics)
costs incurred:MAMP: $80
themes: $360consulting: $120(hosting: $199dropbox: $139)
for someone else to build this site?
$3000+what I learned?
PRICELESS
some hints and tips
➀join your local
WordPress Meetup group
➁look before you leap—
assumptions can be costly
➂find web pages and designs you love and make a ‘scrapbook’
➃don’t quit—
someone will know the answer to your questions
➄be legit!
there is no reason to steal
words or images
➅be organised:
develop a naming system and leave
breadcrumbs
➆ don’t build a huge site
locally
➇fonts have a personality:
choose wisely
a few resourcesIMAGES/ICONS
unslpashpexels
librestockflickr
nounproject
ONLINE TUTESlynda.com (Morten Rand-
Hendriksen is a hoot)
creativebloq.com
HELPwpbeginners.com
is VAST (more geared
towards bloggers?)
Slack Channel
DIVIdivi theme
documentation
FaceBook groups
DESIGNRobin WilliamsNon-Designers Design Book
Peachpit Press
FONTSfonts.google.com
KEEP CURRENT smashing
magazine.com
CODEX codex.
wordpress.org
I blogged :)
dearWPdiary.com
