| Instructor: | Kevin McMillan |
| Number of Sessions | 12 |
| Day and Time | Fridays 930-1230 |
| Duration | July 17 – October 02 |
| Office Hours | Wednesday 100-300 |
| Meeting Format | BlueJeans Link (See Moodle Course Shell) |
| Official Outline |
Course Description
This advanced course builds on the HTML & CSS skills gained in Web Design I by introducing students to the most popular content management system: WordPress. Students will start by learning the interface and metaphors of the program before moving to designing child themes and integrating blogs, image galleries, social media APIs and plugins into their sites. They will learn basic PHP and database concepts, as well as some of the more common ways to secure WordPress from attack. The troubleshooting of problems will also be examined. By the end of the course, students will have the tools to create a CMS based, dynamic website that is functional, beautiful, accessible, reliable and extensible.
Course Learning Outcomes & Objectives
By the end of the sessions students are expected to:
- Understand concepts around dynamic websites
- Understand what a CMS is, and what CMS options exist
- Obtain essential skills in using the WordPress Platform
- Be able to extend WordPress beyond its basic functionality
- Be able to modify a theme or build a basic child theme.
Course Method
- Presentation or lecture
- Demonstrations and exercises
- Exploration of materials and techniques
- Research and written work
- Independent study, studio work and projects
- Discussion and peer critique
- Instructor guidance and feedback
- Home assignments (if applicable)
Evaluation
| Attendance | 10% |
| Lab / Homework Exercises | 40% |
| Project | 50% |
| Total | 100% |
Requirements
To successfully complete the course, students are expected to complete all assignments to the instructor’s stated requirements, attend at least 85% of the classes and participate actively in discussions and critiques.
Please refer to the course evaluation criteria. Students must satisfy each learning outcome to successfully Pass.
Grade Scale
| Letter Grade | Percentage Equivalent | Grade Points | Description |
| A+ | 95-100 | 4.33 | Distinguished Achievement |
| A | 90-94 | 4.00 | Outstanding Achievement |
| A- | 85-89 | 3.67 | Excellent Achievement |
| B+ | 80-84 | 3.33 | Very Good Achievement |
| B | 75-79 | 3.00 | Commendable Achievement |
| B- | 70-74 | 2.67 | Good |
| C+ | 65-69 | 2.33 | Competent |
| C | 60-64 | 2.00 | Satisfactory |
| C- | 55-59 | 1.67 | Pass |
| D | 50-54 | 1.00 | Marginal Pass |
| F | 0-49 | 0.00 | Fail |
| I | Incomplete Grade | ||
| W | Withdrawal from a course |
Additional ECUAD policies are described on the official course outline (pdf).
Resources
LinkedIn Learning
The following LinkedIn Learning courses will help you master the essentials of the WordPress interface.
Installing and Running WordPress: MAMP (ch 1 & 2 )
WordPress 5 Essential Training (all chapters)
WordPress 5 Essential Training: Site Admin (all chapters)
WordPress: Developing Secure Sites (all chapters)
WordPress References
The WordPress Codex
WordPress Developer Resource
Codex: Stepping into Template Tags
Codex: Template Tags List
Codex: Conditional Tags
WordPress Cheat Sheets
WP Mega Cheat Sheet
WP Developer Super Cheat Sheet
Course Software
Useful Visual Studio Code Extensions:
- WordPress Snippets
- Beautify
- Bracket Pair Colorizer
- File Utils
- Intellisense for CSS
- Text Pastry
- Atom Keymap (if you already know the Atom editor)
Image Downloads
I’m putting these here, because we will use them in a number of classes:
Schedule of Instruction
Week 1: July 17
(Intro to Content Management)
- CMS vs Static Sites
- WordPress.com vs WordPress.org models
- Setup of Local Testing Environment: MAMP
- WP Dashboard & Editing Area
- Media / Galleries
- Embeds
- Posts, Pages
- Comments & Tags
- Gutenberg Editor
- The best keyboard shortcut of all time…
Weekly Videos
- LinkedIn Learning:
WordPress 5.0 Essential Training, Chapters 1 – 4 - LinkedIn Learning:
Installing and Running WordPress: MAMP
(Only if needed…)
Resources
- Comparison: DotOrg vs DotCom
- Major sites running WP and a bunch of WP statistics.
- Setting Up A Test Environment With MAMP
Lab Exercises / Homework
- WordPress Basics Review (Canada)
Due next week at 930am
Week 2: July 24
(Site Configuration 1)
- Posts vs Pages Review
- Settings / Customizer
- Header Images
- Menus
- WP Importer
- Intro to WordPress CSS
- Classic Editor
- Theme Configuration 1
Weekly Videos
- WordPress 5.0 Essential Training (Chapter 5)
- WordPress 5.0 Essential Training: Site Admin (Chapters 1-5)
Class Exercise / Homework
Week 3: July 31
(Site Configuration 2 )
- Theme Configuration 2
- Plugins: Duplicator, Contact Form 7
- More WP CSS
Class Exercise / Homework
Resources
Week 4: Aug 07
(Site Configuration 3)
- Themes Configuration 3
- Plugin: MetaSlider
- Yet More WP CSS
Class Exercise / Homework
Week 5: Aug 14
(Site Configuration 4)
Lab Exercises / Homework
- Ryan / YouPolls Configuration Exercise: Ryan / YouPolls
- Allegoric Site Configuration Exercise
This second exercise was going to be optional, but it appears that the site of the developer whose theme is used in the exercise is currently down, so this exercise is at least temporarily unavailable.
Week 6: Aug 21
(Theming 1)
- Introduction to PHP
- Basic Template Tags
- DRY vs WET: The Point of Templates
- The WordPress Template Hierarchy
- index.php, single.php, page.php, 404.php
- Theme Foundation Parts: get_header(), get_footer(), get_sidebar()
- Basic Template Tags: the_title(), the_author(), the_content(), the_post_thumbnail(), etc
- The Loop
Lab Exercises / Homework
Week 7: Aug 28
(Theming 2)
- Archives ( category, tag, date, author, etc )
- get_template_part()
- Functions.php
- add_theme_support()
- wp_enqueue_style()
- wp_enqueue_script()
- register_nav_menus()
- Icon Fonts in WP
Lab Exercises / Homework
- WordPress Menu Exercise pt 1
- WordPress Menu Exercise pt 2
- WordPress Menu Exercise pt 3
- Optional: Jazzicons Theme Building 2020
Week 8: Sept 04
(Theming 3)
- Conditions
- Multiple Loops
- Portfolio Child Theme Discussion
Lab Exercises / Homework
Resources
- Photos – Illustrations for Portfolio Demo
- Codex: Conditional Tags
- Ultimate Guide to WP Conditional Tags
- A Walk Through Conditional Tags in WordPress
Week 9: Sept 11
(Child Themes)
Resources
- WordPress Developer Site Page on Child Themes
- LinkedIn Learning: Building WordPress Child Themes
- Useful WordPress Filter Snippets
Week 10: Sept 18
(Transferring to Live Server)
- Getting a Domain & Hosting
- WordPress Security Recap
- Transferring a Site from another domain
- Transferring from a local environment to a live domain