This is a visual tutorial on how to install WordPress, then customize it as a CMS (Content Management System) for your company website online.

Using a CMS to manage your website gives you the ability to make easy updates (no HTML knowledge required), plus provides a number of powerful features (RSS feeds are one example) to help you do business online.

Note: Here we’ll give instructions for using the steamlined “Elefante Installer” which comes with your Hosting Plan at WebFaddsHosting.com .

1. Use the “Elefante Installer” in your Hosting Control Panel to install WordPress. If you are not a customer with a WebFaddsHosting.com account yet, you can demo this step at our demo page.
   
   Illustration shows WebFaddsHosting.com Hosting Control Panel Demo log-in.
2. The installer will report a successful installation on your hosting server, and give you the URL to the administration log-in — this is a separate control area — online (run your WordPress Website from any computer) where you run your WordPress CMS.
   
   Above, Elefante Installer is selected under “Web Tools”, and WordPress is chosen for installation (Elefante also offers a number of other script choices).
   
   Elefante Installer reports a successful installation, and gives the URL to your WordPress Admin. log-in page — red arrow (note the Admin. UserName and Password you’ll need to get in will also be displayed on this screen).
3. Next you may select a number of plug-ins to customize your WordPress CMS based on what your business mission is online. For example, if you wish to run a Forum , there is a plug-in program for that. If you are online to offer eCommerce transactions you may choose a plug-in to do that . WordPress is great for blogs and simpler websites (it does not have to be set up as a blog) on its own, so you could simply choose to work with it as is. Of course we can help you set-up, customize, and manage your WordPress website.
4. To hunt for plug-ins you need, check the WordPress Plugin Directory (there were over 1,000 available, when last we checked) .
5. Download the plug-in(s) you need to your own computer.
   
   Above, you find a plug-in at WordPress.org (the excellent PodPress plug-in for PodCasters is shown), click “Download Plugin” and save it to your computer. Illustration shows that this plug-in will be automatically opened with “Stuffit Expander” — you may need to use another program, like WinZip, to unzip it. Be sure to read the “readme” file that accompanies most plug-ins.
6. Upload the plug-ins to the correct folder on your web hosting server using an FTP program. CyberDuck, a free, open source FTP program is shown below, and there are a number of others available online. There is also a plug-in extension for FireFox, if you’re using that browser, that offers FTP capabilities — FireFTP . If you haven’t used an FTP program before, the method is simple, you can drag a file from one window to another (a window on your machine to a remote hosting server, for example), or select a file, then click a button to move it to the remote server.
   
   Above, the plugin for PodPress is being uploaded (in its original folder) to the “plugins” directory which is at this general file path: blog/wp-content/plugins (where “blog” is the directory in which you have installed WordPress).
7. After you have uploaded your new plug-in(s), go to the “Plug-ins” admin. page (in your WordPress admin. — not the hosting Control Panel), and “Activate” your plug-in(s).
   
   Activating your newly added plug-in is easy… go to Plugins, and click “Activate” (red arrow points to Activate button for podPress)
8. Once your plug-ins are activated, easy to use options and controls will show up in your WordPress admin. area. For some plug-ins, you may have to “configure” settings before it will run on your site. For example, the WP Directory plug-in requires categories and listings before it will display information on your site.
   
   Once activated, the PodPress Plug-in provides its own menu of options and controls within your WordPress admin. area.
9. For support, use the WordPress.org Forums, and the Documentation/Lessons in the Codex area (WebFaddsHosting.com provides 24/7 support for hosting needs, and for the initial installation of WordPress, but does not support the actual WordPress program itself).

Share and Enjoy:

Tags: CMS, Hosting, Tutorials by Partner
No Comments »

The WebFadds.com Custom Content Management Solution

Here are some frequent questions & answers about WebFadds.com Custom CMS solution:

• What are the benefits of using a Content Management System (CMS)?
• With what software architecture do you build our CMS?
• Why do you use WordPress as the CMS platform?
• What is Open Source Software?
• How do you customize our CMS?
• How does your CMS solution compare to others in the market?
• How does your CMS help us with online marketing?
• What about security for our CMS?
• What support is available for our CMS?
• How do we get going, and how long does it take?

What are the benefits of using a Content Management System (CMS)? Three major benefits are automation which saves you time for changes and updates to your website, ease of editing and page creation — no HTML knowledge necessary, and powerful controls for your web communications team including blog and comment management, RSS feed management, and customer newsletter management.
~Back to Q’s
[singlepic=33,250,200,]
Click for larger view of easy CMS website editing (no need to know HTML, CSS, etc.)

With what software architecture do you build our CMS? Our CMS solution runs on the widely used “L.A.M.P.” system — Linux (OS), Apache (web server software), MySQL (database engine), and P.H.P. (a widespread dynamic programming language). We use WordPress, an open-source CMS program as a platform and add enhanced features and controls. WordPress began as a blog program and with version 2.x has evolved into a robust, well-supported Content Management System solution. All you need to run this package is a good Web Hosting service that specializes in LAMP architecture and provides you the 24/7 tech. support you need — we recommend our world-class hosting division, WebFaddsHosting.com.
~Back to Q’s

Why do you use WordPress as the CMS platform? WordPress is a state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. It’s easy to use, and less complex than many alternative CMS programs, but at the same time delivers powerful features via plugins and enhancements we install for you. WordPress is built following W3C (http://www.w3.org/) standards for XHTML and CSS, ensuring that your site is more easily rendered across standards-compliant browsers. We have found that clients find the administration interface of WordPress to be highly intuitive and easy to learn.
~Back to Q’s

What is Open Source Software? Open Source software is developed collaboratively and given away freely as an application and a platform which may be enhanced and customized. The core philosophy is that by making the source code “open” for improvements and revisions to other programmers and a world-wide development community, the result will be a better product focused on what the users want, instead of being constrained by corporate profit goals.
~Back to Q’s

How do you customize our CMS? We install, activate, and set-up key management plugins to help you keep tabs on your website performance, keep in touch with your customers, and enhance your backend management control center. Here’s a list of what’s added in our customization of your CMS:

• Newsletter Module
• Site Stat Reporting Module tied to Google Analytics
• Flash Image Gallery Controls
• RSS Feedburner Marketing Enhancements
• Google SiteMap Builder and Controls
• Comment SPAM Blocker Controls
• Automatic Backup Control

Note that there are other custom modules that may be installed, depending on your online business mission. Two examples are e-commerce shopping cart modules, and booking software applications. Still another popular module enables plug-in and promotion of Podcasts.
~Back to Q’s
[singlepic=32,250,200,]
Click for larger view of built in Newsletter management.

How does your CMS solution compare to others in the market? Generally speaking, it gives the small to mid-sized company (3 to 50 employees) a robust, feature rich application that is comparable to best of breed alternatives in both open-source and proprietary CMS solutions. There is no purchase fee for the programs we use (with the possible exception of requested modules beyond our standard installation). Instead of relying on a single company for support, enjoy the options of WebFadds.com Consulting, the WordPress User Community, and qualified PHP programmers. We invite you to compare features and administration controls — contact us for a test-drive.
~Back to Q’s
[singlepic=31,250,200,]
Click for larger view of marketing chart data with traffic & visitor details.

How does your CMS help us with online marketing? Four ways: a built-in newsletter program helps you keep in touch with prospects and customers; we hook you into Google Analytics for stats, visitor tracking, and ROI metrics; we hook your RSS feed into Feedburner for upgraded feed promotion options and tracking, and we install a Google SiteMap automation module to make it easy for Google to search and catalog your website. We can also plug-in a Podcasting module (not included in our standard implementation) which is yet another way to reach your prospective and existing customer base.
~Back to Q’s

What about security for our CMS? The WordPress developers are very concious about security and release regular updates for the program to strengthen and address new security challenges. We enable an automatic back-up module that emails a database backup to your administrator/webmaster once a week in addition to any routine backups conducted by your web host provider. Most good web hosting companies provide robust firewalls to protect their servers. For most public website implementations this is more than sufficient.
~Back to Q’s

What support is available for our CMS? First, WebFadds.com provides CMS consulting and webmastering support. The WordPress community provides tutorials, FAQs, reference Docs, and a forum on their website. Since the program is written in PHP language, qualified PHP programmers can also help with any additional needs you may have.
~Back to Q’s

How do we get going, and how long does it take? We develop your CMS website in three phases: in Phase I we create a Mission Map that matches your online business goals to a sitemap for your CMS including navigation structure; then, in Phase II we create a graphic design template for your site based on your Mission Map; and we finish it in Phase III by implementing your design template into your installed CMS program. Each phase takes 5-10 business days. Payments are made for each phase, with phase three split into two payments — four total. To get started, initiate phase I by paying conveniently with a major credit card at our Websites Page at WebFadds.com.
~Back to Q’s

Share and Enjoy:

Tags: CMS, News by Partner
No Comments »