Building a Web/Blog Page

 

CLASS DESCRIPTION:  Personally built and maintained webpages with blogging capabilities are a new and exciting communications tool.  Fee internet software options allow the beginner to easily create and maintain a website for personal or business use.  “Blogging” allows the site to be interactive, providing the developer (you) to easily keep you page current and providing the visiting public to interact with the site developer (you).  In this class, we explore the world of web pages, review basic terminology, web-page design layouts, and begin the process of developing a webpage with blogging capabilities using  WordPress.  For more information on this class leave me a message in the comment box on the Building a Web/Blog page at llowitz.wordpress.com or examine the features of Wordpress at www.wordpress.com.    Students will need to have access to their own personal Internet e-mail account prior to starting the class.   April 23, 25, 30, and May 2, 2012 from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.

 SEARCH ENGINES:  What an excellent topic.     I checked out the WordPress forum and found these interesting comments on search engines.  First from member thesacredpath “It can take several weeks for Google to completely index your blog, and since you just started . . .  It takes time to build page rank, and the best way to do that is to keep posting original content, and also visit other blogs and comment on posts that interest you.  Here are some resources for building traffic and thus building page rank: http://faq.wordpress.com/2006/11/15/more-traffic/ and http://onecoolsite.wordpress.com/2009/01/15/twenty-five-steps-to-increase-blog-traffic/.  Also look over the onecoolsite as it has a lot of very good information on it for promoting your blog and all things blog related.  Plus from member tellyworh there is this helpful hint “You can check http://ismyblogworking.com/to see when your blog has been indexed by Google. “ .If you find any of these WordPress author’s tips helpful, don’t forget to check out their sites and let them know you appreciate their taking time to answer posted questions.  . . . And as I promised, here are a few additional websites devoted to search engines.  Wikipedia includes good definitions, history and lots of other great information http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engines.  SearchEngineWatch is great for a variety of information on search engines and search engine optimization (SEO).  Check out Search 101 at their site http://searchenginewatch.com/.  And finally there is even a book Search Engine Optimization for Dummies.  Check out the index at this Google websitehttp://books.google.com/books?id=i1BqzeU4KzYC&dq=search+engine&printsec=frontcover&source=bll&ots=7CbaoW3uNY&sig=0Fg6A3H2P2hDMg5qmgyu_mj3VNw&hl=en&ei=BIapSfiAKZDQnQeTuaTnDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=19&ct=result#PPP1,M1.  Here is an interesting timely article from MSNBC dated February 24, 2009 that you might enjoy.  Performance Based SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Company iMajestic Creates Windfall of Risk Free, Quality Traffic for Doubtful Clients http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29373505/ .  AND if you are wondering about how search engine optimization works check out this article on Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization

EXAMPLE OF AN AUDIO LINK:  Ineed to set up this site with examples of the options you can use with WordPress.  So this post is designed to demonstrate an audio in your post.   The following excerpt from the Wordpress Support site and lists the three ways you can add audio.  You can share music on your blog by linking to an audio file, by purchasing the space upgrade and uploading music files to your media library, or by using a third-party service.  This is an example of an link.  http://wpcom.files.wordpress.com/2007/01/mattmullenweg-interview.mp3

RESOURCES:

• General information and statistics on WordPress are available at Wikipedia
• Review Lessons on starting and maintaining your WordPress site availabe on http://http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Lessons
• On-line documents on getting started, the dashboard, publishing, going mobil and more available at http://http://learn.wordpress.com/get-started/
•  Web Design:      What Makes For Good Design?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zzlEYrj-zw
• Web Design Mistakes  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPO7lDZbcfA
• General Information on Getting Started, Color, Typography, and Layout etc http://www.websitedesignbasics.com/index.html
• WordPress for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson from Wiley Publishing, Inc is a great resource for Word Press.    Check out the following link to her website.  http://designs.wordpress.com/about/
• WordPress.Org- Great resourse for moving on to the next level  www.wordpress.org