WordPress: The Missing Manual (3^rd Ed.)

Whether you're a budding blogger or seasoned web designer, WordPress is a brilliant tool for creating websites-once you know how to tap into its impressive features. The latest edition of this jargon-free Missing Manual shows you how to use WordPress 5.0's themes, widgets, and plug-ins to build just about any kind of site.

The important stuff you need to know:

• Setting up WordPress. Configure WordPress on your web host or get it running on your home computer.
• Create your site. Get hands-on instructions for building all types of websites, from blogs to business sites with ecommerce features.
• Mix in multimedia. Add picture galleries, slideshows, video clips, music players, and podcasts.
• Add features. Select from thousands of plug-ins to enhance your site's capabilities, from contact forms to a basic shopping cart.
• Build a truly unique site. Customize a WordPress theme to create a site that looks exactly the way you want.
• Attract an audience. Use SEO, site statistics, and social sharing to reach more people.
• Stay safe. Use backup and staging tools to protect your content and avoid catastrophe.

• Introduction
  • About This Book
    • What You Need to Use This Book
    • WordPress Without a Web Host
    • Not Recommended for WordPress.com
  • About the Outline
  • About the Online Resources
    • Errata
• 1. The WordPress Landscape
  • How WordPress Works
    • WordPress Behind the Scenes
    • WordPress Themes
  • What You Can Build with WordPress
    • Blogs
    • Sites with Stories and Articles
    • Catalogs
    • Business Sites
  • The Last Word
• 2. Installing WordPress on Your Web Host
  • Choosing a Web Host
    • Evaluating a Web Host
    • Premium Performance and Managed Hosting
  • Preparing For WordPress
    • Using cPanel
    • Deciding Where to Put WordPress
    • Creating a Subdomain (If You Need One)
    • Understanding the Administrator Account
  • Installing WordPress
    • Installing WordPress with Softaculous
    • Managing a Softaculous-Installed Site
    • Managing Softaculous Backups
    • Installing WordPress with Fantastico
  • Keeping WordPress Up-to-Date
    • Minor Updates
    • Major Updates
  • The Last Word
• 3. Testing WordPress on Your Computer
  • The WordPress Stack
  • Setting Up a Site with Local
    • Installing Local
    • Creating a WordPress Site
  • Managing Your Local Sites
    • Making Multiple Sites and Blueprints
    • Using Live Links
  • The Last Word
• 4. Creating Posts
  • Introducing the Admin Area
    • The Admin Menu
    • The Dashboard
  • Administration Practice
    • Changing Basic Settings
    • Choosing a Starter Theme
  • Adding Your First Post
    • Creating a New Post
    • Browsing Your Posts
    • Delaying Publication
    • Editing a Post
    • Deleting a Post
    • Creating a Sticky Post
  • Organizing Your Posts
    • Understanding Categories
    • Categorizing Posts
    • Using Subcategories
    • Managing Categories
    • Understanding Tags
    • Tagging Posts
  • Working with Several Posts at Once
    • Taking Charge of the List of Posts
    • Deleting a Group of Posts
    • Editing a Group of Posts
  • How to Get High-Quality Web Addresses
    • Choosing a Permalink Style
    • Changing a Post’s Permalink
    • Browsing Categories and Tags Using a Web Address
  • The Last Word
• 5. Choosing and Polishing Your Theme
  • How Themes Work
    • Understanding t he WordPress Year Themes
    • Making Your Theme Suit Your Site
  • Choosing a Theme
    • Visiting the Theme Gallery
    • Installing a New Theme
  • Tweaking Your Theme
    • The Theme Customizer
    • Colors
    • Header Pictures and Logos
    • Background Images
  • Customizing Your Widgets
    • Arranging Your Widgets
    • Changing Widget Settings
    • Adding and Removing Widgets
    • The Calendar Widget
    • The Categories Widget
    • The Tag Cloud Widget
    • The Text Widget (and Custom HTML)
  • Responsive Themes
  • The Last Word
• 6. Making Fancier Posts
  • Simple Text Formatting
    • Applying Bold and Italics
    • Adding Links
    • Formatting Drop C aps, Size, and Background Color
  • Understanding Blocks
  • Using the Essential Blocks
    • Subheadings
    • Separators and Spacers
    • Lists
    • Fancy Quotes
  • Working with More Exotic Blocks
    • Tables
    • Buttons
    • Social Icons
    • Code Listings
    • Showing Part of a Post with a Teaser
    • Dividing a Post into Multiple Pages
  • Managing Your Blocks
    • Jumping f rom Block to Block
    • Moving Blocks
    • See ing the HTML for a Block
    • Hiding Blocks You Don’t Need
  • Creating Personalized Blocks
    • Making a Reusable Block
    • Editing a Reusable Block
    • Using Even More Advanced Reusable Blocks
  • The Last Word
• 7. Adding Pictures, Videos, and More
  • Adding a Basic Picture
    • Pairing Pictures with Content
    • Adding an Inline Image
    • Making a Gallery of Pictures
  • Working with t he Media Library
    • Deleting Pictures from the Media Library
    • Editing a Picture in the Media Library
    • Adding Pictures to the Media Library
  • Adding Featured Images
    • Assigning a Featured Image to a Post
    • Themes That Make the Most of Pictures
  • Embedding a Video
    • Showing a YouTube Video
    • Showing Videos from Other Video Services
    • Premium Video Hosting
  • Playing Audio Files
    • Adding a Basic Audio Player
    • Using a Music-Sharing Service
    • Podcasting
  • Embedding Other Types of Content
    • Adding a Download Link
  • The Last Word
• 8. Creating Pages and Menus
  • Understanding Page Basics
    • Creating a Page
• 9. Getting New Features with Plugins
  • How Plugins Work
    • Real Talk About Plugin Security
    • Plugin Management
    • Activating (and Deactivating) a Plugin
    • Finding New Plugins
    • Installing a New Plugin
    • Keeping Your Plugins Up - to - Date
    • Removing Old Plugins
  • The Jetpack Plugin
    • Signing Up with WordPress.com
    • Turning On Downtime Monitoring
    • Turning On Automatic Plugin Updates
    • Using Jetpack Blocks
    • Creating Slideshows
    • Adding Animated GIFs
    • Building Forms
    • Setting Content for Repeat Visitors
    • Using Jetpack Widgets
  • The Last Word
• 10. Comments: Letting Your Readers Talk Back
  • Allowing or Forbidding Comments
    • Changing Comment Settings for a Post
    • Changing the Default Comment Settings Site-Wide
  • The Life Cycle of a Comment
    • Leaving a Comment
    • Moderating Comments Through Email
    • Moderating Comments in the Admin Area
    • Sanitizing Comments
  • The Ongoing Conversation
    • Threaded Comments
    • Paged Comments
    • Advertising a Post’s Comments
    • Linkbacks
  • Making Comments More Personal with Gravatars
    • The Gravatar Service
    • Signing Up with Gravatar
    • Changing the “Mystery Man” Gravatar
    • Gravatar Hovercards
  • Using Facebook and Twitter Comments
    • Social Logins with Jetpack
    • Requiring Social Logins
  • Stamping Out Comment Spam
    • Understanding Spam
    • Spam-Fighting Strategies
    • Understanding Akismet
    • Setting Up Akismet (with Jetpack)
    • Setting Up Akismet (from Scratch)
    • Using Akismet
  • The Last Word
• 11. Collaborating with Multiple Authors
  • Adding People to Your Site
    • Adding New People to a Site
    • How Users Log In
  • Working with Authors
    • The Post Approval Process for Contributors
    • Post Locking
    • Revision Tracking
    • Browsing an Author’s Posts
    • Adding Author Information
    • Removing Authors (and Other Users)
  • Building a Private Community
    • Hiding and Locking Posts
    • Private Sites
    • Letting People Register Themselves
  • Creating a Network of Sites
    • Creating a New Multisite Network from Scratch
    • Converting an Existing Site to a Multisite Network
    • Your Multisite Network: A First Look
    • Adding a Site to Your Network
    • Understanding How Users Work in a Multisite Network
    • Rolling Out Updates
    • Adding Themes and Plugins
  • The Last Word
• 12. Attracting a Crowd
  • Encouraging Your Readers to Share
    • A Word About Jetpack
    • How Sharing Buttons Work
    • Adding Sharing Buttons to All Your Posts
    • Adding More Sharing Buttons
    • Changing Where Sharing Buttons Appear
    • Letting People Like Your Site
  • Keeping Readers in the Loop
    • Signing Up Subscribers
    • Emailing Subscribers
    • Publicizing Your Posts on Social Media
    • Sharing Your Tweets on Your Site
  • Search Engine Optimization
    • PageRank: Scoring Your Site
    • Finding Your Page R ank
    • Making Your Site Google-Friendly
    • Boosting SEO with a Plugin
  • WordPress Site Statistics
    • Strategy 1. Find Out What Your Readers Like
    • Strategy 2. Who’s Giving You the Love?
    • Strategy 3. Play Well with Search Engines
    • Strategy 4. Meet Your Top Commenters
  • The Last Word
• 13. Editing Themes to Customize Your Site
  • The Goal: More Flexible Blogs and Sites
    • Taking Control of Your Theme
    • How WordPress Stores Themes
    • Style.css: How a Theme Identifies Itself
    • The Theme Editor
  • Protecting Yourself with a Child Theme
    • The Anatomy of a Child Theme
    • Creating a Child Theme with a Plugin
    • Changing Your Child Theme
  • Decoding the Style Rules in Your Theme
    • Decoding a Basic Style Rule
    • Multiple Rules and Media Queries
    • Class and ID Selectors
    • Combining Selectors
  • Changing the Twenty Twenty Styles
    • Puzzling Out the Styles in a Theme
    • Using Fancy Fonts
  • Editing the Code in Your Theme
    • Introducing the Template Files
  • Changing a Twenty Twenty Template
    • Step 1. Find the Template File
    • Step 2. Create a Copy of the Template File
    • Step 3. Examine the Template File
  • The Last Word
• 14. More Tools for Professional Sites
  • Understanding a WordPress Backup
  • Using the UpdraftPlus Plugin
  • Creating an Instant Backup
  • Scheduling Regular Backups
  • Restoring a Site
  • Better Performance with Caching
  • The WP Super Cache Plugin
  • Faster Images with a Content Delivery Network
  • Adding Ecommerce to Your Site
  • A Quick Overview of PayPal
  • Asking for a Donation
  • Introducing WooCommerce
  • Installing WooCommerce
  • Adding Products
  • Showing Products
  • Using the Shopping Cart
  • A Final Grab Bag of Useful Plugins
  • Search for Bad Links with Broken Link Checker
  • Fight Database Junk with WP-Optimize
  • Change How Your Site Looks on Mobile with WPtouch
  • Tighten Security with Limit Login Attempts
  • The Last Word