COAP:COAP-3110/week4: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 17:54, 27 September 2016

Week 4 learning goals

Initial configuration of WordPress
Theme selection
Relational dabase principles, including looking at the table structure of Wordpress (if time left)
(more .... TBA)

Monday Part I

... finishing the basic installation, preparation of next steps

Hands on- Worpress installation

In principle, each participant does have a running wordpress

Installation problems:

Wrong database name
Wrong database user and/or password name
file permissions (will happen when you move to a provider, change permissions)

Apache/PHP configuration:

Your web server and PHP configuration may have "low values" for execution time, memory use and upload file size. In particular, if you work with a slow USB stick, installation procedures may require more time. You can edit these values in the configuration files that you can get in the XAMPP console:

Not enough memory for PHP (php.ini)

memory_limit = 256M

Not enough execution time, often due to slow memory stick/computer. You may need as much as 600 seconds)

max_execution_time = 600

File upload size must be changed in both Apache and PHP in in several places, e.g. see this stackoverflow Q/A

Hands on - Selecting themes and configuring the layout

Discussion

Think about your term project
Selecting the the (skin) should be based on several criteria, at least: usefulness, usability and appropriate looks.
Discussion about User experience and user experience design
Explore various WordPress sites, e.g. from https://wordpress.org/showcase/

Things to do in class (ask your neighbor or the instructor for help)

Select a theme: Dashboard -> Appearance -> Themes
Please configure the theme, including a picture: Use the "Customize your Side" link from the Dashboard.
Add two static pages and make sure that they show up in a menu
Add two stories.
Add an Atom/RSS widget: Dashboard -> Appearance - Widgets

Wednesday Part I - Term project and web hosting

10 minutes catch-up for Monday hands-on activity: Theme installed, configured, pages created, menu changed.

Hands on - Identify a provisional project

Short discussion of term project ideas

Read COAP 3110/term project

PHP/MySQL/Apache hosting

Be prepared to move you sever from the USB stick to a hosting company (ca. week 6 or 7)

Contents moved: See week 6 program

A very short introduction to relational databases

Relations between tables (Wiki article)

WordPress Database description (see the picture) and Tour of the WordPress Database (by Iain, 2015, includes a more understandable list of tables and fields and a better schema)

Wednesday part II - WordPress plugins

Using WordPress plugins

Please read:

Plugins (Codex.wordpress)
Managing Plugins (in particular, read installing plugins)
Official WordPress Plugins Repository

Hands on - installing a picture gallery

(1) Installation steps

Go to Plugins > Add New.
Search for "gallery" or "photo gallery"
Install one gallery plugin. Before you do so, click on "more details" !

There exist many comparisons on the web, e.g. read 8 of the Best Gallery WordPress Plugins Compared

(2) Create a gallery and make it available

Create a gallery and a few pictures (at least 2)
Create a page that includes a gallery. Usually, a gallery can be added through the HTML editor

(3) Compare with your fellow students

Is the plugin intuitive ?
Is it useful with respect to your needs ?
How many other people installed this ? What are the ratings ?
Is the documentation well done and easy to find ?

Hands on - installing another plugin

Find, install and configure another plugin of interest.

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+<categorytree mode="pages" depth="1" style="float:right; clear:right; margin-left:3px; border:1px solid gray; padding:0.7ex; background-color:#f9f9f9;">COAP 3110</categorytree>
+[[Category: COAP 3110]]
 == Week 4 learning goals ==
@@ Line 57: / Line 59: @@
 '''Be prepared to move you sever from the USB stick to a hosting company''' (ca. week 6 or 7)
-Free hosting exists (see below). Prices for low cost hosting start around 3 Euros / month, but you have to add fees for a domain name to that if you want your own.
+'''Contents moved''': See [[COAP:COAP-3110/week6|week 6 program]]
-Well-known free (read the fine print)
-* [http://www.host-ed.net/ Host-ed] (free, without domain name)
-* [https://www.awardspace.com/ AwardSpace] (free, without domain name)
-* [https://www.000webhost.com/ 000webhost] (free, without domain name). Test site used by the instructor: http://coap3110.comuf.com/
-You can search the web for alternatives, e.g. read [http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/web/top-free-hosting-for-uk-businesses-1214296 TechRadar], but be careful. Cross-check information about a provider.
-Well-known cheap, HostGator is best according to [http://uk.pcmag.com/hostgatorcom/880/review/hostgator-web-hosting PC Mag]
-* [https://www.hostpapa.eu/ HostPapa] (3 Euros/month)
-* [https://www.godaddy.com/ GoDaddy] ($4-5 / month)
-* [http://www.hostgator.com/ Hostgator] (3.5$ / month), also cheap dedicated hosting for $80/month
-Recommended local (Geneva, Switzerland)
-* [https://www.infomaniak.com/en Infomaniak] (10 CHF / month). Probably one of the best in that range (quality/speed)
-* [https://www.hostpoint.ch/en/ HostPoint] (10CHF/month, 30 day trial)
-'''Domain name registration'''
-* Most hosting companies will provide that service
-* You many check if they are [https://www.icann.org/registrar-reports/accredited-list.html accredited with ICANN] (i.e. first-level registrars)
 === A very short introduction to relational databases ===