About the Authors -- Contents at a Glance -- Table of Contents -- Introduction -- About This Book -- Foolish Assumptions -- Conventions Used in This Book -- What You Don't Have to Read -- How This Book Is Organized -- Icons Used in This Book -- Where to Go from Here -- Book I: WordPress Basics -- Contents at a Glance -- Chapter 1: Exploring Basic WordPress Concepts -- Introducing the World of Blogging -- Understanding Blogging Technologies -- Using WordPress as a Content Management System -- Chapter 2: Exploring the World of Open Source Software -- Defining Open Source -- Understanding WordPress Licensing -- Applying WordPress Licensing to Your Projects -- Chapter 3: Understanding Development and Release Cycles -- Discovering WordPress Release Cycles -- Keeping Track of WordPress Development -- Downloading Nightly Builds -- Chapter 4: Introducing the WordPress Community -- Finding Other WordPress Users -- Users Helping Users -- Discovering Professional WordPress Consultants and Services -- Contributing to WordPress -- Participating in Live WordPress Events -- Chapter 5: Discovering Different Versions of WordPress -- Comparing the Two Versions of WordPress -- Hosting Multiple Sites with One WordPress Installation -- Discovering WordPress VIP Services -- Book II: Setting Up the WordPress Software -- Contents at a Glance -- Chapter 1: Understanding the System Requirements -- Establishing Your Domain -- Finding a Home for Your Blog -- Chapter 2: Using File Transfer Protocol -- Introducing FTP Concepts -- Setting Up FTP on Your Hosting Account -- Finding and Using Free and Easy FTP Programs -- Chapter 3: Introducing PHP and MySQL -- Understanding How PHP and MySQL Work Together -- Exploring PHP Basics -- Trying Out a Little PHP -- Managing Your MySQL Database -- Chapter 4: Installing WordPress on Your Web Server -- Installing the WordPress Files.

Chapter 5: Configurations for Optimum Performance and Security -- Discovering the Configuration File -- Using a Caching System for Speed and Performance -- Editing Files and Testing Performance with WordPress Tools -- Chapter 6: Upgrading WordPress -- Getting Notified of an Available Upgrade -- Backing Up Your Database -- Upgrading WordPress Automatically -- Upgrading WordPress Manually -- Chapter 7: Backing Up, Packing Up, and Moving to a New Host -- Migrating Your Existing Blog to WordPress -- Moving Your Web Site to a Different Host -- Book III: Exploring the WordPress Dashboard -- Contents at a Glance -- Chapter 1: Logging In and Taking a Look Around -- Logging In to the Dashboard -- Navigating the Dashboard -- Chapter 2: Customizing Your Dashboard -- Arranging the Dashboard to Your Tastes -- Finding Inline Documentation and Help -- Creating Your Own Workspace -- Chapter 3: Exploring Tools and Settings -- Configuring the Settings -- Creating Your Personal Profile -- Setting Your Blog's Format -- Chapter 4: Managing Users and Multiple Authors -- Understanding User Roles and Capabilities -- Allowing New User Registration -- Adding New Users -- Editing User Details -- Managing a Multi-Author Site -- Chapter 5: Dealing with Comments and Spam -- Deciding to Allow Comments on Your Site -- Interacting with Readers through Comments -- Managing Comments and Trackbacks -- Dealing with Comment and Trackback Spam -- Tackling Spam with Akismet -- Chapter 6: Building Link Lists -- Organizing Your Links -- Displaying Link Lists on Your Site -- Chapter 7: Creating Categories and Tags -- Archiving Content with WordPress -- Creating and Editing Tags -- Book IV: Publishing Your Site with WordPress -- Contents at a Glance -- Chapter 1: Writing Your First Post -- Composing Your Blog Post -- Refining Your Post Options -- Creating Your Own Workspace for Writing.

Chapter 2: Examining the Difference between Posts and Pages -- Understanding the Difference between Posts and Pages -- Creating the Front Page of Your Web Site -- Adding a Blog to Your Web Site -- Chapter 3: Uploading and Displaying Photos and Galleries -- Inserting Images into Your Blog Posts -- Inserting a Photo Gallery -- Chapter 4: Exploring Podcasting and Video Blogging -- Inserting Video Files into Your Blog Posts -- Inserting Audio Files into Your Blog Posts -- Podcasting with WordPress -- Keeping Media Files Organized -- Chapter 5: Working with Custom Fields -- Understanding Custom Fields -- Exploring the Custom Fields Interface -- Adding Custom Fields to Your Template File -- Exploring Different Uses for Custom Fields -- Chapter 6: Using WordPress as a Content Management System -- Creating Different Page Views Using WordPress Templates -- Creating a Template for Each Post Category -- Pulling in Content from a Single Category -- Using Sidebar Templates -- Custom Styles for Sticky, Category, and Tag Posts -- Working with Custom Post Types -- Optimizing Your WordPress Blog -- Book V: Examining SEO and Social Media -- Contents at a Glance -- Chapter 1: Exposing Your Content -- Understanding the Three C's of the Social Web -- Making It Easy for Users to Share Your Content -- Determining Where You Need to Participate -- Finding Influencers -- Leveraging Twitter for Social-Media Success -- Engaging with Facebook -- Chapter 2: Creating a Social-Media Listening Hub -- Exploring Reasons for a Social-Media Listening Hub -- Exploring Different Listening Tools -- Creating Your Own Personal Monitoring Mix -- Editing the Dashboard to Create a Listening Post -- Chapter 3: Understanding Analytics -- Understanding the Importance of Analytics -- Exploring the Options to Track Data -- Understanding Key Analytics Terminology.

Signing Up and Installing Google Analytics on Your WordPress Site -- Using PostRank with WordPress -- Chapter 4: Search Engine Optimization -- Understanding the Importance of Search Engine Optimization -- Outlining the Advantages That WordPress Presents for SEO -- Understanding How Search Engines See Your Content -- Optimizing Your Blog under the Hood -- Researching Your Niche -- Creating Search Engine Strategies -- Chapter 5: Exploring Popular SEO Plugins -- Exploring Must-Use Plugins for SEO Best Practices -- All in One SEO Pack -- XML Sitemap Generator for WordPress -- Redirection -- Yoast Breadcrumbs -- WP-Page Navi -- Robots Meta -- Book VI: Customizing the Look of Your Site -- Contents at a Glance -- Chapter 1: Examining the Default Theme: Twenty Ten -- Exploring the Layout and Structure -- Customizing the Header Image -- Customizing the Background Color -- Including Custom Navigation Menus -- Enhancing Your Web Site with Widgets -- Chapter 2: Finding and Installing WordPress Themes -- Getting Started with Free Themes -- Understanding What to Avoid with Free Themes -- Installing a Theme -- Exploring Premium Theme Options -- Chapter 3: Exploring the Anatomy of a Theme -- Starting with the Basics -- Understanding the Stylesheet -- Exploring Template Tags, Values, and Parameters -- Creating New Widget Areas -- Examining the Main Index and The Loop -- Examining Other Template Files -- Customizing Your Blog Posts with Template Tags -- Putting It All Together -- Chapter 4: Customizing Your Theme -- Changing Your Background Graphic -- Changing Your Header Graphic -- Personalizing Your Theme with CSS -- Understanding Basic HTML Techniques -- Changing Basic Elements for a Unique Look -- Finding Additional Resources -- Chapter 5: Understanding Parent and Child Themes -- Customizing Theme Style with Child Themes.

Modifying Theme Structure with Child Themes -- Preparing a Parent Theme -- Chapter 6: Digging into Advanced Theme Development -- Getting Started with Advanced Theming -- Adding New Template Files -- Adding Theme Support for Built-In Features -- Adding Support for Custom Taxonomies -- Exploring Theme Options -- Chapter 7: Using Theme Frameworks to Simplify Customization -- Understanding Theme Frameworks -- Discovering Popular Frameworks -- Common Framework Features -- Customizing Theme Frameworks -- Book VII: Using and Developing Plugins -- Contents at a Glance -- Chapter 1: Introducing WordPress Plugins -- Extending WordPress with Plugins -- Getting Started with Popular Free Plugins -- Chapter 2: Installing and Activating Plugins -- Installing WordPress Plugins via the Dashboard -- Manually Installing Plugins -- Upgrading Plugins -- Activating and Deactivating Plugins -- Uninstalling Plugins -- Chapter 3: Exploring Plugin Options and Settings -- Discovering Global and Page/Post Specific Settings -- Advanced Plugin Configuration -- Widget Settings -- Setting Up a Test Site -- Finding Technical Support -- Chapter 4: Modifying Existing Plugin Code to Your Liking -- Troubleshooting Plugin Problems -- Locating Plugin and Theme Conflicts -- Exploring Plugin Interaction with WordPress -- Identifying Functions within a Plugin -- Identifying Functionality and Output -- Editing Plugin Files -- Chapter 5: Creating Simple WordPress Plugins from Scratch -- Understanding Plugin Structure -- Creating Your First Plugin -- Fixing Problems -- Filtering Content -- Creating Shortcodes -- Adding Widgets -- Building a Settings Page -- Chapter 6: Exploring Plugin Development Best Practices -- Attending to the Basics -- Creating a readme.txt File -- Internationalizing or Localizing Your Plugin -- Chapter 7: Plugin Tips and Tricks -- Using a Plugin Template.

Making Your Plugin Pluggable.