OurGoods

Websites with Wordpress

Last night we made websites with Dan Phiffer, and of course everything about it is on his site.

Dan Phiffer gave a workshop on building websites with WordPress. Here is an outline (with links!) of the topics he covered. The presentation slides are also available as a PDF download and can be viewed online at SlideShare.

1. How to begin
   • What do you need? Links: Dreamhost, NameCheap, WordPress theme directory
   • Web hosting
   • wordpress.com
   • Domain names Link: Instant Domain Search
   • Getting started Link: Dreamhost web panel
2. Demo of how to use wp-admin
3. WordPress themes
   • wpfolio
   • Oulipo
   • Grid Focus
   • Sandbox
   • Theme options Links: WordPress official theme directory, ThemeShaper
4. Keeping things running smoothly
   • How to back up
   • Upgrade aggressively
   • Required plugins Links: WP-Super-Cache, Akismet
   • Customization
   • Run your site locally
5. What to do when things go wrong
   • Remember those backups?
   • Practice restoring from a backup
   • What to do if you get hacked
   • Debugging strategies
   • Where to find help Links: WordPress forums, IRC chat
   • How to find coders

Me: Why did you want to teach at Trade School?
Dan: On a very basic level, it just sounded like fun. These experiments in pedagogy can take on many forms and I liked the particulars of how you’re running things. After taking two workshops (on composting & organizing art festivals) I figured I’d enjoy giving a class as much as I did taking one. I was a bit skeptical of the barter system when I first read about your project on Rhizome. It sounded a little wishy-washy to me. But, having participated in some educational barters, I think it works very well in this context.

Me: Why do you think OurGoods (barter for creative projects) can make the world better?Dan: I think it’s essentially a very subversive idea. You’ve packaged it attractively for “non-activists” without undermining its critical leverage, which is a tricky thing to pull off. I like your approach of doing something temporary and narrowly scoped, while leaving open the possibility of a future continuation. This lends credibility to what you’re doing, that it’s not just this singular art happening with a strictly cultural purpose.
Me: How to you think OurGoods could fail?
Dan: There are many ways things can fail, but I would say getting ahead of oneself is certainly a pressing risk at this stage. I think it’s important to make realistic assessments and not make too many assumptions about those involved, both of organizers or participants.