Allen Zuk

PLEASE NOTE: THIS WORKSHOP HAS BEEN POSTPONED. A NEW DATE WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN EARLY 2010.

The first workshop in this series is planned for December 14, 2009 at a computer classroom at Bay and Bloor in downtown Toronto. Taking Control of Your Content, Level I will be a full-day, hands-on session for any author who wants to learn how to set up a blog-based website. You will leave the session with a live, functional blog site and one year of basic web hosting, which includes five email addresses, a database for your Wordpress installation, and technical support, among other features. I will show you how to set up an email address, create a database, and install Wordpress in a way that will allow you to implement upgrades quickly and easily.

You must have basic computer skills — you will need to know how to select, copy and paste text, save documents, and have a basic understanding of files and folders. Having said that, I will walk you through every step, and there will be plenty of time for questions throughout the day. You will learn how to write and edit blog posts, tag and categorize content, install social networking and content sharing plugins, and update and maintain your site in a web browser without purchasing any additional software.

There will also be a basic introduction to using custom Wordpress themes and modifying the design of your site to set it apart from all the other free blog sites on the web.

Finally, I will provide documents with all of the most important details so that you have a hard copy to take home with you. And don’t forget, you will receive full technical support after the event.

Attendance at the first event will be strictly limited to 24 attendees and the cost will be $325 + GST for the full-day session. Online registration for this session will be opened to the first 24 people to sign up on the waiting list (the form at right). Once the waiting list has filled up, you will be notified by email of exactly where to go to register.

Q: Do I need to bring anything to the workshop?

A: Just a pen and paper to take notes. Also, before attending the event, you will need to choose and purchase a domain name, and you will also need to ensure that you have access to the DNS settings so that you can change them to point to the server where your site will be hosted. Don’t worry, I’ll show you exactly how to do this. Just be sure you have purchased your domain name with a reputable host. Email me before the event if you need help with this.

Q: Can I bring my own laptop?

A: You will not need to bring a laptop, as computers will be provided. The reason for this is that I need to ensure that the computers we are using are virus-free and pre-equipped with the Firefox browser and a few other simple software tools, all of which are free to download and will work on your Mac OS or Windows laptop. This will prevent any technical delays that may occur otherwise.

Q: Is lunch included?

A: No, but there are many places to eat in the immediate vicinity. Coffee will be served during breaks.

Q: What is Wordpress?

A: From the creators themselves: “WordPress is a state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability.” Put simply, it is an advanced free software program that you can use to build a blog-based website. It is open source, which means that developers all over the world are constantly working on updates to make it better. It has been around long enough now that it is very stable and secure. Please visit Wordpress.org for more information.

Q: Why do I need to install it on a server? Why shouldn’t I just let Wordpress host my site?

A: There are several benefits to installing it on a server. One is, you can use your own domain name (yourname.com) instead of the one provided automatically by the Wordpress site (yourname.wordpress.com).

Installing Wordpress on a server allows you to customize the design and functionality in many ways. There are many free plugins (software add-ons) available that can add all kinds of useful features to your site without doing any programming, and you can use one of many free custom themes available on the web.

Finally, when you are feeling confident enough, installing Wordpress on the server will allow you to eventually customize the code itself. I will be giving advanced workshops on this in the near future, so please sign up for the Clamour Creative Twitter feed to stay informed! To find out more about the differences between a regular Wordpress site and the custom version, click here.

Q: If all the instructions for installing Wordpress are available at the Wordpress.org site, why should I pay you to show me how to do it?

A: Because I find that people tend to learn better when someone walks them through the process. It can be very easy to make mistakes when you are first learning how to set up a database, or edit bits of code, or transfer files to the server, and small mistakes can prevent your site from working at all. Depending on your level of computer knowledge and ability, you may want to go ahead and try it yourself before signing up.

I can also help you customize your site to make it suit your needs as an author. There are many, many Wordpress plugins out there, and I’ve tested some of the best on other authors’ sites already, so I can transfer this knowledge on to you.

Q: Does this mean that I can completely design my own site and make it look exactly the way I want?

A: No. There are many layout and design limitations on Wordpress sites, unless you know how to develop custom Wordpress themes. You will have a certain amount of freedom with regards to colour scheme, and I’ll show you how to prepare your site if you want to have a go at customizing the design. Generally, I recommend hiring a web designer and/or developer if you want a very specific design and layout for your site, especially if it differs greatly from one of the default Wordpress themes.

You may also be interested in one of the many free themes available on the web. The problem is that not all Wordpress versions, features and plugins are compatible with all themes. Also, many themes have the theme designer’s name and contact details in the footer or in the code, which you might not want.

Q: What should I put on my site?

A: You should prepare a list of pages you want to have on your site. Usually, the home page will be your blog, as this is good for search engine rankings. You should also have a bio page, and a page for each of your published works, if any. You may want to type all the content for these pages into your computer, and email it to yourself in a Gmail or Hotmail account so that you can access it during the workshop. Of course, you’ll be able to add pages and content at any time after the workshop, so please don’t feel that you must have a complete site planned out beforehand.

Keep in mind that you’ll also be able to add images, audio and video to your site as well. I’ll show you how to do this in the workshop so that you can add these things later on, as there won’t be time in the workshop for uploading media content.

Q: What if I already have a blog through one the free services on the web, like Blogger or the Wordpress.com site?

A: You may be able to import your content directly into your new Wordpress site. Details will be provided during the workshop. However, you should prepare some content for your new site before the workshop, such as a site launch announcement and a list of pages you’d like to include.

Q: I’m curious about the year of hosting that we receive as part of the workshop fee. How much will it cost me to renew this when the year is up? Do I have to renew to keep my site, or can I move it to another web host of my choice?

A: Currently, the cost of basic web hosting with Clamour Creative is $50 CDN + tax per year. We do not offer general web hosting for just anyone — this is only available to workshop participants and Clamour web design and development clients. You can upgrade your service at any time if you need more email addresses, server space, or other more advanced features. Once the year is up, you are free to cancel your web hosting account with Clamour and move your site to any web host that allows Wordpress. There is a simple “Export” feature built into the Wordpress interface that allows you to do this quickly and easily.

Q: Where is the server actually located? And how do I know that my site will be safe and secure?

A: Clamour hosting is provided in partnership with 100 Megs Web Hosting, a Canadian company, and they perform daily and weekly backups of the server, which is physically located in a Colorado data facility — please visit the Clamour site for details. Also, if you wish, you will be able to back up your site yourself through the Clamour Control Panel, which is a system that you will use to manage your web space and email addresses.

Finally, it will be your responsibility to ensure your Wordpress software is up to date. The software will notify you automatically whenever a software update is available. Don’t worry, the upgrade process is not difficult. I will provide full instructions.

Q: I don’t understand a darned thing you’ve said on this page! I can’t stand technical jargon. Can you translate this for me?

A: Gladly! Give me a call at 416-727-5592 and I’ll answer any questions you have in plain English.