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WordPress 24-Hour Trainer: Watch, Read, and Learn How to Create and Customize WordPress Sites
Don't let WordPress intimidate you. WordPress 24-Hour Trainer is a unique lesson-based book that walks you through the essential parts of WordPress. Each lesson is streamlined to teach a specific aspect of WordPress, helping you to focus on just what you need in order to get the task accomplished. If you learn better visually, this book provides you with a video to accompany each lesson. This book is the perfect guide to
- GenresNonfictionProgramming
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
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38 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 17, 2022
In order to not waste your time, I'll make this brief: this book is a lousy trainer. If you're looking for training at the basic level, go elsewhere for help. If you're looking for a refresher course, also look elsewhere.
The idea behind training should be to help a beginner, not confound them- and the way you do this is to present step-by-step instructions. But does that happen in this "trainer"? Nope.
Say your web page is all set and you want to create your very first blog post. You go to Chapter Six (Adding a New Post). You're shown how to open the Add New Post screen. So far so good. But before explaining the next step, the author makes his first of several fatal mistakes: he drills down, in this case to the background of how the different elements function. After a couple paragraphs, you're finally told to where to enter a title, though the way the information is presented, you have to intuit that this is the next step. Following this, you're distracted by a reference to permalinks, which is not necessary information, at this point.
The next paragraph refers to the text editor or Post Box, though the box itself is not labeled at all. (More background.) Too bad the author doesn't tell you to enter some content there- especially since this is the next step. No, he'd rather talk about modes and HTML coding, before rushing on to Upload/Insert and Publish functions. The befuddled student skips the next paragraph (about tags and categories), drawn by the promise in the next section's bolded heading, Writing a Post. Finally!
But it's tough sledding. First the Button Bar is explained, then we're hit with this: "Before ... actually entering some text, it's important to say something about the realities of Visual mode." And so off the author goes about WYSIWYG, "to avoid confusion and disappointment." Well, it may already be too late.
On he goes for four paragraphs, talking about style sheets, previews, text editors, spacing, formatting, links, HTML, lists and coding. If the reader hasn't tossed the book across the room by this time, he or she is beckoned on by the next section header: Working with Text.
"Start typing in the Text Editor box"- that area that is not labeled Text Editor. Then the author starts talking about how the Text Editor size can be changed, and how you can keep track of the word count, along with more tips about formatting. After a couple paragraphs explaining new paragraphs and keyboard shortcuts, we finally reach the part about saving your work.
My question is this: why not just give us step-by-step instructions like the following:
1) At top of Admin screen, hover over "New".
2) Select "Post". The "Add New Post" screen appears.
3) In the empty box below "Add New Post," enter the title. Example: My First Job
4) Left-click to place the cursor in the larger empty box (below the formatting icons).
5) Enter the text for the post.
6) When finished adding text, select "Save Draft" from the Publish section on the right side of the screen.
But instead of step-by-step instructions, we're treated to an entire book full of theory and concept-heavy information, the actual steps buried within or beneath jargon.
I intend no malice toward the author. But if he's going to call a book a "trainer," he should structure it as a manual that actually trains. Otherwise, his book is no better than those three-inch-thick doorstop "bibles" Microsoft and others sell to the unwary and uneducated.
The idea behind training should be to help a beginner, not confound them- and the way you do this is to present step-by-step instructions. But does that happen in this "trainer"? Nope.
Say your web page is all set and you want to create your very first blog post. You go to Chapter Six (Adding a New Post). You're shown how to open the Add New Post screen. So far so good. But before explaining the next step, the author makes his first of several fatal mistakes: he drills down, in this case to the background of how the different elements function. After a couple paragraphs, you're finally told to where to enter a title, though the way the information is presented, you have to intuit that this is the next step. Following this, you're distracted by a reference to permalinks, which is not necessary information, at this point.
The next paragraph refers to the text editor or Post Box, though the box itself is not labeled at all. (More background.) Too bad the author doesn't tell you to enter some content there- especially since this is the next step. No, he'd rather talk about modes and HTML coding, before rushing on to Upload/Insert and Publish functions. The befuddled student skips the next paragraph (about tags and categories), drawn by the promise in the next section's bolded heading, Writing a Post. Finally!
But it's tough sledding. First the Button Bar is explained, then we're hit with this: "Before ... actually entering some text, it's important to say something about the realities of Visual mode." And so off the author goes about WYSIWYG, "to avoid confusion and disappointment." Well, it may already be too late.
On he goes for four paragraphs, talking about style sheets, previews, text editors, spacing, formatting, links, HTML, lists and coding. If the reader hasn't tossed the book across the room by this time, he or she is beckoned on by the next section header: Working with Text.
"Start typing in the Text Editor box"- that area that is not labeled Text Editor. Then the author starts talking about how the Text Editor size can be changed, and how you can keep track of the word count, along with more tips about formatting. After a couple paragraphs explaining new paragraphs and keyboard shortcuts, we finally reach the part about saving your work.
My question is this: why not just give us step-by-step instructions like the following:
1) At top of Admin screen, hover over "New".
2) Select "Post". The "Add New Post" screen appears.
3) In the empty box below "Add New Post," enter the title. Example: My First Job
4) Left-click to place the cursor in the larger empty box (below the formatting icons).
5) Enter the text for the post.
6) When finished adding text, select "Save Draft" from the Publish section on the right side of the screen.
But instead of step-by-step instructions, we're treated to an entire book full of theory and concept-heavy information, the actual steps buried within or beneath jargon.
I intend no malice toward the author. But if he's going to call a book a "trainer," he should structure it as a manual that actually trains. Otherwise, his book is no better than those three-inch-thick doorstop "bibles" Microsoft and others sell to the unwary and uneducated.
April 15, 2010
George Plumley, WordPress 24 Hour Trainer (Wiley, 2010)
WordPress has, over the last few years, become one of the dominant forces in blogging software, to the point where users are stretching it beyond its blogging roots and using it for general website design. As such, since 2008, there's been a raft of WordPress books flooding the market. As I write this, George Plumley's WordPress 24 Hour Trainer is the latest, but give it five minutes and another dozen will come down the pike. And therein lies the challenge of writing a WordPress book: what can you do that will make you stand out from the crowd? Most authors specialize in one piece of WordPress (you can find an almost endless number of books on theme design, for example), but Plumley takes a more holistic beginners' approach: how to do everything shallowly, with easy step-by-step instructions. As such, it's a solid reference for anyone who's just starting out with WordPress. I'm sure there are those who will quibble with not enough depth in topic A or a different way to do topic B that Plumley didn't cover, but again, this is an overview. The flip side of that coin is the book's price, which seems way, way over the top for a beginners' overview. WordPress for Dummies can be had, if you compare both at full MSRP, for just over half as much as this book. Because of this, I'm reserved at giving it an outright recommendation, but if you've got the cash to spare, it's worth your time. ***
WordPress has, over the last few years, become one of the dominant forces in blogging software, to the point where users are stretching it beyond its blogging roots and using it for general website design. As such, since 2008, there's been a raft of WordPress books flooding the market. As I write this, George Plumley's WordPress 24 Hour Trainer is the latest, but give it five minutes and another dozen will come down the pike. And therein lies the challenge of writing a WordPress book: what can you do that will make you stand out from the crowd? Most authors specialize in one piece of WordPress (you can find an almost endless number of books on theme design, for example), but Plumley takes a more holistic beginners' approach: how to do everything shallowly, with easy step-by-step instructions. As such, it's a solid reference for anyone who's just starting out with WordPress. I'm sure there are those who will quibble with not enough depth in topic A or a different way to do topic B that Plumley didn't cover, but again, this is an overview. The flip side of that coin is the book's price, which seems way, way over the top for a beginners' overview. WordPress for Dummies can be had, if you compare both at full MSRP, for just over half as much as this book. Because of this, I'm reserved at giving it an outright recommendation, but if you've got the cash to spare, it's worth your time. ***
February 22, 2011
Full disclosure: I've known George Plumley for years. His kids play with mine. You get the picture.
Long before he became a published author, George was a passionate, knowledgeable advocate for WordPress. He introduced me to this amazing content management system and opened my eyes to the world of blogging today. In this book, his step-by-step tutorials (complete with included videos) are always helpful. In fact, this is one of the few books that stays within arms reach of my desk at all times 'cause you never know when there's something new to learn about WordPress.
Long before he became a published author, George was a passionate, knowledgeable advocate for WordPress. He introduced me to this amazing content management system and opened my eyes to the world of blogging today. In this book, his step-by-step tutorials (complete with included videos) are always helpful. In fact, this is one of the few books that stays within arms reach of my desk at all times 'cause you never know when there's something new to learn about WordPress.
April 5, 2010
This book was beyond helpful for a person who is unfamiliar with complicated coding. The explanations were concise and helpful with plenty of visual aids for the visual learner like myself. The dvd that comes with the book is also very helpful as it walks you right through many of the more complicated lessons.
A great intro to Wordpress! I'd definitely buy from this author again if he makes more books on extended features.
A great intro to Wordpress! I'd definitely buy from this author again if he makes more books on extended features.
July 31, 2012
This was 1 of 2 books I purchased as a was WordPress beginner. I especially appreciated the author providing explanations (like why you should make permalinks “pretty”) along with the how-to instructions. The DVD that came with “WordPress 24-Hour Trainer” was helpful as sometimes it’s just easier to watch someone doing something or to check how to do something.
January 6, 2010
A useful book looking at the power of Wordpress in building sites, I would have liked a little more on designing themes
July 1, 2010
This was a great book however it wasn't always clear which chapters were geared towards wordpress.com vs. wordpress.org
The tutorials on the DVD were great and not long-winded.
The tutorials on the DVD were great and not long-winded.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews