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I weant to learn Wordpress design

by cvaughn
12 replies
and layout as well as graphics for headers ebook covers etc.. What are the tools I am going to need and what course or courses or is there someone here who would want to teach these things. Thank You
#design #learn #weant #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
    Originally Posted by cvaughn View Post

    and layout as well as graphics for headers ebook covers etc.. What are the tools I am going to need and what course or courses or is there someone here who would want to teach these things. Thank You
    Well, some photoshop would be a preferable software to invest in.

    You can create or buy scripts for photoshop which can aid you in doing ebook covers and the like.

    For Wordpress themes you are going to probably learn how to create with CSS and PHP.

    You can go to youtube and get some video tutorials if you type in specific words to search.

    It is a bit of software/learning curve to cover.

    There are some paid membership sites to join to take classes for these things online, or if you are in the US you can look for community college courses or continuing education to learn live.

    When I first got photoshop, I did a weekend course to get the basics down - which gave me enough confidence to navigate around the software. I think I paid $160 or something for it?
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    • Profile picture of the author jeskola
      Originally Posted by avenuegirl View Post

      Well, some photoshop would be a preferable software to invest in.

      You can create or buy scripts for photoshop which can aid you in doing ebook covers and the like.

      For Wordpress themes you are going to probably learn how to create with CSS and PHP.

      You can go to youtube and get some video tutorials if you type in specific words to search.

      It is a bit of software/learning curve to cover.

      There are some paid membership sites to join to take classes for these things online, or if you are in the US you can look for community college courses or continuing education to learn live.

      When I first got photoshop, I did a weekend course to get the basics down - which gave me enough confidence to navigate around the software. I think I paid $160 or something for it?

      I would recommend Fireworks over Photoshop - photoshop is for manipulating photos, Fireworks is Adobes web design software. Much easier to design sites with... People opnly use photoshop to design sites with as a legacy thing - back in the day there wasn't a web design software as such so people used photoshop - adobe releases image ready to handle web design which was a flop. Macromedia developed Fireworks which was pretty crappy until Adobe bought them and plugged in some features of photoshop. Download the free trial of Frieworks - very simple, very powerful.

      You'll need an HTML editor also... DreamWeaver is pretty good. But expensive.
      Your going to have to understand basic PHP, a good understanding of HTML and CSS also.
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  • Profile picture of the author ladida
    Sounds like you want to learn graphic design and HTML. ...and PHP and stuff like that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Istvan Horvath
    Originally Posted by cvaughn View Post

    I want to learn Wordpress design and layout as well as graphics for headers ebook covers etc.. What are the tools I am going to need and what course or courses or is there someone here who would want to teach these things. Thank You
    No, I don't think you would find anybody that wants to teach you ALL that stuff.

    One of the three bolded tasks should be enough to start with.

    "WordPress design" if you meant coding a WP theme is not as much graphic thing as you'd think. It is XHTML and CSS on a high level! Some basic understanding of PHP doesn't hurt, either. If you can not make a simple XHTML/CSS page... then you will have difficulties doing a WP theme. This is not to discourgae you, just being realistic!

    You see, I can code a custom WP theme anytime - but I don't touch the graphic design part. I just outsource it. I hate to mess around with graphics

    And, finally, ecovers have nothing to do with WordPress.

    Basics:
    W3Schools Online Web Tutorials (to learn XHTML, CSS)
    Site Design and Layout « WordPress Codex (WP design)

    Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author jtrag
    This should be a great starting point for you:

    Theme Development « WordPress Codex

    I hope this helps!

    -James
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  • Profile picture of the author Roy Penrod
    Just starting out, you might want to consider GIMP instead of Photoshop. It's got a lot of the same features, but it's a free open-source program.

    Here are some GIMP tutorials for you to check out.

    You can find more by googling "GIMP tutorials".

    Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Roy Penrod
    The quickest way I've found to learn these kinds of skills is to give myself little projects and complete them.

    For example, you can come up with a name for an imaginary business and create the website for it.

    Just break it down into little projects like creating the layout, the header, and the buttons.
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    • Profile picture of the author Shaun OReilly
      There's a cool tutorial over a Lynda.com on how to
      design a WordPress theme by Chris Coyier:

      WordPress 3 Tutorials | Creating and Editing Custom Themes (no affil.)

      Here's a video of the what's in the course:

      WordPress 3.0: Creating and Editing Custom Themes (no affil.)

      You can get access to some great tutorials on many
      softwares for just $25 per month without obligation.

      Dedicated to your success,

      Shaun
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      • Profile picture of the author Stefan Vee
        Learn HTML first. It's pretty easy if you're motivated to learn it.
        One of the best books on the subject is this one:
        HTML, XHTML, and CSS VQS 6th Edition Book
        Now, once you know HTML, it's time to jump into css.
        There's nowhere to start with css. You have to jump into it and browse many forums to solve a wide variety of problems related to the interpretation of modern browsers. Only "time" makes you proficient with css. It's not as easy as HTML, but again, if you're motivated you will succeed.
        Graphic design? ... It's time to learn photoshop. Lynda.com has one of the best online tutorials I have ever seen. Trust me ... you will need something like that. Photoshop ain't easy at all without a good tutorial.
        Okay, now Wordpress. You need to understand that Wordpress is a php platform that produces HTML. Because you already know HTML, you will quickly see the big picture. It's time to learn some very basic php skills now, but if you have a "logical" mind, you won't find that to be a problem. You certainly don't need to be a php expert. You will use the css stylesheet to design your Wordpress themes (float and clear is very important)
        Good luck!
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        • Profile picture of the author Roy Penrod
          You definitely want to learn HTML, CSS, and some basic PHP before you start trying to create your own Wordpress theme.

          When you're ready for it, you might want to check out "Build Your Own Wicked Wordpress Themes". It's a solid introduction to building your own theme as a child theme.

          A child theme lets you "borrow" the function of another theme and then customize a part of it.

          StudioPress has an article on their website that explains child themes a little better than I can:

          An Introduction to Child Themes

          There's also an article series over at ThemeShaper that explain how child themes work:

          How to Modify Wordpress Themes the Smart Way

          I know it's tempting to dive into the deep end, but try to focus on just learning the HTML and CSS until you get it down. You'll be glad you did the first time you try to touch a Wordpress theme.
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  • Profile picture of the author cvaughn
    Thank you all. I would have no idea where to look. Are there plugins or widgets for the bigger social buttons(rss, facebook, etc.). Also, is the easiest way to have the optin form to add a text widget and drop the code in there?
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