Here are my notes and explanations of my Principles of Implementing WordPress. (See the original blog post.) The result is useful and to the point, and a bit tech-oriented boring. It’s not something you have to read beginning to end. In fact, it’s better to pick and choose what you want.
So I created a clickable mind map as a way to quickly read any section in any order. There you can click the headlines for notes and explanations. Find the link to that page below. First, let me start with the introduction.
Introduction
WordPress correctly publishes websites so they can be read by search engines and humans, redesigned easily using existing content, and tweaked with plugins, themes, and child themes. It is open source software, and very good software for its purpose. It’s designed to allow anybody to change how it works in virtually any way. The “right” way is open to what anybody wants to do. It depends on priorities and purpose.
When site owners plan their sites, they might not know the priorities and specifications to consider. They are often limited to a visual review and a few buzz words that are current at the time. They miss some important factors: site speed, long-term updates, asset management, re-designability, usefulness of content, shareability, and more.
Some themes and plugins undermine some best practices. Overlaying another system (like a page builder) usually undermines some beneficial WordPress features and tends to slow a site. Careless use of plugins can cause the same problems.
That’s where these principles come in.
Each headline is, in essence, an item in a checklist. Sub-headlines comprise a checklist for the higher headlines. Some of the items need extended explanations. Some need a note or two. And that’s what you find here, some explanations and some one-line notes.
All headlines and sections are related because they are relevant to managing a website on any system (Wix, GoDaddy, Square, etc.) and WordPress in particular. But one section doesn’t necessarily lead to the next. In that sense, each section is independent. For some sites, one section is a priority, for other sites, another section.
How to Use the Principles
- Use the whole set as criteria to be weighed for the benefits and trade-offs.
- Prioritize them for your site.
It takes some technical expertise to understand the difference between good and bad implementation. This doesn’t explain every technical detail, but it’s a guide for asking questions and evaluating short- and long-term criteria.
Here’s the mind map image.
Find the clickable Principles of Implementing WordPress here.
Invitation to a Conversation
These principles are a work in progress. I have my approach to developing websites. Others have their own ways that are just as good or better. I’d love to hear from other WordPress developers and site owners. And I’d love to hear from anybody who uses these principles or the clickable mind map.
- What else should be on the list?
- What should be altered?
I welcome ideas, corrections, opinions, or telling me I can blow it out my #$x.
If you have any ideas, please send me a message at this link.
