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Lynda.com WordPress

Simone and Building WordPress Themes from Scratch Using Underscores

Over the past few weeks two major releases took place, and now it’s time to talk about them:

First, the new free WordPress theme Simone announced my re-entry into the free WordPress theme space. If you’ve been following me for a while you know I’ve released free WordPress themes before and you may also know that I pulled them all last year because I wanted to bring my themes up to current standards. Simone is that and more. Which I’ll get to in a bit.

Secondly, my biggest lynda.com course to date titled WordPress: Building Themes from Scratch Using Underscores was released, and with it lynda.com subscribers can now learn how to build their own WordPress themes to be standards-based, accessible, responsive, and content-centric.

Interconnections

So why am I announcing both these releases with one blog post you ask? The answer is simple: The course, WordPress: Building Themes from Scratch Using Underscores, shows you how to build your own version of Simone, the theme that was released at the same time. Yes, that’s right: The lynda.com course walks you through the entire process of designing, developing, and building the theme that is now free from the WordPress Themes Directory.

Now that you know why, let me tell you a bit more more about both the course and Simone.

Building Themes from Scratch Using Underscores

WordPress: Building Themes from Scratch Using Underscores - a lynda.com course

One of if not the most requested future course I’ve been asked to build at lynda.com was a course on developing themes from scratch. Every week I get emails, tweets, Facebook messages, and messages on this blog asking about how to go from a design or an idea to a full-fledged functioning WordPress theme. So as 2014 began I started working on a new and expansive course that did just that: Took a design and built a full-fledged WordPress theme from scratch.

During pre-development of the course I decided merely building a theme for show wasn’t enough. I wanted the course to go beyond showing basic practices to show the process of building a shippable product. And to top it off I also wanted the end result to be accessible, translatable, responsive, and in accordance with the latest design and development patterns and standards. The result was the theme named Simone which will be covered later.

For the course I decided to use _s (Underscores) as the baseline. Building a WordPress theme from scratch from scratch makes no sense and _s is in my opinion the best starter theme available and the one all developers should be using. Considering its popularity there is scarcely any expansive documentation on how to use _s to build WordPress themes so I built the course as a deep-dive into the _s theme as well as the process of building themes from scratch. Whether you are an aspiring developer or a seasoned pro with experience with _s I am certain you will find a wealth of useful information in the course that will help you utilize the theme in a more effective way and build better, more responsive, and more accessible themes in the process.

Which brings me to Simone itself.

Simone – a Free, Responsive, Accessible, Content-first WordPress Theme

Simone - a free, responsive, accessible WordPress theme from Morten Rand-Hendriksen

My first thought when designing Simone was to find new solutions to the old problems faced by theme designers and developers: Where do you place the sidebar so it doesn’t interfere with the content? How do you make menus accessible? How do you incorporate social media links in a consistent way? How do you make the theme truly responsive? And easy to read on all screens? And easy to customize?

Starting with a clean slate I made a series of decisions: The theme should meet accessibility guidelines, the content should be in the center of the screen whenever possible, featured images should be responsive, the user should be able to add a social media menu using the standard menu manager, and the grid should be broken to utilize the space available on larger screens.

The result was something I have yet to see anywhere else (yes, I should receive an award for being humble): A theme that puts the content (literally) front and center and locks the sidebar to the right-hand side of the screen. This feature is only really visible on very large screens and it is one that I hope will be adopted by other theme developers in the future. With Simone the visitor is not forced to turn her head to the left to read the content on large screens, and the sidebar never interferes or fights for the reader’s attention. All as it should be.

The theme is full of advanced features:

  • Control of the header background color and link colors
  • Option for adding a header background image or displaying just an image as the header (or displaying no header at all)
  • Optional social media menu in the main menu area that shows social media icons based on the URLs each menu item is pointing to
  • Pagination navigation on index pages
  • Responsive featured images using the <picture> tag
  • An optional author box on single posts and author index pages (triggered by filling out the Author Bio field)
  • Optional integration with the WordPress SEO plugin to add social media links to authors from the Author Profile page
  • Pull quotes and pull images that break out of the content grid when the screen width allows it
  • Dynamic font sizes that change according to the window width
  • Accessibility standards throughout
  • HTML5 captions and galleries
  • and much more

You can get a full rundown of the features and functionalities of Simone by checking out the dedicated page for the theme.

Simone is for Everyone

Simone was built to be used, shared, changed, and evolved. To that end you can get the theme either by building it yourself while following the WordPress: Building Themes from Scratch Using Underscores course at lynda.com, by downloading it directly from the WordPress Themes Directory, or by downloading, forking, or contributing to it on GitHub.

If you have any additions, features, or alterations you want to add or want me to add to Simone you can either submit an issue, a feature request, or a pull request on GitHub. The theme is in constant evolution and development and I will evolve it in accordance with what you the user wants. Speak up and ye shall be heard!

Over to you!

Now that you’ve been introduced to Simone and WordPress: Building Themes from Scratch Using Underscores, I want to hear what you have to say both about the theme and the course. Say your piece in the comments below and let’s get the conversation going!

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Lynda.com WordPress

WordPress Essential Training – fully updated course on lynda.com

Learn WordPress with WordPress Essential Training with Morten Rand-Hendriksen from lynda.com

Hot on the heels of the Start with a Theme: Twenty Fourteen course comes the release of the second course I recorded over the Christmas holiday: The full update of WordPress Essential Training for version 3.8.

My first ever course with lynda.com was WordPress Essential Training back in 2010, and this new edition is the third remake of the course. The new course highlights new features in WordPress 3.8 and provides an updated approach to learning and mastering WordPress. If you want to learn how to use WordPress to its fullest, WordPress Essential Training is the place to start.

From the website:

WordPress powers millions of blogs and websites. Learn how to create your own with this powerful publishing platform. Staff author Morten Rand-Hendriksen will help you get the most out of the self-hosted version of WordPress and create feature-rich blogs and websites. Morten explains how to create and publish posts and pages; customize your site with themes, widgets, and custom menus; and extend WordPress even further with plugins. What’s more, Morten will show how to get more readers with social media sharing and comments, and adjust the settings that keep your site safe and secure.”

Topics covered include:

  • What is WordPress?
  • Installing and running WordPress
  • Publishing posts and pages
  • Using page templates
  • Inserting images, video, and other media
  • Editing posts
  • Changing themes
  • Installing plugins
  • Adding other users
  • Securing your WordPress site

Whether you’re new to WordPress or just want a refresher or  you want to get a clear picture of the changes found in version 3.8 you will find what you are looking for in this course. So go check out WordPress Essential Training and get your WordPress site started for the new year!

If you don’t already have a lynda.com subscription you can get a 7 day free trial by following this link: lynda.com/trial/mor10

 

Categories
Lynda.com WordPress

Start with a Theme: Twenty Fourteen – new course on lynda.com

Learn how to use the Twenty Fourteen theme for WordPress in this lynda.com course by Morten Rand-Hendriksen

Get the most out of the new Twenty Fourteen magazine-style theme that ships with WordPress 3.8 with my new lynda.com course Start with a Theme: Twenty Fourteen. This new theme has a lot to offer if you know how to use it properly, and in the course I take you through all the features, functions, and weird side effects of using this theme.

From the site:

“All great WordPress sites start with a great theme. Twenty Fourteen is the default: a new, magazine-style theme with a heavy focus on images and content. In this quick course, Morten-Rand Hendriksen walks through the setup and configuration of Twenty Fourteen, and then helps you get the most out of advanced options such as the featured content grid or slider, custom menus and sidebars, and featured images.

If you’ve updated to WordPress 3.8 you have Twenty Fourteen installed already and it’s worth a good look. So go check out Start with a Theme: Twenty Fourteen and get your WordPress site started for the new year!

If you don’t already have a lynda.com subscription you can get a 7 day free trial by following this link: lynda.com/trial/mor10

Categories
Lynda.com

Foundations of UX: Logic and Content – new lynda.com course

Foundations of UX: Logic and Content - new lynda.com course with Morten Rand-Hendriksen

How can we communicate clearly through design and development? That is the question I attempt to answer in my latest release from lynda.com titled Foundations of UX: Logic and Content. The course looks at communication, web design, and User Experience through the prism of philosophy to find out how we communicate and also how we can use logic and common sense to create meaningful user experiences and ensure that the message we try to communicate is received as intended.

More than just an introduction to logic and how humans and computers use it to understand the world this course outlines the foundational mindset I myself use whenever I approach a project, whether it be in design, development, or even project management or music. In preparing for the course I took a step outside myself so to speak to identify where and how my background in philosophy impacts the way I do things. The result is a course quite unlike anything I’ve ever done before that draws equally from philosophy and design and development practices to present a different way of thinking about what we create and how we create it. 

I would like you to watch this course more as a conversation than a list of techniques handed from me to you. The examples and ideas in the course are meant to spark (even in some cases provoke) further discussion both in your own mind and also with your colleagues, friends, and family, and help you rediscover communication in its purest form. And once you’re done watching, I’d love to take part in that conversation and take it further. So watch the course and leave your thoughts and ideas in the comments below and let’s explore logic, content, and communication together!

From the course description:

Foundations of UX: Logic and Content looks at how designers, developers, and content creators can use the ancient art of logic and reasoning to improve user experiences and facilitate communication. Morten Rand-Hendriksen looks at the principles of logic, how computer logic and human logic differ, and how these differences can be used to improve communication.

The core idea of logic is to create a system in which communication is clear, precise, and unambiguous, which is (or at least should be) the goal of any website or other communication.

Topics include:

  • How humans communicate
  • Comparing human and computer communication
  • Speaking logically
  • Using logical arguments
  • Understanding the limits of computer logic
  • Formatting information for humans
  • Communicating with logic
Categories
Lynda.com

Start with a Theme: Twenty Thirteen – new course on lynda.com

All new and totally free! The new Start with a Theme: Twenty Thirteen course from Morten Rand-Hendriksen and lynda.com is here!

Hot off the presses my latest lynda.com course Start with a Theme: Twenty Thirteen walks you through all the features of the new default WordPress theme released earlier this summer. Twenty Thirteen is blog-centric and focusses heavily on Post Formats. This short course shows you how to use the theme to its fullest and how to get the most out of the advanced Post Formats. If you are a blogger looking for a new look for your site, Twenty Thirteen may well be the way to go. Check out Start with a Theme: Twenty Thirteen on lynda.com  and see if the new default theme works for you.

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Lynda.com

WordPress Plugins: SEO – new course on lynda.com

SEO is a much talked about and often misunderstood topic for web designers, developers, and bloggers alike. In my new course WordPress Plugins: SEO I demonstrate how you can use two popular WordPress SEO plugins, All In One SEO Pack and WordPress SEO by Yoast, to boost SEO and social sharing on your WordPress site without turning to alchemy.

This is a short and straight to the point course that will get you up and on your way in just about an hour flat. It is also the first course in my WordPress Plugins series on lynda.com which I am very excited about. If you have any plugins or plugin-type tasks you want to learn more about, let me know in the comments and I’ll put it on my list for a future course.

But for now, get your SEO in order with WordPress Plugins: SEO!

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Lynda.com

Blogging for Your Business – new course on lynda.com

Tasked with creating a blog for your business and don’t know where to start? Look no further than my new lynda.com course Blogging for Your Business. Whether you are creating a blog for a large company or for your own business this course will help you set up and execute a plan that will make your blog part of your business and marketing strategy.

In creating the course my primary target audience was the person in a large company who is tasked with creating a blog because “that’s what everyone is doing these days”. It focuses on planning and strategy as well as how to make the blog part of the business and the overall marketing strategy and even how to find value in something a lot of people imagine as a waste of time and resources.

Blogging for Your Business is a course focussed on planning and strategy. This was done because it is usually the planning and strategy part of the process that is left out when a new business blog is built. The course takes you through the planning process of creating a blog as part of your business marketing strategy. In it I provide a structured approach that divides the planning process into discrete stages, each with its own tasks and decisions. Through the course you are presented with key decisions, best practices, and expert advice that make you better informed and more equipped to build a blog that helps boost your business and its presence online. The course also shows how to set goals, delegate responsibilities, find a content niche, recruit contributors, and how to make technology decisions.

This is my first live action course and from a planning perspective it is also the most complex course I have created and I am very excited that it is now available for the world to see.

Watch the course and join the discussion about how to blog for your business!

If you do not have a lynda.com account already and you want to know what we’re all about, go to lynda.com/trial/mor10 for a free 7 day trial.

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Lynda.com

WordPress Ecommerce: Easy Digital Downloads – new lynda.com course

Hot on the heels of the release of WordPress Ecommerce: Core Concepts and WordPress Ecommerce: WooCommerce comes my third course in the series: WordPress Ecommerce: Easy Digital Downloads.

While WooCommerce is a full fledged ecommerce platform for WordPress, Easy Digital Downloads (or EDD for short) is built to sell digital products and services only. This means a drastically simplified user interface, no shipping options, and easier tax handling. If you want to sell digital products online Easy Digital Downloads is a great place to start.

Ecommerce in WordPress has long been at the top of my list of new courses to make at lynda.com and the release of this course along with the precursor WordPress Ecommerce: Core Concepts make this a reality.

Be sure to watch the WordPress Ecommerce: Core Concepts course before embarking on this new course, and I recommend you also check out WordPress Ecommerce: WooCommerce to see what a more built out platform has to offer.

If you do not have a lynda.com account already and you want to know what we’re all about, go to lynda.com/trial/mor10 for a free 7 day trial.

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Lynda.com

WordPress Ecommerce: WooCommerce – New lynda.com course

Did you know you could use WordPress to set up a full fledged ecommerce site? With WooCommerce you can, and my latest lynda.com course, WordPress Ecommerce: WooCommerce shows you how.

Ecommerce in WordPress has long been at the top of my list of new courses to make at lynda.com and the release of this course along with the precursor WordPress Ecommerce: Core Concepts make this a reality.

Want a simple way to make an ecommerce site that is easy to use, robust, and has almost endless opportunities for expansions? Look no further than WordPress Ecommerce: WooCommerce. And remember to watch the WordPress Ecommerce: Core Concepts course first to get a clear picture of what is required and what decisions you have to make before embarking on this adventure.

If you are looking to sell digital products and services only, check out WordPress Ecommerce: Easy Digital Downloads as well.

If you do not have a lynda.com account already and you want to know what we’re all about, go to lynda.com/trial/mor10 for a free 7 day trial.

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Lynda.com

Start with a Theme: Video Blogs in WordPress – new lynda.com course

Want to build a video blog in WordPress but don’t know where to start? Look no further than my new lynda.com course Start with a Theme: Video Blogs in WordPress. The course looks at best practices around adding videos to and creating a video blog with WordPress and features three themes that make your videos shine: Twenty Twelve, Origami, and Sundance. The course is just under one hour long and gives you a complete runthrough of all the features of the three themes as well as tips on how to use them for the best results possible when posting videos from sites like YouTube and Vimeo.

The SWAT (Start With A Theme) series is an ongoing project to showcase different themes and the way you can use them to create cool WordPress sites the easy way. Other courses in the series include

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Lynda.com

Installing and Running WordPress: BitNami – New lynda.com course

The last (for now) course in the Installing and Running WordPress series in the lynda.com Online Training Library was just released: Installing and Running WordPress: BitNami.

The course is a detailed walk-through of how to use BitNami to install and run WordPress on any Windows PC or Mac. Topics covered include how to install BitNami and WordPress and make them work together, how to access and work with WordPress and its files while running under BitNami, and how to back up your content from BitNami so you can uninstall it without losing all your work in the process.

Having WordPress installed natively on your computer makes experimenting with and building things for WordPress much easier and is an important tool in your WordPress toolkit. Installing and Running WordPress: BitNami is now available, so go check it out and let me know what you think!

This course is part of the Installing and Running WordPress course series. Other courses available include:

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Lynda.com

Installing and Running WordPress: WebMatrix – New lynda.com course

Part three of my new Installing and Running WordPress series is now out. The new course, called Installing and Running WordPress: WebMatrix is now available in the lynda.com Online Training Library and focuses on how to use Microsoft’s free WebMatrix 2 application to install and run WordPress on any Windows computer. WebMatrix is more than just a server environment for WordPress to run in: It’s also a code editor that makes it easy to write code for WordPress, so if you want to try something new, it is worth a look.

Having WordPress installed natively on your computer makes experimenting with and building things for WordPress much easier and is an important tool in your WordPress toolkit. Installing and Running WordPress: WebMatrix is now available, so go check it out and let me know what you think!

This course is part of the Installing and Running WordPress course series. Other courses available include: