WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world with over 61 million installations. You do not need to have strong technical skills to use WordPress. It is designed with simplicity in mind and can be used by almost anyone.
Lesson 1 covers some of the most common and sometimes confusing terminology that new WordPress web site owners will run into. All of these topics are covered in the video. Watch the video for more information about each term.
Header – The top of a web page. It is also sometimes called a banner. The header frequently contains the site’s logo, top navigation bar, and anything else a web site owner wants to include in this section.
Footer – The lower most section of a page. Not all web site have footers, but most do. The footer typically includes a few navigation links to privacy policies and terms of use pages, as well as a copyright statement. Some WordPress footers have widget areas that allow a site owner to easily manage footer information.
Top Navigation Bar – This is typically part of the header and may or may not exist in your WordPress theme.
Content Area – The most important part of a page. The content area contains the information and images that visitors are looking for.
Sidebar – An area, or multiple areas, on the left or the right on a page that commonly contain navigation menus and advertising. Some web pages my not use a sidebar.
Theme – A set of PHP and CSS scripts that determine the design for a WordPress site. A theme is comprised of between 20 and 4o scripts that lay out the page designs for a site.
Core File – Core files are the heart of WordPress and contain most of the functionality that is built into WordPress. These files should not be modified by theme designers or developers. They are maintained by the WordPress development team and are periodically replaces as WordPress is updated to newer versions.
Plugin – A small group of files that adds functionality to a site or modifies the functionality of the core files. There are over 20,000 free plugins currently found in the WordPress plugin directory.
Dashboard – The home page for the administrative area where a site owner or editor ads or modifies web pages. The dashboard contains a range of links and information that are deemed important for web site owners.
Meta Box – A region of a page in the administration area that contains related information. Many meta boxes can be turned on or off, which allows a user to modify the administration pages.
Screen Options – A special section in the administration area where certain meta boxes can be turned on by applying a checkmark to a selection, or off by removing a check.
Nag Tag – A notice that appears near the top of the administration pages when a newer version of WordPress is available.
Page – Used for web pages that are not assigned to categories.
Post – Used for web pages that are assigned to one or more categories and are part of the automated category menu system.
Permalink – Stands for “permanent link”. A permalink defines the look of the URLs for a web site. The permalink format is determined when the site is built and should not be changed.
Widget – Another type of code module that provides administrators with drag and drop functionality for customizing sidebars, footers and other “widget ready” sections of WordPress.