Enter the Guide to EV Impact

Tag: Site Management

  • Building Custom Themes

    There are many easy ways to manipulate and customize your websites landing pages, post pages, and overall the whole entire user interface. Themes can be made custom, and it allows the author or website creator to be in the pilot seat when it comes to the presentation, the layout and the navigation of the website. Even if the premade or template versions of some themes are available, custom themes offer a tailored, human-made, and controllable way to present your website. There are multiple ways to display your theme, and the best way is to try it out and gain experience with it.

    3 Ways to Develop a Theme for WordPress Websites:

    1. Customization of an existing theme:
    • Great for beginners
    • Is the most user-friendly and saves time because the theme is provided
    • Limited customization from the creator and user customization settings
    • Great for a professional appearance without a new design or custom function

    2. Child Theme:

    • The parent theme must be installed first
    • Preserves customization when the parent is up to date.
    • Requieres maintenance
    • More flexible and complex than the basic theme settings, but reduces the work of building everything from scratch

    3. Custom Theme From Scratch

    • Unlimited Customization
    • You get to learn the architecture of your website
    • Developer is responsible if something breaks
    • Developers have security and compatibility with WordPress features, but this should be reviewed before development
    • More initial work is required, but more freedom to do as you imagine.

    What Files Do I need for WordPress?

    Classic:

    • Style.css

    Used to define everything in terms of style, which is the color, spacing and layout rules that your page follows.

    • index.php

    index.php is the fallback template when you are using WordPress, and it includes information to display the posts and loop it

    • content.php

    This file holds reusable code to display the content in a post. It is consistent and makes it easier to update how posts are displayed by editing the template part instead of multiple templates.

    Block

    • theme.json

    This file is used to define themes and styles similar to CSS; it displays the color, spacing, and block design language.

    • index.html

    Index is the main fallback template and uses WordPress blocks or, in some cases flex boxes to arrange the website’s layout.

    • mp3/mkv/mp4 files

    Mp3s are audio recordings that can be used as content in your website. MP4s are video files, and MKV is another type of video file that can be included as content in your folder to your website.

  • My Website Theme

    Choosing a theme for our websites can come in handy especially because successful websites have eye-catching aspects of their websites that reel in their audience. Colors, typography, and the navigation of the website are important when displaying our content because they can give off a relaxing space for viewers, and they will organize our information clearly. I chose Twenty-Twenty Five for my theme because I thought it was more modern and more professional for my line of work.

    Where Can I Find Themes?

    The best way to accumulate themes is through these different resources:

    • WordPress Appearance Tab: Through WordPress, you are able to find multiple themes if you click on Appearance and then find the theme that you like. You have the ability to compare and preview designs, and you do not have to download anything. You can also find these themes for absolutely free, and they are sustainable.
    • Downloadable themes: If you go to WordPress.org, you are able to find downloadable themes that are secure and compatible with WordPress, and you can install the theme directly from the admin dashboard

    Downloading a theme

    I activated my theme through the WordPress Appearance; however, if you need to download the theme,

    Classic

    • style.CSS- This allows theme information, names, and version to be displayed, and CSS style rules are applied to style the website.
    • Index.php- This displays the content on the website and is the template

    Basic Block

    • style.css — Identifies theme custom CSS if it has any.
    • .templates/index.html — The fallback template that is used during WordPress block markup.

    My Decision Matrix

    Comparing all 3 themes was tricky because they were all really good, but one stood out simply because of past reviews and also the customization that allowed it to surpass the other themes. I chose to do it on price, sustainability, and whether the theme could be used on a mobile interface. They are important because they allow me to customize my website based on the purpose of my website, and mobile usage allows me to give mobile users a chance to visit my site without having to use other means of access.

    • Twenty Twenty-Five —The block theme with many different style variations and would look really good on portfolios and infomrational websites.
    • Astra — The most performance-focused and responsive design and had the most building tools on the theme.
    • Neve — Designed for websites and blogs but also has a history of being used in business.

    After comparing, I found that the most universal theme for any website is the Twenty Twenty-Five theme. I feel like with this, the layouts are super adaptable, and the variations make it practical when choosing what types of fonts, so I don’t have to stick to one font or style. The theme is also free through WordPress, so there was no download or file hassle to deal with. Likewise, I do not need to write all the code to adjust the theme and it was really easy to understand.

    Installing My Theme

    I used the WordPress dashboard to install my themes, and the way that you have to do that it by going to Appearance in your WordPress admin. Then navigate to Themes to add a new theme. Once you select your theme, press Activate to install your theme. Then you are able to customize it when you go back into Appearance and then hit Customize next to the theme of your choice. This way I do not have to download, manually update, and install my theme. Manual methods can break if you do not understand what you are doing, and finding things can be a hassle if you have a lot of things on your pc or unorganized files.

    Appearance → Themes → Add New Theme

  • My Website Security and Users

    Website security is essential to the WordPress admin because if we are attacked, we have sensitive information stored in our admin panels that is at risk of being used against us. Hackers can add harmful code and redirect users to unsafe websites which will look bad in our names. We can protect our websites through strong passwords. Passwords should be hard to guess and complex, with multiple letters and combinations of characters. That way, it is way more difficult for people to gain access to our websites. SSL’s also are very helpful because they encrypt connection between the website and visitors. SSL uses HTTPS, which is more secure as well. Security plugins as well also provide great protection, and I am using Wordfence Security, which can be found in WordPress plugins. Wordfence is great because when something needs attention, it can block suspicious visitors and protect the website from common attacks, adding additional protective layers.

    Users

    I would assign different roles depending on the job that the person needs to execute. Obviously, granting access and full access to everyone is not optimal because the risk of security is quite high, and giving everyone some sort of administration also causes imbalances in power and imbalances in what players can do. Giving administrator to someone would be someone that I would trust with the well-being of my website. An editor would be able to edit and publish different posts, but this role would not be as important as an administrator since they lack certain abilities that administrators have. Authors would be able to write and publish as well, and I would use this for those who contribute regularly to their articles or blog posts. Lastly, subscribers would have the most limited access, as they should not be accessing my website if I do not have any prior knowledge of them or have spoken to them before. Trusting strangers with my website is not safe.

  • Blast Off with Jetpack!

    Jetpack may be a bit confusing at first, but in short, it’s a collection of tools that allows the administrator to manage security, website statistics, file sharing, and site performance. This way, our websites stay healthy and safe from any threats. It is worth mentioning that it is interesting that Jetpack offers modular layouts, and it’s important when admins need to tweak specific things on their websites instead of every feature being equal.

    Jetpack Stats

    Jetpack Stats is a great way that you can monitor your website’s statistics and lets you view trends on how your viewers interact with your website based on content within your website and how you set it up. As a site owner, it’s important to note that different types of content appeal to others, but there is a standard as to which ones will stand out from website to website. If one post receives more views than another, it would be helpful to understand which one actually was the one that had the views so that, in future posts, you are able to emulate that type of posts with the changes that you added based on how the older website performed.

    Jetpack Social

    Jetpack Social is a way that allows WordPress content to be shared between the visitors of the website and the owner of the website. It’s helpful when a new post doesn’t mean that everyone who might be interested will see it anyway. New articles are promoted through the connected platform, and that saves time by not having to paste a new blog post or article into different media accounts.

    Jetpack Protect

    Jetpack Protect is awesome because of built-in protection and other tools that aid in our website’s security. Even if the website is not selling anything, it can still be a victim of cyberattacks, and it’s important to make sure that our site visitors are protected, as well as the owner of the website, so that no malware is found and we are protected from future threats.

  • What I Learned About Categories and Tags

    There are differences between tags and categories and how we use them in WordPress. To start, Tags are often considered very specific attributes here on WordPress that describe specific and individual topics within a post. Whereas a Category is used to organize posts into different sections of posts or topics. This way, as opposed to a tag, bloggers’ posts are organized into larger groups of posts. Both tags and categories are important when using wordpress and, allowing editors to critique your post and making your post more appealing to those that have interest in your blog.

    I plan to use tags and categories to help spread awareness of specific situations but also to separate my studies from other bloggers. Categories will help when I apply the main or general idea of my blog and broader concepts within my post. One way I thought of putting this into action was that I could use different categories to help distinguish EV vehicles and combustion engines. Tags will also aid my viewers in searching for very specific and catered subjects that pique their interest. Whether they are into cars in general or into batteries, and also spreading awareness of pollution and sustainability, my posts must be organized. This way, it is easier for other bloggers and my viewers to find specific and relevant information.

    Both tags and categories allow us to use WordPress in a way that allows for information to be found conveniently and helped me organize my website from others and especially centers it around the topic of EVs and their environmental impact here on planet Earth.