Wordpress questions?

cosmix3

cosmix3

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Hi,

I am totally new to Wordpress, I have installed a local copy on my PC to get to grips with it, I am now looking to build my site through it but have some questions as follows:

1. Can I build the site off line locally, then upload to my web space, or as it is DB based should I do it all online in my web space. i.e. if I build locally is it just a case of uploading the files in the local directory to the web, or is the DB held somewhere else on my PC?

2. I have installed the Pixel Them (was the one that caught my eye the most), can I change the header message, i.e. Site title and Byline to a logo, if so how easy is it?

Any help on this would be gratefully received, and thanks in advance.
 
cosmix3 said:
Hi,

I am totally new to Wordpress, I have installed a local copy on my PC to get to grips with it, I am now looking to build my site through it but have some questions as follows:

1. Can I build the site off line locally, then upload to my web space, or as it is DB based should I do it all online in my web space. i.e. if I build locally is it just a case of uploading the files in the local directory to the web, or is the DB held somewhere else on my PC?
Click to expand...

Sort of. The database files will contain certain parameters that will be localhost only - such as the url's. If you export the database using phpmyadmin, and then import it on the live server, make sure you do a find/replace inside phpmyadmin to replace all url's. Then go through the control panel and see if everything is ok, see if all the links work.

So it is possible to build offline and export it online, but its a bit tricky :)
 
surrealillusions said:
Sort of. The database files will contain certain parameters that will be localhost only - such as the url's. If you export the database using phpmyadmin, and then import it on the live server, make sure you do a find/replace inside phpmyadmin to replace all url's. Then go through the control panel and see if everything is ok, see if all the links work.

So it is possible to build offline and export it online, but its a bit tricky :)
Click to expand...

Thanks, understand what you are saying, and to be hones don't want that much hassle, so as I have not started on the actual site, just been playing and testing how to do things, I'll start on the actual server copy and save the chance of missing something in the export.

Been working on the site plan, so know what I want (started on paper, did a flow diagram to work out the pages needed), so will give it ago tomorrow if I get time and see how it goes.
 
If you are on windows you can create a local server environment using WAMP. If you're on a mac you can use MAMP.

That'll provide you with MySQL, PHPMyAdmin and Apache server. Build the site locally using that and put live when it's complete. That's how you should be developing any sort of website in my opinion. Never have a development site live, it'll open up all sorts of security issues.

Google for WAMP and MAMP. Both excellent tools and will help you greatly to get a development environment setup on your machine in next to no time.
 
KayJay said:
If you are on windows you can create a local server environment using WAMP. If you're on a mac you can use MAMP.

That'll provide you with MySQL, PHPMyAdmin and Apache server. Build the site locally using that and put live when it's complete. That's how you should be developing any sort of website in my opinion. Never have a development site live, it'll open up all sorts of security issues.

Google for WAMP and MAMP. Both excellent tools and will help you greatly to get a development environment setup on your machine in next to no time.
Click to expand...

Have instaled Wamp, been using that for having a look at it, are the changes to the DB that are needed to export easy to do?
 
Yeah, just like what surrealillusions said. When you're ready to move the local db to the live server you'll need to do a find and replace on the local path and replace all instances of that in the sql dump file with the actual live url of the site.

Remember everytime you upload a file using Wordpress it stores the full url to that file in the database, so all those need to be replaced too. But you can do it in one swoop by just find and replacing :)

Normally when you move a Wordpress site to the live server from a local development environment any issues are usually down to paths being incorrect.
 
Question 1 has been answered.

Question 2, you can change the theme to however you see fit. Go into wp-content > themes > them name > header.php to change anything to with your banner and also to edit the banner styling: same location > style.css
 
Also, to add to what Chris has said, some of the free themes use text from your install to show things in the header. For example some themes use the 'About' field as the tagline in their headers (Settings -> General).

Take some time to look through the theme files and familiarise yourself with the code. It'll come in handy if you want to start doing wholesale modifications to the theme.
 
KayJay said:
Also, to add to what Chris has said, some of the free themes use text from your install to show things in the header. For example some themes use the 'About' field as the tagline in their headers (Settings -> General).

Take some time to look through the theme files and familiarise yourself with the code. It'll come in handy if you want to start doing wholesale modifications to the theme.
Click to expand...

Very true is that.

I've personally found it easier to start from scratch with wordpress sites.
 
Probably a dumb question, but when uploading the DB files, where would I put them, or do I create a DB on the server with the same name and add the tables etc. from a backup of the local, only ask as I cant see any obvious folders to put the DB files in, and in the server Control Panel there is a section for creating DB's but don't see anyway of uploading an existing DB.
 
Um, this may now be a non starter at the moment, just been checking out my Server spec against the required from the Wordpress site, and it is not up to spec :bang:, have had the account quite awhile (read years), so think it is breaks on time until I can speak to them to see if I can be moved to another server account, they were bought out a while back I think, and there new packages under this new name is compatible to the extent that you can auto install Wordpress from there control panel, so will see if I can get on one of those packages.

Edit:

See next post
 
Well my hosts have been better about it than I thought, they are upgrading my server to a newer account (and server), I end-up with it costing the same, but getting more space/traffic in the deal, also Wordpress is what they call a one click application to install, so looks like in relation to question 1 I will be working online (I know not ideal), so once the new server goes live on my domain I can make a start.
 
cosmix3 said:
Well my hosts have been better about it than I thought, they are upgrading my server to a newer account (and server), I end-up with it costing the same, but getting more space/traffic in the deal, also Wordpress is what they call a one click application to install, so looks like in relation to question 1 I will be working online (I know not ideal), so once the new server goes live on my domain I can make a start.
Click to expand...

You can build your site around the default theme, whilst you've added your content/pages etc. You can be developing your new theme, in which once tested and know it will work, you can switch themes.

Hope that helps?
 
Chris Taylor said:
You can build your site around the default theme, whilst you've added your content/pages etc. You can be developing your new theme, in which once tested and know it will work, you can switch themes.

Hope that helps?
Click to expand...

Thanks, yep helps, and confirms what I was thinking, I will be looking at geting the Site live with the Pixel Theam and tweak a local copy of the templates, and test localy before changing the server copies (if that makes sense).
 
cosmix3 said:
Thanks, yep helps, and confirms what I was thinking, I will be looking at geting the Site live with the Pixel Theam and tweak a local copy of the templates, and test localy before changing the server copies (if that makes sense).
Click to expand...

Certainly does.

Have fun & enjoy it.
 
Quick update, my new server is live and I have started putting the site together :D
 
Great stuff, if you need any help in developing, just drop me a message. Happy to help.
 
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