ltr: Vol. 47 Issue 3: p. 61
Chapter 5: Resources
Kyle M. L. Jones
Polly Alida-Farrington
Abstract

Sometimes all that librarians need to start choosing their content management system is a great resource list. In this chapter, the authors break down several varying lists they've created in doing over a year's worth of research, social networking, and presenting at WordPress's own WordCamp conferences.
Kyle's and Polly's Delicious Bookmarks

Every site we perused, every plugin we tested, every theme we admired was bookmarked to help us keep track of our research and organize our topics. There was a lot to cover on WordPress, and we just scratched the surface in this publication. For even more resources we left out, consider taking a look at our Delicious accounts, where we bookmarked over 500 sites and created over 200 tags combined.

Bloggers

The WordPress community is full of individual bloggers who share the expertise and experiences working with WordPress. Some bloggers in this list are core contributors to WordPress and have firsthand knowledge on the technical details of the software and what's on the developmental horizon.

Books

In our research, we identified several texts among the many out there that proved helpful in writing this publication and in grasping some of the more difficult technical concepts of WordPress. Not all WordPress books are created equal, but these are equally great.

Technical Books

  • Hal Stern, David Damstra, and Brad Williams, Professional WordPress: Design and Development, Wiley Publishing, ISBN 978-0-470-56054-9.
  • Aaron Brazell, WordPress Bible, Wiley Publishing, ISBN 978-0-470-93781-5.
  • Thord Daniel Hedengren, Smashing WordPress: Beyond the Blog, Wiley Publishing, ISBN 978-1-119-99596-8.

User Guides
  • Stephanie Leary, Beginning WordPress 3: Make Great Websites the Easy Way, Apress, ISBN 978-1-4302-2895-0.
  • Chris Coyier and Jeff Starr, Digging into WordPress, self-published, http://digwp.com/book.
Community Sites

Like the individual bloggers aforementioned, there are several sites where WordPress aficionados and beginners alike gather to talk WordPress. Explore their communities and vast resources to answer your questions and help you find your own WordPress community of preference.

  • CodePoet http://codepoet.com Automattic's list of WordPress consultants available for hire.
  • Facebook WordPress Group www.facebook.com/WordPress The official WordPress page on Facebook. This is a page for news updates only. Members can comment on official posts, but can't start discussions.
  • WordPress on LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=154024
  • A very active group with over 7,000 members. WordPress Jobs http://jobs.wordpress.net A list for those looking for someone to do some custom coding or whip up the plugin you're dreaming of. Post your job needs here.
  • WordPress.com Support http://en.support.wordpress.com The place to start to find answers to lots of common questions on WordPress.com. Includes links to the support forums.
  • WordPress.org Support Forums http://wordpress.org/support The main support forum for self-hosted WordPress sites. Lots of discussion of plugins and themes. With nearly 500,000 topics, this can be a daunting place to navigate. Use the search feature!
  • WordPress Tavern www.wptavern.com/forum Plays host to over 1,000 active members and 2,000+ threads. It's a diverse community of plugin developers, theme creators, and WordPress users.
  • WPCandy http://wpcandy.com A welcome addition to the WordPress community. In 2010 this site changed hands and was reinvigorated. Includes personal interviews and best-ofs, and how-to posts are common and well-written.
  • WP Questions http://wpquestions.com A good repository of questions and answers. To ask a question, though, you need to set the price that you'll offer for the best answer.

Mailing Lists
Lists

If you prefer to keep track of the WordPress talk via e-mail, there are a few select lists provided by Automattic. While most lists are geared toward developers of WordPress, questions and comments of any kind are usually fielded. Check out the wp-edu mailing list for excellent discussions on the use of WordPress for educational purposes. Get direct access to the lists at http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo.

Popular Posts

There were some posts that we kept on returning to over and over again and others that we just think are brilliant. These posts come from a variety of resource types, sites, and people.

Premium WordPress Resources
Plugins

There's a premium plugin market for WordPress that is absolutely extraordinary. Generally, premium plugins usually aren't costly—up to around $50—but are packed full of functionality. And nearly all premium plugins we've come across have personalized support built in to the price.

Themes

Even if you aren't interested in premium themes, we highly suggest you take the tour of these sites to see to what extent the masters of theme design are pushing the limits of WordPress. It's almost like viewing fine art in that the visual experience is inspiring and sometimes unforgettable.

Theme Frameworks

If you're in a library camp where you're thinking about designing your own theme, we highly recommend considering a theme framework. These are bare-bones themes visually, but are packed with functionality. It would simply be up to you to give them the color, imagery, and branding you prefer.

Podcasts

Keeping track of all the latest and greatest WordPress news is tough to do via RSS feeds and general site surfing. But taking your news to go in audio version is a little bit easier. Check out the podcasts below for great interviews and insights from community members, core developers, and even Matt Mullenweg himself from time to time.

Article Categories:
  • Information Science
  • Library Science

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