Exploring the WordPress Potentials, Part II!

Assignment #10 (details are below)

Welcome Back!

Class recording from today – 11/29/22 – 

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/l8wpNl147egQsCg3KEe76Rh_p0X8PgWrsJQODFlRTMovFPj5FBO7lkPeNHSs3DZM.cVhH1_3rS53E4135

Passcode: A0^w5.u4

Let’s get a bit more specific with WordPress and begin to apply intentional context to our website design. Last week we started setting up our new websites by simply discussing the potentials of the visual design creation and experimentation process.

Let us now talk about how to set up new pages, and how to add those pages to the main navigation menu. We will discuss the navigation menus locations and what their functions were. We will look at the footer space and adding widgets in the footer areas. We also took a peek into “plug-ins” and installing plug-ins (especially the Classic Editor for the similar blogging experience we see on the ct101 site for writing our posts) and the differences between pages, posts & categories.

This is quite a bit of information and I highly suggest that you re-watch the class video tutorial from last week for the practice of retaining the new skills that were shared and displayed. I do this very often myself as I find it super helpful for being able to replicate a new skill or technique.

This all takes regular practice and a bit of openness to experimentation in general. How did you do with your experimenting last week? What did you work on? You can leave a comment below on this post and share the link to your new site :))) – WordPress is a very intuitive piece of software, and it wants your creativity! Let’s continue forward. I will be sharing a new series of demonstrations with WordPress this week.

Assignment #10 – Details – Let’s begin populating our new websites by publishing a new blog post there this week. Thats right, You will be publishing a new post there and also “cross-posting” that information here on CT101 as well. There is an efficient way to cross-post content across WordPress websites. I will show you how.

Lets say you just published a great new blog post on your new website and you also want to share it with your classmates / community here on the CT101 website. (You can! Its easy)

Step 1 – is to publish the new blog post on your website. Remember, every blog post has its own unique URL that can be later shared on other places and space on the Internet.

An example of cross sharing your post on may be done in a new post on CT101 that reads:

————

Your Blog Post Title (all blog posts need a great title!) 

(insert an image – GIF – Meme – Quote – or some kind of related media)

“Dear Fellow Readers – I just published a new blog post here on my website: http://yourwebsitename.com, (make sure to hyperlink the post url) please come and check it out and feel free to engage in some fun dialog. Thanks so much”

————

This is a very minimal example above but perhaps just a title and a link is not that interesting? We need a bit of compelling energy to draw the reader from CT101 over to your site. So make this interesting and creative!

**This Week’s Blogging Assignment Prompt for Assignment 10**

Publish a NEW blog Post on YOUR new website, the post can be about anything that you wish that has direct context to your new website’s stated intentions (what your site is being used to promote and share.) After publishing the post, create a new blog post here on CT101 that shares a synopsis of your new post from your website that will entice and grab our attention, be sure to include the direct URL as a hyperlink to the new blog post.

PS – WordPress is really vast and there are many many tutorials out there for “WordPress beginners” – Perhaps YouTube is a helpful source for finding some new resources outside of class? Of Course! Here is one, but feel free to share links to others that you have explored (add the link to the comments section below.)

This week we are registering our domain names. I first started by cicking the reclaim hosting link in the assignment #8 directory. It led me to this page –>

I then enetered a name I thought of in my previous post  and suprisingly it was availible.

And registered my domain name.

I went to the Cpanel and clicked on wordpress…

I then clicked intall.

I changed the admin Information. Then finalized the intallation.

This is where I was taken –>

… and this is my website–>

.

Domain names….

Im using G0daddy to see if the names I come up with are availible.

And it turns out I did not come up with certain names because evey name I look up seems to already exist.

This made me think of a domain titled anoriginalidea.com, where people can come and check if their ideas exist already or are infact orignal… the only thing is… it already exists.

Untill next time..

Setting this up was very easy although I attribute it to our professor and his infinite patience XD.

Because I went into this process already knowing what domain name I wanted to use (see previous blog post), the rest was just following along with the step-by-step process we were being taught. Since I was one of the people that attended this class in person, I don’t have screenshots of the process, unfortunately. I do, however, remember most of the steps. It started with us going on to reclaim hosting and choosing our domain name. which was easy.

 

 

I’m not very good with naming things, lot of my art pieces aren’t titled, and if they are they’re usually given very basic names unless I’ve thought of something very good.

But surprisingly it was pretty easy for me to title my site ‘ethanedwardsdotart’ however I’ve also considered using “ethanedwards.art”, “ethanedwards.comic”, “ethanedwardsdotcomics”, and “ethanedwardsdotcenteral”. 

I mainly considered these names because they are all part of my personal brand. My Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and other social media platforms are given that name. 

I want to use this site to consolidate all my work but not in the same way I use my portfolio but more in a way that a streaming service like Disney+ would consolidate their work.

Unlike Disney+, my work will still remain on other platforms. I won’t post illustrations on this site, mostly comics and other things. 

Hopefully, without the restrictions of webcomic hosting sites, I can post my stories in high quality and even with limited censorship and alterations. 

I’m pretty excited about this, I’ve been meaning to do this for a while because, in the event that my work is unavailable on those sites, I need a place where I can have them up. 

It’s almost like a contingency plan incase maybe these sites go down or I get locked out of my account.

I can also monetize my website and have ads on my site without having to wait for the platforms on that I post my work to give me eligibility for monetization.

this is the part where we get funkyyyy!

We are making websites. i knew this day would come. the domain name I chose is the name of my first Facebook. It is pretty clever. my name, Precious, is a word so i named my Facebook, Precious Precious.

Some other names i thought of were Preciousy.com but it was taken. i also thought of Pstyles but that was taken too.

On my website i have a couple ideas of what id like to post, but I’m still not sure which to choose.

The domain i chose was preciousprecious.com

I am thinking of posting blogs like how I do on this platform. blogging has become fun for me and I am glad to have learned how to do it.

Ironically enough, I know picking a domain name was supposed to be something that most people take time to deliberate on. However, my name was picked before we even registered our websites XD.

Did anyone else use a known nickname they already have? 

I think most people who are avid video gamers are used to having multiple names or alias’. I just chose one of my PlayStation account names for my domain name because it was already one I liked and am used to using. It’s called Dreamlessbehavior, and the reason why is that it was my smurf account. I wound up enjoying it so much that I played on it more than I slept, thus the name Dreamlessbehavior. However, there were other possible choices I thought of for a bit before settling.

There were a few other names I could’ve gone with, the first one is probably the most obvious I could’ve used my real name. It is probably good practice to use your real name for websites and such especially for those of us that want to be in the creative field as a career in the future but, it’s just something I’ve never been 1000% comfortable with. An alias always made more sense to me so I typically stick with either that or a nickname.

The next thought I had was to use one of my nicknames. I normally tell people they can either call me D or Avionne because it ends up being easier since my name is a bit unusual. They are both nicknames I’m used to but in the end, I didn’t go with them because they still felt too personal and I almost wanted the user to experience a detached personality without a real-life name attached to it. Weird I know….. XD.

Lastly, I was left with my OG PlayStation name, Lionel, and the name I did go with, Dreamlessbehavior. Lionel is the name I’ve had for my account since 2013 when I got my first PlayStation. Everyone always thinks that it’s supposed to be similar to Lionel Richie but in reality, I was a kid with no internet who didn’t know how to spell Lion-O from the Thundercats correctly XD.

With all that in mind, I came to the conclusion that Dreamlessbehavior is probably my favorite nickname so that is the one I chose for my website. In the long run, it’s a better name and to me, it sounds better, it will also match the theme of my website. Once that was settled all there was to worry about was my theme and let me tell you I was excited about that. Did you already have a theme in mind? If so is it more personal or professional?

I already knew I wanted my website to be more like my Tumblr when I was 15/16. Absolute chaos with little to no cohesion that represents my most random thoughts and the things that I’m into!!! Chaos can be so much fun when used in a design, I feel like people underestimate just how cool it can be. when done right (in my unbiased opinion of course). Of course, I’ll have my CT101 assignments mixed in so it’ll be almost like a massive page of self-expression.  It also might not look exactly like what one would think chaos looks like. For example, two websites that are considered some of the worst consumer websites are Wayfair and Papersource.

When looking up why they have a bad design most would say that there’s too much on the screen and no hierarchy. I for one love it and they may seem a little old (similar to catalogs) but imagine that instead of gift boxes, trees, and wreaths you see memes, gifs, and youtube videos. That is the space I strive to have where there is no visual hierarchy or specific theme in mind, just a mashup of everything and anything. Now it is time for me to start thinking of how to bring my mashup of a website together!!

Ciao…. for now.

So… Its time to reflect on everything so far this semester…

Right now, I think I am doing just alright in this class. I am a bit behind on my blog posts and struggling a bit with procrastination. I am going to use this break to be up to date-with what we are doing in class. So far, however, I do feel that I am learning new things. One thing is different Writing styles in blogging. For instance, for Assignment 4, my style of writing was more on the informative side than in previous weeks.

Also, I feel more well-equipped to understand different storytelling tools and how to use them fully. We learned in class how to make our own animated gifs, of course, but it is not only that, I appreciate the opportunities we have to venture out into new tasks, like the mmm. page assignment.

Now, what grade do I think I’m maintaining in this class?…

I am actually not quite sure. Right now, I am missing one assignment before this assignment, the mmm. Page assignment (I’m currently working on it), and assignments 7 and 8. Based on the posts I have published and am working on, I see my blogging expanding in terms of writing style. I will say I can definitely work on proofreading my blogs before posting them. That is the feedback I received. And I went back to look at my work and realized it was rough draft material.

I do comment on my classmate’s posts, but I should comment more frequently. I know this is a hybrid class, but I mostly view classes on zoom. I will definitely attend class in person more often to be able to participate in our lessons. I think that will keep me more up-to-date with my posts.

Reflecting on my reflection, I do see that I have some work to do, and I look forward to getting it done.

The WordPress Customizing Series, Part 1!

Week #11 – WOW!

**Don’t start this process until we meet in class on 11/22 please – thank you!!

Class recording from 11/22

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/V8ZPZesN1JrOfnFprwIrkmjMWKLBFW1KHZd6IRwrnEyIdegdcsKJ7Q9JqCvKRsdb.UaUBN-PtjQlRRBoZ

Passcode: .&e^9k1@ 

Assignment #9 – > (blogging details below)

This week in CT101 we will be focusing on getting everyone set-up with their new websites! The coupon code that you need was sent last week to your York college e-mail address (e-mail me if you did not receive it).

By now, many of you got started, you have a new domain name, a web hosting account, and a blank / default website framework ready to be customized and stylized! I’ll be helping here with the customizing process of WordPress. This part will have multiple aspects to it. There is a lot to share, create, experiment with and test. The process is fun and will take a few weeks as you make several aesthetic and functionality decisions about how you would like your website to look. This will all play out in context to “how” you plan to use your new website. Not only as a new site owner, but looking into the future as well.

So, how will you be using your new website?

Assignment #9 – This week let’s dig into some of the customizing features that WordPress offers as we begin to design our new websites.

What will you work on first? Will you create a series of new pages? Will you remove default content from your theme? Customize the home page? Publish a blog post? Will you create a category or two? Changes colors?

Let’s publish a NEW blog post (it can be after the holiday this week, please enjoy the break!) that shares a narrative statement about your process and discoveries, as well as HOW you will be using your new website as we go forward. You can publish this post on the CT101 class site. Please don’t forget to embed various pieces of media (images, screenshots, gifs, hyperlinks) and also share contextual content to help expand your post. 

**For example, there are many video tutorials on YouTube that share “how-to” videos for beginners, or customizing videos for the theme that you may be using, this is context 🙂

I will continue to make and record class videos and also share some helpful curated content from the Internet. We will be discussing HOW we will all be using our websites individually, just to mention again 🙂

But WAIT! You cant do anything above unless you have done this: -> Domain Name Registration, Hosting Set Up & WordPress Installation! <— Please read this important post to get started! (from last week)

Im going to focus on using one of the popular WordPress themes called:  “Twenty-Twenty-One” rather than the default one that comes with the latest WordPress installation (Ill share the tutorial on how to do this) – WordPressthemes are extremely versatile and are great for WordPress newbies and beginners. I highly suggest that you consider using the theme that I share. All themes are different, and many of them out there promoted on the Internet are not free (plus, its always helpful to start with a theme that has a good amount of video documentation that already exists.)

More to come!

PLEASE E-MAIL me and say hello, let me know how I can help you! rseslow@york.cuny.ed

I did not have five potential names for my website. One of the things that I  knew is that I wanted my domain name to be my actual name it growing up.

I was often embarrassed because I had a unique name, but as I  left elementary and middle school, I started to embrace the uniqueness of my name. You can’t find it in the baby name dictionary and I became okay with that.

When I was actually on Instagram, my user name was franceluce_

I see my name as a statement within itself. It also it always strikes up conversation about where I’m from and how did my parents it come up with it!  My website will be all things Franceluce .

I don’t know exactly what those things are yet, but I am willing to explore and talk about my different struggles and accomplishments and speaking my truth. I hope whatever I post would resonate with y’all!

Be Safe, Be great y’all

          Domain Name Registration!!!

My digital storytelling class is taking me on a journey that is long, broad, and delightful. I won’t lie and say that it has not been challenging; however, it has thus far been just as exhilarating as riding the cyclone at Coney Island.

I have been taught about hyperlinks and it’s value.

I’ve been taught about memes. 

Oh and did I mention screenshots? Sooooo massive kool!!!

I’m still not as comfortable with mmm.page as I would like to be.

But I’m getting there

Professor Ryan Seslow now has the class creating their own web site, and in doing so the class must choose a domain name that fits their spirit. This process is nothing to take  lightly. It is a spiritual quest, and is not to be taken lightly. It takes meditation to come up with a name to fit one’s web site.

Reclaim Hosting is the company that was chosen for the class by our professor to host our web site. Thus far I can see the reason that this host has been chosen. The company seems to be helpful and encouraging.

I have decided on the domain: PamelaRiderWrites.com.  I love to write about many different topics, and love to write about “this new world” in which we live in. My website will not only include sensationalism, but absolutes. Meaning informing my followers with truth and facts. It can range from decorative abilities, to an occurrence that happened within a 24 hour period.

https://youtu.be/RbPsW3ji90M

As a student of higher learning, I am empathetic with the financial plight of many students and their financial debt. President Biden is getting push back as he embarks on his promise during his campaign of student loan forgiveness.

The Washington Post wrote an article today headlining, “Judge grants final approval of $6 billion student loan settlement!”

I love having the freedom of going from A-Z in a positive manner, sharing my findings with others. Can ya feel me???

In short; although this journey has been complex, it has been very pleasant.  This includes my instructor and all of the scholars in the class. Kudos to us all!!!

We’re creating domain names now, huh?

It’s so hard to think about potential options since I have NO IDEA what I want to write about on the website. 

I thought.

r e a l  h a r d.

And all I really talk about is art or talk about myself.

(NOT IN A COCKY WAY)

it’s just really what I know the MOST about 

 (definitely not because it’s the easiest topic)

Thinking about these potential names was pretty easy since it was my name and I KNOW 100% no one else has my name B).

Potential names where I can just talk about myself and what I’ve done throughout the day could be:

1)mundrhea.com 2)moondreya.com 3)dailydoseofmungie.com

I thought the 1st one was just simple since it’s my name. BUT, I thought about how some may find it hard to type it or remember since my name is hard to spell out so for the 2nd one, I thought about my Instagram handle. THEN I thought about dailydoseofmungie.

(mungie is a nickname that my friends have given me since elementary school. I don’t really know where the -gie came from but it’s been stuck with me since :D)

Potential names I thought about where I did have some kind of theme and were not generalized were:

4) artsywithmungie.com 5)mungiescloset.com

I thought that for #4, I can talk about different art forms and any artistic hobbies one can adopt. I can show some of my work and maybe give out tips that I thought were helpful. I feel as if I have a lot to say about this topic: singing, playing the ukulele, sewing, drawing, painting, photographing, and now digital storytelling B).

For #5, I thought that maybe I could post different outfits that I wear each day.

 Lately, I’ve been thrifting every day…

Which is bad BUT at least I get good deals :D. So, I can probably post things I’ve found at the thrift store and talk about the different trends that have been happening in fashion whether it’s streetwear, minimalistic, or vintage.

I am prettttty enthusiastic about becoming a future website owner.

I like how on a website, it’s your own thing. Similarly to Youtube, which is one of my favorite sites. You’re able to post video content about anything that you desire. On your own website, instead of making a video and editing, you’re just typing while expressing yourself without physically talking.

Another website that is one of my favorites is TikTok.

I know it’s an app, BUT YOU CAN ALSO USE IT ON THE WEB!

Similarily to most applications, you’re able to follow people with your content of choice, and it’s short and simple for times where you just want to take a break. 

(just as short as this post :D)

ty <3

I think it will be super fun to create a website for an upcoming business my friend and I are in the works for. In the next couple of weeks, we will be tufting and selling rugs, so I thought this would give a cool inspiration and practice for when we actually have to make one. Im super excited to do this assignment because not only do I find design fun, but I will connect with it personally. 

According to Wikipedia, tufting is ,”…a type of textile manufacturing in which a thread is inserted on a primary base.” We plan on doing so much with this business and we are super excited about what’s ahead of us.

I don’t really have a favorite website. While searching, I found Balenciagas layout to be pretty cool. I like how as soon as you enter the webpage, there is a video playing and as you scroll down more photos are displayed but everything’s the same width and length. Each media takes up the full screen which is cool.

Not saying this because of this class (haha) but I genuinely like the giphy website too. I like how the background is black so you could literally have so many colors going and it wont look weird. The fact there there’s so many different colors, images and content sizes all fits so well together.

For the domain, it will be named Urbanalliance.net

Domain Name Registration, Hosting Set Up & WordPress Installation!

Week #10

**Please read through this post carefully and watch the video tutorial below as it contains a lot of important information**

Video tutorial :

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/xPFOpano5Xxa5L_EiuZmtRwYf0lSZjKEbkkJTwcv9eaV-yh10uIFWr_Ya5wAnOJb.GY0Q-pDDscVNkdww

Passcode: 9*sNd=MZ

“The Journey Begins!”

*Individual student Coupon Codes for the domain name & web hosting set up will be e-mailed to you from blackboard – be sure to check your York college e-mail to get the code. The code can only be used 1 time.

Last week we began talking about Domain Names and what role they play in creating a digital identity on the web (and as a part of this class.) If you missed that post, please be sure to check out our course schedule page under week #9 as it has context and will help make this next step a bit smoother. 

This week we are going to get started!

We are going to begin the process of registering a domain name and also setting up web hosting, which will allow you to put files up online that will be discoverable through your new domain name! We are going to use a form of ‘shared hosting’ where you get a portion of a server – think of it as having an apartment in a building. With this shared hosting you will be able to do a lot of things including installing your own instance of WordPress (**remember, this is NOT wordpress.com but the open source version of wordpress.org) so you can start building your website for your domain name.

We use a company called Reclaim Hosting, with which we have a contract with so you will enter a coupon code and start your account for free.

*The coupon code will be e-emailed to everyone via blackboard on the morning that your class meets during week #10

We chose this hosting company because they have a lot of experience working with students just like you, that are likely getting their first domain name and web hosting account. You will be creating an account just like you would with any online vendor with which you want to purchase something. So it’s not a ‘CUNY’ account, we’re just giving you the coupon code to pay for the year’s service. The service will last for 1 year.

You do not need to pay for anything, so please reach out if you have questions – rseslow@york.cuny.edu

With that said, you will need to provide a name, address, and phone number. Lets go to this sign-up page <— to get started with the domain name selection process.

1. First you will need to pick your domain name, make sure that it is available and make your selection to proceed. (I suggest sticking with the .com or .net extensions)

2. On the next page, check the ‘add ID protection.’

3. On the next page you should see two items in your cart and a price of $45 with ID protection, you will then enter the needed information for your account and provided coupon code and validate it. (you will NOT be charged for this, its already included in the course.)

4. Your total should now be $0. If it is not then check the items and your cart and adjust.

5. You should now fill in your personal information, and select the payment by mail option. (again, you will not be charged anything.)

6. Complete the order and check your email for your account information and a verification of your e-mail, e-mail. With your new account information, log-on to Reclaiming Hosting. Shortly after setting up your account and registering your domain you must verify your account via        e-mail by clicking on the link they send to you. (be on the look out for a series of e-mails from Reclaim Hosting.

7. YOU ARE NOW ALL SET AND READY TO START WORKING WITH YOUR NEW DOMAIN NAME AND WEB HOSTING ACCOUNT!

8. Its now TIME TO INSTALL WORDPRESS. – You will soon refer to the video below (coming after class on 11/15) and follow the step by step guide to install WordPress correctly. 

Coupon codes for the set up will be e-mail from blackboard – be sure to check your York e-mail to get the code.

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Assignment #8 – (you must complete part 1 before moving on to part 2 – After following along in our zoom session today and then reregistering your domain name, setting up web hosting & WordPress – please publish a detailed blog post about the overall experience of registering your own domain, and setting up your web hosting account. Be sure to include screenshots, images, videos and hyperlinks for context. (as always)