Background disclosure: Generally, I am very comfortable with technology. However, I still found myself overwhelmed by WordPress’ complexities while simultaneously envious of its versatility. Determined to find a resource that would me teach what I needed to know, I performed an Internet search which ultimately led me to the the folks at PacktPublishing. They graciously offered to send me a review copy of WordPress Complete by Hasin Hayder if I agreed to post a review of the book on my website. I happily chose to comply and here it is, as promised. It should be noted that the book(www.packtpub.com) went to press PRIOR to the release of version 2.5. Nonetheless WordPress Completeis chock full of practical tips, coding techniques, and illustrated examples that will show its readers how to get the most out of virtually any version of WordPress be they a novice or an advanced user. Chapters 1-2 describe the different types of blogs, blog terms, blog engines, and how to install, upgrade and/or troubleshoot an installation. I relied on this latter section extensively when I upgraded my self-hosted site from 2.3.3 to 2.5 and ultimately 2.5.1. Everything worked flawlessly, just by following the book’s instructions.
If you are looking to put the best face (theme) on your blog, then Chapter 3, entitled Choosing and Installing Themes, is for you. It contains page after page of theme categories and listings. In fact, there were so many intriguing listings, I found it hard to settle on just one. Recognizing that themes are not one-size-fits-all in nature, this chapter also contains useful theme modification tips.
For those readers looking for additional challenges, proceed to Chapter 5 for guidance on using WordPress to build full-featured websites, otherwise known as content management systems. (Another reason I found to love and admire WordPress: its versatility). Using this chapter, I am building my own website that that will also integrate my existing WordPress blog seamlessly.
Chapters 7 (Developing Themes) and 9 (Developing Plug-ins and Widgets) are filled with actual CSS and HTML coding samples and techniques. These chapters opened my eyes to the development world while also enabling me to troubleshoot some widget flaws within my own blog.
Chapter 6, entitled “Feeds and Podcasting“, was and is one of my personal favorites: I produce and host an Internet Radio program and am always looking for useful information on RSS formats, feed syndication and Podcasting insights.
Leaving no stone unturned, Hayder devotes the tenth and final chapter of the book to topics near and dear to the hearts of WordPress administrators, including: upgrading, installing, uninstalling and troubleshooting WordPress, migrating WordPress from another server, and backing up and restoring WordPress application and database files. Again, the sequence of actions are laid out in a step-by-step manner, which I was able to follow with complete success.
The bottom line: I was confused when I began reading the book and much better informed after I finished it. I am now able to confidently fix and tweak my own blogs and may even set out to do some freelance WordPress consulting as a result. Good job and many, many thanks to both Hasin Hayder and Packt Publishing
