Written in 2009 by an artist, for artists (and anyone without much computer experience), this guide shows you how to work with FREE software to create a unique, WordPress-based website to showcase yourself, your art or your business. With step-by-step instructions in everyday English and lots of screenshots -- using software popular in 2009 -- Aisling talks you through every aspect of creating your website and customizing it to suit your needs. Though WordPress versions and themes change steadily, much of this book's information remains useful for beginning and experienced webmasters. This third edition features screenshots and instructions based on entirely free software including Branford Magazine 2.0 and WordPress 2.9.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Aisling D'Art is an artist, not a computer programmer. After setting up her own websites, she wrote this book for friends (and fellow artists) who -- like her -- aren't technically-minded. The book was an instant success. Today, when Aisling's not creating original art -- art journals, art shrines, wearable art, and wild art dolls -- she's still using the "Sites that Soar!" design tips for her own websites. Aisling has been online since the mid-1990s, and she's one of the original bloggers... long before anyone used the word "blog."
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Book that disappoints,
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Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sites that Soar!: Magazine-style WordPress themes made easy (Paperback)
Certain books have titles that imply that you already know the basics of the subject and a interested in going beyond. Sites that soar is perfectly fine if you want a quick read (more like glance) on the basics of using Wordpress. Like it's ad says, it is filled with screen shots, but this is hardly much of an asset since the author talks almost exclusively about rudiments of the subject. I have read other Wordpress books which cover the material so much better. What bothers me is that the book is supposedly about magazine style themes. It makes only passing comments about that as a distinct kind of Wordpress theme. There is a certain amount of truth to the title when they use the word easy. Easy but not good, and definitely do not soar. If this author wrote a book on mathematics it be about the strategies of adding two and two. I was hoping and still am looking to find a really good book on the subject so I can modify an existing magazine style theme. Let me know and I'll buy it.
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best choice for learning how to use WordPress and themes for it,
By Jerry Saperstein (Evanston, IL USA) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE)
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Sites that Soar!: Magazine-style WordPress themes made easy (Paperback)
This is a difficult book to classify.
There is no question that the author is earnestly seeking to help others following in her path of trying to use magazine style WordPress templates. WordPress, if you aren't aware of it, is among the leading blog applications available. It is one of those programs where the basics, such as putting up a simple blog, can be learned in minutes. But WordPress is capable of great power and can be used for a variety of purposes, such as a fairly sophisticated Content Management System and, as is described here, with templates for creating magazine style websites. Such websites with their profusion of stories accompanied by illustrations appear to be complex and perhaps behind the grasp of the ordinary user without intensive training and experience. Author Aisling D'Art promises to make creating a magazine style website easy "with step-by-step instructions in everyday English and lots of screen shots". The problem is that D'Art is not a very good technical writer, apparently lacked a skilled editor and produced this book in a word processing program. She rambles, includes much extraneous material where it doesn't really fit and white space has obviously been used liberally to pad the page count. The book simply isn't very good. "WordPress For Dummies" by Lisa Sabin-Wilson, which D'Art references several times, is a far superior introduction to WordPress, though not to magazine style themes specifically. However, there may be people who really are deathly afraid of approaching software like WordPress without a true step-by-excruciating-step guide to accomplishing one specific task. Those people may find "Sites that Soar" helpful. For most of us, though, "WordPress For Dummies" is the far better choice. Just be prepared to spend some time learning how to use magazine style templates on your own. It isn't that hard if you have a touch of patience. Jerry
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Easy Step-By-Step Guide That Actually Works...,
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This review is from: Sites that Soar!: Magazine-style WordPress themes made easy (Paperback)
I'm impressed. Sites That Soar is a wonderful and practical resource. It's very clearly laid out in a step-by-step format. Everything you need to know and then some. I particularly liked the "more than you need to know" segments.
Plenty of illustrations and screen-shots make it easy to understand and implement. Even a complete novice can follow these simple instructions and create a WordPress site like that looks terrific. There are numerous options here that I probably wouldn't have attempted on my own. But armed with these easy-as-pie steps, I can't wait to see how it all turns out. I get the feeling the author was once in my shoes and understands the mindset and everything that goes with it. This book makes it easy to not only get comfortable with WordPress, but to go way beyond the basic look, feel and functionality. It gives you the confidence to move forward without taking a class or reading through a 400-page textbook. It kind of feels like having a teacher you like in the room with you, ready to answer your questions as they arise.
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