Pre Workshop Activities Introduction

You have the option of creating a WordPress website on OpenEd.ca, which is hosted by a consortium of BC Universities through BCNet, or on WordPress.com which is the commercial company that created and maintains the open source, WordPress software package. Both are free, but a free Wordpress.com website will contain advertisements, and does not provide as many templates and plugins for their free accounts as OpenEd.ca. An OpenEd.ca website is available only to students, faculty and staff at BC universities, and offers a wider range of templates and plugins with no advertisements compared to Wordpress.com. At this point, you should have already decided on the type of WordPress site and have set it up accordingly

Before you set up your website, let’s make sure that you’re prepared… Begin with the end in mind:

Have you looked at other portfolio websites on the internet for inspiration? If not, take 5 minutes and google “portfolio websites”, and make notes about things you would like to include in your website (e.g. layout, look & feel menus, and pages or features.)
Do you have ideas for a name for your website? _____________
Do you have a list of pages and/or sections for your website? Eg: Resume, portfolio, blog…
Do you have a top-level navigation structure in mind for your website (usually at the top of every web page? Eg: Home, Portfolio, About, Blog, Contact)
Did you create a pen and paper outline of what you want your website to look like? If you did, this will be a great guide as you look at different Wordpress template options.

Please visit the pre-worshop activities:
Account Setup with OpenEd.ca -OR-
Account Setup with WordPress.com -OR-
Account Setup with UVic’s Online Academic Community

If you’re not sure which option to select, please use this tool to help you determine the best account for your project, and or ask the instructor leading the workshop.