Domain Name
I came up with my domain name last year for a different class that required us to purchase our domains. I knew I wanted to continue using this site for Digital Storytelling, so I stored all of my content from my previous class on one of my UMW blogs and am keeping it there until I figure out what role I want it to have here as I reshape this domain throughout this semester.
I chose MediaMegan because I wanted the name to reflect the content on my site, which eventually became clips and examples from my experience with journalism. I didn’t want to limit myself to one type of media, which is why I chose to use that term combined with my first name.
Theme
I chose the WhiteHouse 2.0 theme because of its clean, professional appearance. It’s simple. I didn’t want a theme with more than two columns. Two column themes work well for me because I don’t necessarily like to use a lot of unnecessary Widgets. For example, I’m the only person who will be posting to my site, so I don’t see a need for a Meta sidebar when I know how to login differently. I also don’t care for a calendar-when I’m reading someone’s blog and there is a calendar in the sidebar, I don’t use it. I search for posts/content based on tags or categories. I felt like if I went with a theme with more than two columns, I’d just be adding Widgets to take up that space. The two-column WhiteHouse theme works well with the plugins I’ve selected so far.
To find my theme, I used the Features Filter on the Install Themes page and browsed through featured/newest/recently updated theme sections. I read the blurbs of the ones I liked and performed searches for keywords and tags based on words from the blurb. I also explored WordPress.org for themes, which is where I found the WhiteHouse theme.
I love magazine style themes, but at this point don’t have enough content to effectively use one. I’ll probably switch to one as I continue to build my site.
Plugins
My first comment…spam!
Akismet: Within an hour of posting my Gardner Campbell reflection, I got my first spam comment urging me to purchases craft supplies. At first I thought Akismet charged for accounts, but they offer a free API key for personal or hobby sites. You have to register and select 1 Free API key at the top of the registration screen. Then you’ll get your API key, which you paste into the Akismet Configuration page textbox on your blog after you’ve installed the plugin.
Google Analytics: I’ve used Google Analytics for sites I had a role in developing in past classes, so I knew I wanted to use it on this site. It tracks visitors to your site and has loads of data. One of the sites I installed it on was for Professor Mike McCarthy’s Fall 2009 Principles of Newspaper Writing course. From March 11 to September 4, 2010, Google Analytics tells me there have been 249 total visits via 134 search keywords to the UMW Power Structure web site.
It’s interesting to look at what those keywords are. As our site was about the University of Mary Washington power structure, many of the search terms were the names of institution leaders or some variations of their names (for example, Judy Hample, Judith Hample and even “What is the scuttlebutt on Judy Hample” all lead to visitors to the site).
Google Analytics even offers a Map Overlay so you can see where your visitors are located. Here’s a look during that same time period:
Google Analytics shows our site received 290 visits from 15 countries.
143 visits came from Virginia; 84 of those from Fredericksburg (the largest circle).
Google Analytics offers much more information than this; it’s definitely worth considering installing if you’re interested in learning about your website traffic.
Sharethis: Another plugin I installed is ShareThis. I’ll admit I’ve never used this as a visitor to someone else’s web site to share their content, so I’m not sure how useful this will be.
Social Slider: I like having all my social networking/media accounts displayed on my site. Right now, they appear as a side bar that extends from the left side of the screen when you hover your mouse over it. This was very easy to set up; all it required was the URL addresses to your accounts.
Gravatar Widget: I chose to install a plugin for Gravatar Widget, which allows user to fill out a sidebar that displays your Gravatar image and the text you chose to go along with it (I chose to insert text under an “About Me” heading).
Setting up a Gravator.com account was slightly confusing for me for a very simple reason. I set up my UMWblogs.org account years ago using my @mail.umw.edu address, but I never set up a Gravatar image for my umwblogs.org account.
I used the same e-mail address to register my personal accounts for this class. When I tried to set up a Gravatar.com account, it told me I already had an account. I knew I had never been to Gravatar.com before, so I kept trying to login with the password I use to login to my domain’s WordPress account. Then, it dawned on me to try my UMWblogs password-which finally worked and I was able to upload my image.
Other: I tried out a few standalone plugins for Twitter widgets, but decided to use the PageLines-Welcome Widget instead, which displays a welcome message followed by your latest Tweet. For now, I like how this looks more.
I found plugins by googling phrases like “Most Useful WordPress Plugins” and “Coolest WordPress Plugins” and “Best WordPress PlugIns.” I also clicked on the popular tags in the Plugin Directory and made my selections from there.
I know I’ll continue exploring my theme and plugin options as I add more content to my site, and I am excited about this! I could probably spend hours playing around with plugin and theme options as I build my site and not get bored.