Building a Modern Web Presence

Sometime after moving to Vancouver in May 2014, I began working with WordPress.

By that point, WordPress was not particularly foreign to me. I had already worked with PHP and MySQL during 2009–2010, so the underlying concepts of a content management system came naturally. I learned how to install WordPress, work with themes and templates, create and manage content, and maintain a website.

There was, however, one important thing I didn’t do properly:

I didn’t back up my WordPress work properly.

That is an important lesson because a WordPress website consists of more than the pages that appear in a browser. Much of the site’s displayed content and configuration is stored in a database, while the actual WordPress installation, themes, plugins, uploaded media and other resources exist as files. A proper backup therefore needs to account for both.

This wasn’t something I had been taught in my BCIT Web Technologies training, nor in the Applied Web Development program. My formal training concentrated on web development itself — HTML, CSS, JavaScript and related technologies—rather than the practical, ongoing management of a WordPress installation. Examples of my work can be seen in my portfolio at arcolq.com. Apart from my training in Computer Information Systems and electronics, this is where my technical journey began. I now approach WordPress differently now.

WordPress in the AI era

When learning about modern web development, it isn’t enough to discuss the basic features, benefits and limitations of website-building platforms. You need to actually use them. WordPress is particularly important because it is a major part of the modern web-development landscape. But WordPress is no longer operating in isolation.

Artificial intelligence is changing how websites can be designed, developed, maintained and supported. YouTube has also become an important part of how individuals and businesses create and distribute content. And most of these can be backed up so that nothing is lost. For a business owner or independent creator, these three technologies can work together:

WordPress + AI + YouTube

The question I want to explore is:

How can a web designer/developer use WordPress, AI and YouTube together to build and maintain a modern web presence?

What I’ll be Covering

The supporting YouTube channel for wpsolutions.ca will concentrate on two areas in particular: AI and YouTube as they relate to WordPress.

WordPress

The practical WordPress material will include:

• Installing and configuring WordPress

• Themes and templates

• Pages, posts and site structure

• Maintenance, correction and repair

• Search engine optimization (SEO)

• Responsive and multiple-device design

• Multimedia and YouTube integration

AI & WordPress

AI introduces another set of possibilities:

• Using AI to create WordPress websites

• AI-assisted design and development

• Exploring AI as an alternative to traditional page builders such as Elementor

• Generating layouts, content, code and imagery

• Using AI to troubleshoot and improve an existing WordPress site

• Understanding what AI can—and cannot—do for a website developer

One question I particularly want to explore is:

Can AI build a WordPress site without Elementor?

That is a practical question rather than simply a theoretical discussion about AI.

YouTube & WordPress

Students are also introduced to the basic features, benefits and limitations of platforms such as WordPress, Wix and Webflow.

Those are useful foundations.

But using the technology is where the real learning begins.

The direction

This blog and its supporting YouTube channel will therefore look at creating and managing WordPress websites in the AI era. It isn’t intended to be an exhaustive reference manual for WordPress. Instead, I’ll concentrate on practical questions that arise when actually building, maintaining and developing a modern web presence.

• WordPress provides the website
• AI provides a set of tools for design, development, troubleshooting and content production
• YouTube provides a way to communicate and distribute content.

The interesting part is seeing how these three areas can work together.