Setting Up WordPress to Database

I was recently hired to maintain the website for a corporation who uses WordPress. I am not terribly familiar with WordPress, but they are willing to give me a chance to learn it.

I am working through the WordPress course at Lynda.com (not a sponsor) so I can set up a development site where I can test changes to the site without fear of breaking it. The learning curve is steep for me, and I'm making a lot of errors, but I'm figuring things out and learning as I go!

The webhost I use is DreamHost (not a sponsor), and I love them! The customer service is phenomenal and their service is stable. Much different experience than I've had with GoDaddy or Shopify with the various other pages I've managed. The only issue, which is not necessarily a bad one, is that they prefer to get trouble tickets online vs a phone call. They try to get back to the customer within 24 hours, but a couple of times it has taken them longer to get back to me because I've asked complicated questions and the wait was totally worth it! They've always provided me with exactly the information I needed, and I work better with written instructions over verbal.

As I've been setting up WordPress for development, I've made some mistakes. After typing in the database name, username, password, and database host, I proceeded to change the wp-config.php file which screwed everything up. Why did I do this? I wasn't paying full attention to the tutorial video when the instructor said to only change this file if you get an error message after setting up the information online.

This mistake led to an error of "Error Establishing a Database Connection". I spent a couple hours searching for help, reloading the files and trying all the different combinations of domain names, user names, passwords, and domain hosts that I could have possibly used when setting up everything initially.

Finally, I decided just to delete the wp-config.php file and reset the wp-config-sample.php file. This put everything back to the beginning where I had to reenter the database name, username, password, and database host when I pulled up the website link. I made a point to make sure to write down exactly what entered for each field and everything is good now! 

Just Do It, Just Put Yourself Out There

Okay, so I am being cheesy and taking the Nike slogan. Here's why. I am finding that by putting myself out there things are so much better than I anticipate. I struggle with anxiety. I am terrified to talk to people I don't know, especially in a group setting. I wanted to cry at the first Oklahoma Women in Tech meeting I went to because I was so freaked out, but I left feeling empowered. I hid in the back corner of the room at the first tech conference I went to at Little Rock Tech Fest 2015. I recently went to my third tech conference, the 200 OK Web Developers Conference, and it was amazing. I met some incredible people who were all very welcoming and patient with my lack of knowledge, but encouraging me that I know more than I believe I do. The first coding class I went to I was excited and scared, but I realized things aren't as difficult and scary as they seem to be in my head. Online groups I have joined have been very supportive as well. No one has told me I can't do this which is what I am so terrified of hearing.

So, I want to challenge you to put yourself out there. Go find a coding class to take, a local meetup to attend, a Facebook group to join, a conference to attend.

If you are not sure how to go about finding these resources, check out Women Who Code for conferences, search Google or Facebook, and check out Meetup.com.

Just do it, just put yourself out there!

Done Is Better Than Perfect

Last week I finished reading Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg at the suggestion of a colleague. One statement Sandberg makes in the book has really stuck with me, "Done is better than perfect."

I know many people, myself included, who are perfectionists which leads to procrastination. I suspect we worry about what others will think of us if we do not produce perfect results. We waste time on things that are not really important when we should be attacking the issues that we have the most problems with and get our products out there.

I have been binge listening to the CodeNewbie podcast and in one episode the guest quoted Reid Hoffman, founder of LinkedIn: "If you're not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you've launched too late." This made me realize it is better to get websites published and have under construction pages for things that are still in the works, than to have nothing published at all. No one will know what you are capable of if you have nothing to show them.

I have been challenging myself lately to get stuff published and last night it paid off. I received a text from a referral asking if I make websites and logos and I was able to say, "Yes! Here is some of my work." Are the sites completely done? No; however, they are complete enough that the person was happy with what he saw and offered me work.

So challenge yourself to stop procrastinating, do something, and put it out there.

Outsourcing

One of the best pieces of advice I have received is to outsource.

I have a long daily to-do list and never enough time to complete it. I never understood how working women do it all. Then I went to the first Tulsa meeting of OKWIT (Oklahoma Women in Technology) and one of the women attending told us to outsource. We should be outsourcing anything we can afford, such as housekeeping, lawn work, or errands. Outsource everything you can. Have people come to you, such as a physical therapist or massage therapist, grocery delivery, or dry cleaning.

Once you can pay for it, outsourcing saves you money. Instead of spending time performing some chore that you can pay $20/hour for you can work and make $40/hour. Not only will it help you make more money, it is also efficient and saves you time that you can spend on work, family, or leisure.

Places I have found people to outsource to have been neighbors, friends, and students looking for extra income; websites for local businesses such as lawn care, laundromats, and housekeeping; and other businesses like Amazon Prime Now, Peapod, or personal shoppers.  

It is such a relief to realize it is okay to have help and make life easier.

Introduction

Welcome! My name is Diana and I began my coding journey in April 2015 after listening to a story on NPR about the need for coders in the tech industry. I thought to myself, if others can learn to do it, so can I! The next day I signed up at codecademy.com and haven't looked back.

Thirteen months later I am making websites and working on building a portfolio. I have self-taught through books, online courses, videos, and evening courses through Women Who Code Tulsa. At this moment in time I only feel proficient in HTML5 and CSS3, but I'm becoming more comfortable with jQuery and JavaScript. One thing I love about this field is I will never stop learning because there is always more to know and things change constantly.

With this blog, I plan to share what and how I have learned over the past year as well as chronicling my future journey. Thanks for stopping by!