SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY, INC.

Learning Module for Empowerment Technology

Quarter 2 UNIT 7 Lesson 3- 4 Week 1
LESSON 3- USING A CMS
If you are keen on creating more content for your site, you should consider using a CMS and set it up on your own
web host. A self-hosted system provides you with more control over how you can customize its functionalities and the
way it looks. Setting up such a system has now become easy. Some of the popular web hosting services for sites that run
on WordPress or Joomla are Bluehost, DreamHost, and HostGator.
These services also provide interfaces like CPanel or DirectAdmin that allow you to manage your site. They have
one-click installers of popular web site scripts like WordPress. Setting up the CMS is just a matter of clicking a button.
Conventionally, you need to manually create a MySQL database and a database user, assign permissions, and upload
WordPress files to get it up and running. These interfaces simplify the process.

Trying WordPress Offline

If you do not have access to a web host and
a domain name, you can still experiment with
using it by installing it locally on your
computer. To mimic a web host environment
that can run WordPress on your desktop, you
need to install a web server solution like
PROPERTY OF SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY, INC.

XAMPP. It is a package that installs and sets up

Apache Web Server, PHP, and MySQL on your
system.
1. Download the XAMPP installer from
https://www.apachefriends.org/index.
html. Install XAMPP in a location on your
computer by following the steps of the
installation wizard

2. To check if XAMPP is working, launch the XAMPP

Control Panel. Be sure to run it as an administrator. Start
Apache and MySQL. Open your web browser and go to
http://localhost/. This should bring up the XAMPP
dashboard.

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3. Once you have checked that XAMPP works, stop both services in the meantime as you set up WordPress.
Just like with online web hosts, manually setting up WordPress on XAMPP requires several tedious steps. You can use a
Bitnami WordPress module to skip these steps. Go to https://bitnami.com/stack/xampp to download the installer.

3. Run the installer after it has finished downloading. Follow the instructions in the wizard. Make sure you install the
module in the proper XAMPP location. You will be asked to enter your details, such as your intended user name,
password, and site title.

4. Once installed, you can now try running WordPress on XAMPP.

Make sure that your XAMPP control panel is active and that
Apache and MySQL are running. On your browser, go to
http://localhost/wordpress. Your WordPress installation should
load.

Customizing Your CMS

To

manage your WordPress installation, access the admin panel. If you are
using XAMPP, make sure that the Apache and MySQL services are
running and go to http://localhost/wordpress/wp-admin. If you have set
it up online on your own domain and web host, go to
http://yourdomain/wp-admin.
You will be asked to log in using the credentials you created when
you set up the site. The dashboard shows the various features that allow
you to manage your site’s content or change WordPress’ settings. To
customize how your WordPress installation looks, for example, simply go to
Appearance to use other themes or click on Customize to tweak your
current theme. You can even upload your own logo.

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SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY, INC. Learning Module for Empowerment Technology
Managing Web Content
Adding interesting content to your website can help further enhance your online presence. In WordPress, you can
create a new post to which you can add text, insert pictures and images, and even embed video content. Once you are
finished editing your post, click Publish. It will automatically appear on your site’s home page.
The advantage of using a CMS is that you can add, modify, and remove content easily. Unlike when coding a
website manually using HTML, a CMS can automatically generate the pages you. A CMS like WordPress is even
extensible. You can use plugins and themes to add functionalities, such as contact forms. Because of its ease of use, you
can simply focus on creating new content.
Improving Search Engine Optimization
1. To ensure that all searches about you lead to your website, you need to optimize your site for search engines. The
practice of making a website or web page searchable based on keywords and terms is called search engine optimization
(SEO). Here are some basic ways you can improve yours so that people can easily find your site.
2. Use your name in the site title.
3. Use keywords that you would like associated with yourself or your site in the description, post titles headings, and
posts. However, avoid overdoing it as it may make your content unreadable to humans.
4. Break up your text content with headings. Using long paragraphs can make your content hard to read. It helps your
online readers quickly get the gist of your post as they might just be skimming and scanning your content.
5. Keep it active. Add more content about your thoughts on topics that are relevant to what you do.
6. Optimize your images. You may be tempted to add large and high-quality images to your site. However, these can take
longer times to load fully. Search engines prefer fast loading times.
7. Share your posts on your GC
Monitoring Site Traffic
How would you know if people are visiting your site? There are tools available to help you track your site’s traffic.
Google Analytics is one such tool that can help you track information, including but not limited to:
• the number of users visiting your site
• from which country your visitors come
• how long they spend on your site
• if they are browsing other pages on your site
• what keywords were used to find your site
Knowing these details can help you improve your site content to engage your audience better.

Using Google Analytics (https://analytics.google.com) is free. All you need is a Google account. Once signed on to the
platform, you can create an account for your site. You would need to add a tracking code to your site’s pages. The
platform will then start to gather information about your traffic.

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recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the school.
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SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY, INC. Learning Module for Empowerment Technology

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SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY, INC. Learning Module for Empowerment Technology
LESSON 4
SOCIAL NETWORKS AND ONLINE COMMUNITIES
Aside from building your own website, you can also further establish your online presence through social media and
online communities. Participating in these online groups is a great way to reach out to peers who might share your
interests. However, focus on share exciting ideas and useful content. Avoid posting for the sake of getting attention.

You can separate your professional and personal social media activities by creating a page for your
professional work. Pages are designed for public engagement. This way, you do not have to use your personal
profile and add professional contacts as friends to interact with them.
Even if you do not actively use some of these social networks, you may want to create accounts and profiles for the most
popular networks such as Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. You may eventually need to increase your
presence on these platforms in the future. Registering should at least reserve your preferred profile names and links on
these platforms.

There are also niche and industry-specific social networks and platforms that may be beneficial for you to join.
Artists and designers usually create portfolios and profiles on Carbonmade and DeviantArt. Software developers may
also participate in online communities such as GitHub Support Community and StackOverflow.
Managing Your Image and Reputation
Establishing a digital presence can do wonders for your image and reputation, especially if you will be practicing
your profession soon. It allows people to find you online, and the information they will likely find about you are positive
things.
However, you have to balance your goals of being visible online with your privacy and security.
1. If you already have an online presence, particularly on social media, review and check all your shared content.
Take down the negative and potentially embarrassing information and content.
2. Avoid sharing personal and identifiable information.
3. Avoid adding your phone number, email, and address on your personal website as these can be used by
malicious actors for fraud. Use a contact form instead.
4. Review your social media accounts’ privacy settings. You may want to keep more personal content to your
friends only.

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recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the school.
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SAINT JOSEPH ACADEMY, INC. Learning Module for Empowerment Technology
ANSWER SHEETS/ WORKSHEET IN EMPOWERMENT TECHNOLOGY GRADE 11
Quarter 2 Unit 7 Lesson 3- 4 Week 1 (Performance Check)
Name: _______________________________________________Section: _______________________________________
Direction: Execute your plans by creating an actual website. You may use WordPress, HTML, CSS or CMS for this
activity.

Note: Make your website interesting by following the principles of website design discus in your previous module. Send
the link or the file of your website in our GC for checking. (30 Points)

No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form of by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the school.
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