MODULE 1 OF 8 · 60–90 minutes
Start with a safe WordPress site
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LESSON 1.1
Choose your workspace
Your goal: Explain the difference between your course account, a practice site and a public website.
WordPress is software that stores content and turns it into web pages. Hosting runs that software; a domain is the address people visit. Your account on benjaminolsen.dev saves course progress and the practice website automatically backed up from your course workspace. It does not give you editing access to this website. You will administer your own separate practice installation.
See it in practice
For a no-cost first session, open WordPress Playground using the workspace link below. It runs a separate WordPress site in your browser. For a longer project, use a local installation or a private staging site provided by your host. A Playground is not a public hosted website, and its browser storage is not a backup.
Try a small change
Open your practice dashboard and then its public site view in another tab. Identify which tab edits content and which displays it.
What should happen, and why?
The dashboard is your workspace; visitors see the public page. Editing your practice site cannot change this course website.
LESSON 1.2
Install and keep your work
Your goal: Create a working installation and preserve a recoverable copy.
On your own host, use its WordPress installer on an empty staging address. Choose HTTPS, a site title and a unique administrator account with a strong password. Store the password in your password manager. Do not overwrite an existing site. If you install manually, use WordPress.org’s installation guide and your host’s database details rather than guessing them.
See it in practice
In the course workspace, page and post text autosaves as a draft about every 10 seconds. Edits to published pages are kept as recoverable autosaves until you choose Update. Site design and settings still need Save. The workspace automatically saves an account copy shortly afterwards. Wait for the saved confirmation before closing the tab. On another computer, log in and choose Start / resume WordPress. Download a ZIP backup after each module. The course checklists and your website backup are saved separately.
Try a small change
Name your practice site “Northside Bike Workshop”. Save it, export a ZIP and record where you put the file. On hosted WordPress, use the host’s full backup instead.
What should happen, and why?
You now have a named installation and a separate recovery copy. A URL alone is not a copy of your work.
GUIDED BUILD
Put the lesson to work.
- Open a separate practice installation and locate Dashboard, Pages and Appearance.
- Set the title to Northside Bike Workshop in Settings → General; choose an appropriate timezone.
- Save the practice site and download a full backup or Playground ZIP. Record its filename in your own notes.
Check your work
These are your own practice confirmations. We do not inspect your external WordPress site.
BREAK / FIX
Find the cause. Check the repair.
Your practice site disappeared after browser storage was cleared. The course still shows completed lessons.
Reproduce this only on a disposable practice copy if it is safe. Otherwise explain the diagnosis and recovery steps in your notes.
Hint 1 — Where to look
Compare where course progress and the practice installation are stored.
Hint 2 — The principle
Browser storage, account progress and account website snapshots are separate. A course checkmark is not a website backup.
Hint 3 — Explained repair
Open the course workspace and resume your last account snapshot, or import your ZIP in the official Playground. For hosted sites, restore your host backup. If no copy exists, rebuild the missing work; marking a lesson complete cannot restore it.
CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING
Five questions. As many tries as you need.
Get at least four correct. After checking, read the explanations and try again. All six practice checks and a passing quiz complete this module.
Keep these references
Official documentation. Screen labels can differ by theme and WordPress version.