Tutorials – BrandRoots

The best way to learn and make progress toward goals is by doing.
Here's some exercises to help you practice and start doing.

How to Create a Local WordPress Site

Quickly spin up a WordPress website to play around with and build something

Looking for More Ways to Practice?

The learning opportunities out there are endless. If you're stuck on how to apply new knowledge and skills, listed below are some practice and application ideas to get your wheels turning. Give them a try if it's a fit, and let these activities inspire you to make up your own.

Practice Design

Read books about design. Explore our recommended books on our bookshelf.
Register for art and design classes.
Study magazines to observe their page layout and typography.
Observe the designs of mail pieces and email newsletters you receive, and critique if they persuade you to take action.
Go to a museum.
Find print pieces and draw the grid lines over them to understand how it was structured.
Study the fonts on your computer, and research online about examples of good pairings.
Sketch and draw objects you see to observe shapes, shadows and lighting.
Look at design agency website portfolios.
Watch documentaries about design.

Practice Coding

Read books about code.
Take classes about web development.
If you're just starting out, explore HTML and CSS first, then ease into some JavaScript.
Find good websites online, and create paper prototypes of their wireframes to better understand layout structure and components.
Try building a website of your resume.
Try coding a page layout of a magazine page to understand grid structures.
Spin up a WordPress website to play around with using a tool called Local. We wrote an article about how to create a local website.
Explore Stack Overflow to study coding questions and answers, and ask your own questions within this community.
Play with code on W3Schools.
Check out local meetup groups that gather to teach and help each other with code projects.

Practice Productivity

Read the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen to learn about productivity systems.
Create a daily routine.
Download our free Daily Planner Sheets to help plan your days with intention.
Set up a free account with the project management tool called Trello, and explore their project management templates for workflow inspiration.
Set up a free account with the all-in-one project management tool called Notion, and explore their templates for workflow inspiration.
Set up a workflow using sticky notes or notecards onto a whiteboard or bulletin board.

Practice Marketing

Read books about marketing. We have some recommendations on our bookshelf to get you started.
Observe the marketing that surrounds you everywhere, and critique if it's effective. Examples include commercial ads, digital ads, mailing pieces, email newsletters, and listening to salespeople.
Study case studies posted on marketing agency websites to see how they think.
Observe book cover designs and titles to see how they try to draw your attention in the competitive environment of libraries, book stores and online booksellers.
Study infomercials, and breakdown the structure in which they pitch their products.
Write your own elevator pitches for a business and for yourself in personal brand.
Observe LinkedIn posts and how everyone is essentially selling their business and personal brand.

Practice Business

Read business books. We have some recommendations on our bookshelf to get you started.
Take business classes.
Go to meetup events that interest you, and practice networking.
Develop a personal brand for yourself by creating a website and marketing materials such as business cards.
Reach out to business people you admire, and ask if they'd be willing to share advice with you.
Connect with a business coach to help build your skills and confidence.
Work on a passion project, and see if it develops into something worth pursuing as a business.
Watch the pitches on the tv show Shark Tank, and observe their structure.
Create a fictitious business plan to understand the ins and outs that go into building a business.

Practice Self-Growth

Read personal development books. We have recommendations on our bookshelf to get you started.
Keep a daily gratitude journal. Download our free Reflection Sheets to get you started.
Take care of your health and wellbeing.
Do activities you enjoy.
Turn off work emails and notifications when you are not working.
Spend time in nature.
Connect with people you enjoy being around.
Write thank you notes as an expression of gratitude to people who have helped you in life.
Try therapy or counseling.
Work with a life coach.
Practice mindfulness.
Take time to reflect and write down your core values and personal mission statement.
Continuously learn about professional and personal development, and strive to always be getting better.

Tutorials and Activities

The best way to learn and make progress toward goals is by doing. Here's some exercises to help you practice and start doing.

How to Create a Local WordPress Site

Looking for More Ways to Practice?

The best way to learn and make progress toward goals is by doing.
Here's some exercises to help you practice and start doing.