Basic WordPress Blog Mandy Webster, M.S., M.A. –

What’s a blog, anyway? What are some of your favorite blogs? Is there one particular blog you would like to emulate? Why? Why do you want to start a blog? What specifically do you have in mind?

Pre-planning your blog Define your Topic Audience Choose a Blog Name Choose a URL (make a list of several in case your chosen URL is already taken.)

We’ll be using Wordpress.com for this class. Wordpress: .com vs .org Wordpress.com Wordpress.org Wordpress hosts your blog or website Free setup and hosting Your website will have a Wordpress.com subdomain You can’t upload any custom themes or plugins or modify the PHP code behind your site Ads and links to affiliate programs are not allowed Best for a hobby blog or a starter blog You host your blog or website (i.e. You need your own server.) You can use your own subdomain You can upload custom themes and plugins and can modify the PHP code behind your site Can incorporate ads and link to affiliate programs to generate income Best for a business venture that can help pay for site maintenance and administration We’ll be using Wordpress.com for this class.

Log in to your work stations USERNAME: PASSWORD:

Click on the “Get Started” button. Go to wordpress.com. Click on the “Get Started” button.

Just pick anything for now. Pick a Theme, any theme Just pick anything for now. There will be additional themes to choose from after you have signed up!

What’s your address? URLs cannot be duplicated. URLs cannot be changed. If someone else already has the one you want, you’ll have to choose another! Keep trying until you find something that works. BUT! Remember that this will be your URL for good, so choose wisely!

You can upgrade later if you need to Pick a plan Start with FREE You can upgrade later if you need to

You can change your username or use the one provided Create your account Enter the email address you wish to use to receive updates from Wordpress You will need to be able to access this email to confirm your account. You can change your username or use the one provided Pick a password you can easily remember Then continue on to the blog editor

Your WYSIWYG site WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get! What you see right now is a published sample blog site that you can edit and customize. Any changes you make to the site now will not be public until you choose to publish them. Click the Customize button to edit your site! Clicking “Customize Button” will open my test blog. Login: mandyhccblogclass, Eatzebra79.

The basic parts of your blog Header Image Title Tag Line Pages Home: Your Blog About Contact You can change these or add more if you like. Widgets

Edit your header image Two ways to do this: Click the image icon in the top right-hand corner of the header image Click on “Header Image” in the side navigation

Choose a suggested image or upload one of your own!

Edit your site title, Tag Line, etc. Wherever you see this pencil icon, that means you can edit the field. Just click on the pencil to edit! Fill in the Site Title and Tagline fields. Site Icon is optional, but think of it as your site’s profile picture. Choose a “Footer Credit.” “Save and Publish” to make your changes live. Exit this editing form.

The difference between your home (blog page) and other pages The “Home” page is the index page of your blog. Think of it as the Table of Contents if your blog was a book. It is a list of all of the blog posts on your blog. Individual blog posts should be set up so only a snippet of the post displays on the index page (more on that later.) One individual blog post = one blog page Readers should be able to view snippets of multiple blog posts on the home page to get a quick idea of what your blog is about. Other pages are simple, short pages You will not add multiple “posts” to any page other than your HOME page. Every blog should have an “About” page so readers can quickly learn who you are and what your blog is about. Every blog should have a “Contact” page Improves credibility Gives readers an avenue to contact you privately Other pages are optional; depends on what your blog is about

The Home (index) page will auto-generate as you add new blog posts (more on that later.) Reserve other pages for content that will not change very often. Click the pencil icon next to your page tabs to add/remove pages and move pages around in the navigation. How to edit pages

Adding/Removing pages & arranging navigation You can click “Add Items” to add additional pages. Page tabs can be dragged and dropped to reorder them in the navigation menu. Click “Save and Publish” to save your changes.

Edit your about page Exit the editor to see what your blog looks like live. Go to your About page. Click Edit to open the page in the page editor.

The Page Editor In the page editor, you can edit your text, add photos, embed videos, and more. Click the three dots to open the “kitchen sink” to view more formatting options. Take a few minutes to write new text for your About page to replace the sample text.

How to add an image to a page or a post Place your cursor where you would like to add new content. Click the Plus Sign icon to insert content. You can add images, documents, and videos here. Click “Add New” to upload an image from your computer. After you have chosen a photo and added it to your image library, click “Insert” to add it to your page or post.

Edit the image Once your image has been inserted, click on it to open the image editing toolbar above. You can change the image’s location and size, add a caption, edit the image’s properties, or delete it, all using this toolbar. Click “Update” to save and publish your changes.

Edit your contact page Go to your Contact page The contact form automatically populates with the user’s information (if the user is logged in to Wordpress.) Click “Edit” at the bottom of the page. You can edit this page just as you did your About page. You can also add a contact form to any other page by clicking the arrow next to the plus sign icon in the toolbar. Then, click “Add Contact Form.” Click “Update” to save and publish your changes.

Write your first blog post! Your blog template came with one sample blog post already published. Let’s start by editing that post. Go to your Home page, then click “EDIT” under the sample post’s title. This will open the post in an editor that looks and works very much like the page editor we just used.

Edit the blog post

Click Update to Publish Your Changes. Categories and tags Categories are like the Table of Contents of a book. Every blog post should have one broad category. Categories are a second-level site navigation tool. Think very carefully about how you want to categorize your blog posts before you start adding new categories. Make a list of broad categories you plan to use often and stick with them. Categories on a decorating website might include: Living Rooms, Kitchens, Patios, Gardens, Fall, Spring, Halloween, etc. Tags are like the index pages of a book. Each blog post can have as many specific tags as you like. Don’t worry about having too many tags. Tags on a decorating website might include: Dishes, Towels, Place Settings on a kitchen blog post Apples, Pumpkins, Hay bales, Fall colors on a Fall blog post Skeletons, Trick-or-Treat, Scary, Costumes on a Halloween blog post Click Update to Publish Your Changes.

A few notes before we proceed… Notice that the entire blog post you just composed shows up on the current page. The current view is an individual PAGE. Now, click on the “HOME” tab to go to your Home page. What changed? REMINDER: There is a big difference between a blog post PAGE and the snippet that shows on the HOME/index page.

Create a new blog post Click on “Write” to start a new blog post at any time. Regardless of which page you are on when you do this, the post that you create will be added to your Home page. Write a new blog post using the same steps we just used to edit the previous post. Take some time to play and ask questions!

Widgets Navigate to your live blog site. Click on “Customize.” Select “Widgets” from the side bar. Your site already has a few widgets, but you can move these around, remove, and add more.

Edit your Widgets Click “Sidebar” to edit the widgets on the side of the blog. (Footer widgets may be edited in the same manner.) Click “Add Widget” and then choose a few widgets to add to your sidebar. Take a little time to play with your widgets and ask questions. “Save and Publish” when you’re done!

Q&A And PlayTime! Got any questions? Want me to walk through something again? It’s your turn, now!