WordPress beginners course part 1

WORDPRESS BASICS PART 1

www.rowntreemedia.com ROWNTREEMEDIA

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THIS COURSE IS FOR YOU

…if you have a WordPress site that has already been set up for you

…if you are new to the WordPress CMS (content management system – where you upload your Posts, Pages and Images)

…if you like to have simple instructions to hand

Right – let’s start!

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WORDPRESS TERMS

Term Definition Theme The overall template of your website Dashboard The central console in the WordPress CMS Permalinks The web addresses of your web pages CMS Content Management System – through which you upload

text and images to your website Media Images, video and downloadable documents Category A way of labelling your Posts so that they can be grouped.

Categories can have hierarchies. Tag A further way of labelling your content, allowing it to be

grouped.


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HOW TO LOG IN TO WORDPRESS

Go to your domain eg www.mydomain.com

Add /login to the end of the address.

Press return.

Enter your login name and password.


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THE DASHBOARD

This is where you access your content.


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PAGES OR POSTS?

Pages contain static content that is always true. Pages are generally only updated if incorrect or outdated.

Examples of pages

•  About us

•  Contact us

Posts are used for news – they keep the website fresh.

Posts are date stamped and usually carry the author’s name.

Posts are used for blogs.


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HOW TO CREATE A PAGE

In the left hand menu, click the Pages link on the Dashboard, then All Pages.

Click the Add New tab.

Insert a Title – make it unique.

Use keywords which means “Be as specific as possible.”


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HOW TO CREATE A POST

Very similar to a Page.

Click the Posts link on the Dashboard, then All Posts.

Click the Add New tab.

Insert a Title – make it unique.

Use keywords in the body copy.

Tick a Category.


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TITLES AND URLS

Insert a title in your Page or Post.

When you move off the title a URL (web address) is created just beneath.

If you amend the title of a Page/Post, you should also amend the URL.

Use the Edit button next to the Permalink to give the page a new URL.

✚ Avoid amending the URLs of old Pages/Posts – they may be linked to by other websites. Changing them will cause an error page to appear.


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ADD TEXT

After you have typed in your Title (for a Page or a Post) notice that the title forms part of the webpage address.

Type or paste in the body copy.

✚ On the web, copy is called text.


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Some themes have different page formats eg

•  Full width

•  Left sidebar

•  Staff

Make your choice in the right hand column.

PAGES: CHOOSE A TEMPLATE


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Web pages are part of a hierarchy.

When you create a new page, decide which other page it should sit under by choosing a Parent.

If this page sits on the top level choose no parent.

PAGES: CHOOSE A PARENT


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POSTS: CATEGORIES & TAGS

WordPress uses Categories and Tags to organise Posts and group them together.

Create categories by:

•  Adding them on the edit screen OR

•  Adding them in Posts -> Categories (in the left hand menu)

Assign a Category to each Post.

✚ Tags are similar to Categories but are more specific.


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The edit screen has word processor options (bold, italic, colours etc).

Font sizes are controlled by the use of Styles (paragraph, address, Heading 1, Heading 2 etc)

USING THE EDIT SCREEN


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MAKING LINKS

Highlight the text you want to link – make it as enticing as possible.

Click the Link tool in the toolbar.

Type or paste in the website address you want to link to or find an internal page.

✚ To break a link use the Break Link tool.


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EDIT THROUGH THE POST/PAGE

If you want to amend a Page or Post you have already published find the Page/Post you want to edit.

Click Edit Page/Post in the top menu.


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PUBLISH OR SAVE AS DRAFT Using the options on the right hand side choose to Save Draft or Publish immediately. WordPress also allows you to schedule the release of Pages and Posts.

•  Look for Publish immediately to the right of the edit screen.

•  Click Edit next to it. •  Assign a date and time. •  Press Publish. •  In the list of all Pages/Posts it

shows up as Published with a date next to it.


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SPLITTING LONG POSTS/PAGES

You can paginate a long Page or Post by inserting a short code in the text.

•  On the edit screen, select the Text tab (top right of edit box)

•  Find the place in the text where you want the page to split. •  Insert this code:  •  Return to the Visual tab •  Preview your split •  Save or update •  The Page or Post now has pagination at the foot.

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IMAGES

Images are stored in Media.

To illustrate a Page/Post you can upload a new image or reuse an old one.

Images should be:

•  JPG, PNG or GIF format (do not use PDF or PSD) •  RGB (this is the colour profile – stands for Red, Green, Blue) •  72dpi (dots per inch) •  Under 1MB

✚ Ensure file names are meaningful before you upload the image. Use aldwych-theatre-london.jpg rather than 298457FAW3094.jpg. This is good for SEO.


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UPLOAD AN IMAGE – 1

In the edit box, place your cursor in the top left of the text. Click the Add media symbol on the controls.

Drag an image on to the media box or use the browser to locate and select the image on your computer.


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UPLOAD AN IMAGE – 2 Amend the image title if necessary.

Add Alternate Text.

Add a Caption (optional).

Add an image link (optional).

Choose the alignment and size.

Click Insert into Post.


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HOW TO REUSE AN IMAGE – 1 In the edit box place your cursor in the top left of the text. Press the Add media symbol above the text box. On the next screen click Media Library and…


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REUSE AN IMAGE – 2 … either Search for the image or scroll through until you find the correct one. Click Show. This displays information about the image. Choose which size you want to use in your Post and press Insert into Post.


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REUSE AN IMAGE – 3

✚ If you add or change data on an image, it will be “global.”

A caption, for instance, will appear under every instance of the image on the website


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CONTINUE THE COURSE PART 2 •  Editing images

•  Formatting text

•  Plugins

•  Widgets

•  Themes

PART 4

SEO and Analytics

•  SEO good practice

•  Keywords

•  Google Analytics

•  Webmaster tools

PART 3 Managing your WordPress site

•  Settings

•  Comments

•  Users

•  Your domain

•  WordPress updates

PART 5

•  Email newsletters

•  Events calendar

•  Social media


WordPress beginners course part 1

Software

Transcript of WordPress beginners course part 1