1.WPBrix & WordPressNinja.com present:WordPress for Beginners TutorialFREE Beta edtion - v 0.5 - covering WordPress 3.4To download the most recent version of this guide, please visit:www.wpbrix.com/wordpress-for-beginners-tutorial/ Written By N.J.

2. WordPress for Beginners Tutorial 4 About the author4 About this guide4 Where to nd help?4 Introduction5What is WordPress? 5WordPress.com vs WordPress.org 5Why choose WordPress?5 Installation6Preparation6Step by step installation6Web host with a pre-installed version of WordPress10More information10 Getting to know the dasbhoard11Front end / back end11Log in (to get access to the back end)11 Conguring WordPress (Settings)13General Settings13Writing Settings14Reading Settings15Discussion Settings 15Media Settings17Privacy 17WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)1 3. Permalinks17 The Basics Of WordPress19The WYSIWYG editor19Hyperlinks20Images21Media 23 Pages24Usage 24Overview24How to add a new page 24How to edit an existing page28How to delete a page28 Posts30Usage 30Overview30How to add a new post 30How to edit an existing post34How to delete a post34Post categories 35Post tags 36 Custom menus 38Introduction38How to create a custom menu 38How to attach your custom menu to your theme39Add custom links, pages and categories to your menu 39WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)2 4. How to change the order of the menu items?40How to remove a menu item?41 User management42Introduction42The 5 different roles in WordPress42How to add a new user 42Tip: create at least 2 user accounts43How to extend the basic user management?43 WordPress Themes 44The different possibilities 44Installing a theme44 Widgets48Whats a widget?48Examples48How to activate a widget? 48 Plugins49Whats a plugin?49Find a plugin 49How to install a plugin?49How to congure a plugin50My favourite plugins50 Whats next? 52WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)3 5. WordPress for Beginners TutorialAbout the authorHi, my name is Nico and Ive been creating websites for over 13 years now.I studied to become a teacher and graduated in 2002. After my graduation, I started working in a bank where I wroteapplications in MS Access and MS Excel.After 3 years I quit my job to start at a university college where I helped developing the digital learning environment andtraining the staff. In this period, I also started to create PHP-MySQL applications. Ive worked there for 4 years.Today, Im full time web developer, developing PHP-MySQL applications. I also run a small company that creates websitesrunning on WordPress. In the free time thats left I run my blogs wordpressninja.com and wpbrix.com (which is my newestblog).About this guideI created this free guide as a start for people who want to start with WordPress.After reading this guide, youll be able to create your own blog or CMS-driven website with WordPress. Allthough not everyaspect of WordPress is described in detail, I enclosed enough links to other sites and books so youll know where to nd theright information.Please note that much of this publication is based on personal experience. The author is not responsible for any errors,mistakes, any loss of prot or any other commercial damage.To download the most recent version of this guide, please visit: www.wpbrix.com/wordpress-for-beginners-tutorial/Where to nd help?For most of your questions, the ofcial WordPress forum is a great place to nd information or to ask a question. You cannd this forum at:www.wordpress.org/forumsIf you have questions about a commercial theme or plugin, its better to rst contact the author. Some of them have theirown forum, some of them also use the ofcial WordPress forum.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)4 6. IntroductionWhat is WordPress?With WordPress you can easily create and maintain a blog or a website.WordPress.com vs WordPress.orgThere are 2 versions of WordPress, WordPress.com and WordPress.org.WordPress.com is very easy to start with. Just go to WordPress.com, sign up and start blogging. The basic version is free,but it will show adds to your visitors. You have to pay to remove the adds and to use your own domain name.WordPress.org is the selfhosted version. This means you have to download the software and install it on your own webhosting / server. This might be a little bit more work but youll also have much more possibilities: there are a lot more pluginsavailable and you can choose or create your own themes.In this tutorial, youll learn how to use the selfhosted version of WordPress (= WordPress.org).Why choose WordPress? open source software easy to use exible used worldwide constantly in developmentOpen source softwareWordPress is open source software. This means that you dont have to pay for a license or you dont have to pay to use it.Easy to useWordPress is easy to use. Not only its simple to install and to congure, you also dont need any technical knowledge tocreate and maintain the content.FlexibleBecause WordPress is a exible platform, its easy to suit your needs. The standard conguration contains the basics, butyou also can extend WordPress with a lot of interesting and powerful plugins.Used worldwideWordPress is used worldwide; thousands of blogs and websites run on the WordPress platform. Depending on the source,its reported that 8 to 12% of the websites worldwide are running on WordPress!!Constantly in developmentA lot of developers work together to constantly make WordPress better.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)5 7. InstallationPreparationBefore starting to install WordPress, you need a couple of things: A domain name and web hosting WordPress softwareA domain name and web hostingThe rst step is choosing a domain name (for example www.mydomain.com) and web hosting. There are a lot of sorts ofweb hosting. In most cases the registration of the domain name is included with the web hosting. If youre just starting withWordPress, then I advise you to go for cheap shared web hosting. At any time, youll be able to move your blog to anotherweb host if you need more power. Examples of companies offering shared hosting are: Bluehost, Dreamhost and Hostgator.Of course, there are MUCH more web hosting companies, so feel free to choose your own.If youre building a professional blog or website for a lot of visitors that has to be fast, then I advise you to take a look atmanaged WordPress hosting like WPEngine, Page.Ly or ZippyKid.For more information, reviews and speed tests of web hosting, please check my blog wpbrix.com/hosting/WordPress softwareYou can download WordPress for free at www.wordpress.org.Step by step installationWordPress is famous for its 5 minutes installation (sounds great, isnt it?)Step 1: Upload the WordPress softwareAfter you downloaded WordPress and unpacked the zip le, you have to upload WordPress through FTP to your webhosting. Normally you dont have to create an extra folder, unless you want WordPress to be installed in a subfolder.Step 2: Start the installationIn your web browser, visit the url where you installed WordPress. In most cases this will be something like http://www.yourdomain.com.Step 3: Create a conguration leIn this screen youll see next message:Click the Create a Conguration File button.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 6 8. Its possible that WordPress cant create the conguration le. When you experience this problem, search for wp-cong-sample.php on your web space. Just make a copy of wp-cong-sample.php and rename it to wp-cong.php. Now try again.Step 4: Welcome messageThe next screen is a welcome message. It also reminds you to the fact that you need all the information you got from yourweb host.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)7 9. Step 5: Fill In The Database Connection DetailsIn the following screen you need to ll in the database connection details:The following elds have to be lled in: Database Name: the name of your database User name: the MySQL username Password: the MySQL password Database Host: by default this is localhost (only change this if you have anoter database server from your web host) Table Prex: by default this is wp_ but for security reasons its better to ll in another table prex.Click the Submit-button to proceed.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 8 10. If you see this screen, your database connection details are ok:Click the Run the install button to start the installation of WordPressStep 6: ll in the basic informationIn the following screen you have to ll in some basic informationWordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 9 11. Site title: ll in the title of your blog or website. Username: choose a username. By default admin is lled in but for security reasons I advise you to choose anotherusername. This makes it harder for hackers to guess your administrator username. Password, twice: ll in a password. For security reasons, pick a strong password thats not easy to guess!! Your E-mail: ll in a valid e-mail. Allow my site to appear in search engines like Google and Technorati: select this so your website can be found andindexed by search engines.Click the Install WordPress button after you lled in the needed information.Step 7: installation completedThats it!Click the Log In button to get access to the back ofce where you can manage WordPress.Web host with a pre-installed version of WordPressAs you can see, installing WordPress is very easy. But there are some companies offering web hosting with a WordPress 1-click-installation. This makes it even easier to install WordPress!Another option is managed WordPress hosting. In this case, WordPress will already be installed, together with a selection ofplugins. Examples of companies offering managed WordPress hosting are WPEngine, Page.Ly and ZippyKid.More informationCheck out the WordPress Codex for more information about the installation of WordPress:codex.wordpress.orgIf you have a question or if you need help, check out the Ofctial WordPress forum:wordpress.org/support/WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)10 12. Getting to know the dasbhoardFront end / back endFront endThe front end is the part of your blog or website your visitors can see.Back endThe Back end is the part where you can log in and manage your blog. This is the CMS (Content Management System) part.Here you can add, edit and delete content. Its also the place to fully congure your blog.Log in (to get access to the back end)You have to log in to get access to the back end (the part where you can manage your blog).You can log in through http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-login.php. Now youll see the following screen:Here you have to ll in your username and your password. Click the Log in button. After you logged in, youll see the backend of your blog:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)11 13. The upper part is a welcome message helping you to start with WordPress. To remove this message from the dashboard,click the Dismiss link right above or the Dismiss this message link on the bottom.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)12 14. Conguring WordPress (Settings)General SettingsYou can nd the general settings through Settings > General in the left menu. In this screen you can congure the basicsof your site setup. Site Title: here you can ll in the title of your site / blog. Tagline: in a few words, explain what your site / blog is about. WordPress address (url): here you nd the url of your site / blog. Be careful when you change this! Site address: for regular installations, you can leave this eld blank. E-mail address: this address is used for admin purposes, like new user notication. Membership: can everyone register to your site / blog? New User Default Role: whats the role of new users (IF they can register)? Select Subscriber here. Users with moreexperience can also select another default role here. Timezone: select your timezone. Date Format: select a date format. Time Format: select a time format. Week starts on: select the rst day of the week.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)13 15. Writing SettingsYoull nd the Writing Settings page through Settings > Writing in the left menuFor now, only 2 settings are important: Default Post Category: here you can choose the default post category. But youll rst need to create other categories(youll learn this later in this tutorial). XML-RPC: check this option to update your blog / site from mobile devices (smartphone, tablet,...).WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)14 16. Reading SettingsSelect Settings > Reading in the left menu:An interesting option here is Front page displays. Here you can choose what will be shown on your front page. If youwant to use WordPress as a website, select a static page and pick a page to act as your frontpage. And just like thefront page, you can also select another posts page.Dont forget, these pages have to be existing pages, so you have to create them before you can select them.Discussion SettingsYoull nd the Discussions Settings page through Settings > Discussion in the left menu. On this page youll retrieve thesettings for several options. Lets take a look!This part is important for bloggers. If youre planning to use WordPress as a CMS, this part is less important.Default Article Settings Attempt to notify any blogs linked to from the article: if you publish an article with links to other blogs in it, your blog will tryto notify those other blogs to tell them you linked to them (and you published an article). This will result in a automaticcomment on that blog (only when you checked this option). Allow link notications from other blogs: when other blogs link to you and they notify you, theyll place an automaticcomment. Uncheck this setting to not publish these comments (I always uncheck these setting). Allow people to post comments on new articles: give your visitors the possibility to write a comment under your article.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 15 17. Other Comment Settings Comment author must ll in name and e-mail: when someone leaves a comment, he or she must ll in a name and emailaddress. Users must be registered and logged in to comment: if you check this option, readers rst have to log in before they canplace a comment. For most blogs, its better not to check this option. Automatically close comments on articles older then XX days: when you check this option, your visitors will not be able toplace comments after XX days. If you check this option, be sure to leave enough time for your readers to place acomment. 14 days is way to short. On my blog, I have topics of over 6 months old, and still a lot of readers are placingcomments! Enable threaded (nested) comments X levels deep: checking this option makes it easier to read comments on othercomments. So be sure to check this option, the default of 5 levels should be enough. Break comments into pages with XX top level comments per page and the last page displayed by default: this could beinteresting if you have a VERY popular blog with a lot of comments. This means that WordPress will split articles with morethen XX top level comments in multiple pages. Comments should be displayed with the older / newer comments at the top of the page: here you can select older /newer to choose how to sort your comments. Note that most bloggers choose to display the newer comments on top.E-mail me whenever Anyone posts a comment: when checked, youll receive an e-mail when someone places a new comment. A comment is held for moderation: if checked, youll receive an e-mail when someone places a new comment thats heldfor moderation.I advise you to check these both because if you have a lot of articles. This is the easiest way to follow up the (new)comments.Before a comment appears An administrator must always approve the comment: when someone places a new comment, an administrator always hasto approve this comment. Comment author must have a previously approved comment: when someone places a rst comment, youll have toapprove this comment. After that, comments of that user will show up without any approvel. Comment moderation: Hold a comment in the queue if it contains a certain amount of links (dened by you). You alsohave a eld where you can ll in words. Fill in one word per line. When a comment contains those words, it will be held inthe moderation queue.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 16 18. Comment blacklist: In this eld you can ll in words. Fill in one word or ip per line. When a comment contains those words,it will be marked as spam. Avatars: An avatar is an image that follows you from weblog to weblog appearing beside your name when you commenton avatar enabled sites. Here you can enable the display of avatars for people who comment on your site.Media SettingsYoull nd the Media Settings page through Settings > Media in the left menu. Here you can congure some defaultsettings for media (especially images) you upload. For most of you, the basic settings are just ne.PrivacyYoull nd the Privacy Settings page through Settings > Media in the left menu. Unless you dont want your blog to showup in search engine search results, you select the rst option:PermalinksYoull nd the Permalinks Settings page through Settings > Permalinks in the left menu. Here you can choose how the urlof your blog or website will look like.I advise you to change this because this is important for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).Out of the box WordPress generates urls like:http://www.mysite.com/?p=123If you turn on Permalinks, its possible to generate urls like this:http://www.mysite.com/about-us/As you can see, in the url of the second example we can read what the page is about. This is also very important for searchengines because they also index page urls. Words in the page url are considered as important, which is good for SEO.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)17 19. Which one to choose? The general rule is, if youre writing evergreen content then choose the option Post name.Otherwise its better to choose for Day and name or Month and name. For example for my blog WordPressNinja.Com Ichose Month and name.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 18 20. The Basics Of WordPressThe WYSIWYG editorThe WYSIWYG editor is used to edit the content of pages and posts. Its based on MS Word to keep things as simple aspossible.Function overviewButtonFunctionput selected text in boldput selected text in italicstrike selected textcreate unordered listcreate ordered listput selected text as a quotealign leftalign centrealign rightinsert hyperlinkWordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 19 21. ButtonFunctionremove hyperlinkinsert the more tagspell checkerWYSIWYG-editor in full screenshow / hide the kitchen sink (show more / less buttons)format the selected text / paragraphundeline selected textalign fullselect text colorpaste copied text from another application as plain text (text without formatting)paste copied text from Wordremove formatting from the selected textinsert a custom characteroutdent selected paragraphindent selected paragraphundoredohelp functioninsert mediaHyperlinksHow To Insert a Hyperlink? Select the text you want to turn into a hyperlink In the menu, click on the-button (Insert / edit link)WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 20 22. The following popup appears: If you want to link to an external page: Fill in the full url (including http://) of that page in the eld URL. Enter a short description in the Title eld. Select Open link in a new window/tab so the page will open in a new window / tab. Click the Add link button. If you want to link to an internal page (within your site or blog) that already exists: Click on Or link to existing content. In the Search eld you can enter a part of the title of the post or page youre looking for. Select a post or page in the list. Only select Open link in a new window/tab if you really want that the page / post opens in a new window or tab, but its better not to do that if you link to an internal page. Click the Add link button.How to edit a hyperlink? Select the text of which you already created a hyperlink (you dont need to select the whole text, its ok to just click on itonce). Click on the-button in the menu (Insert / edit link). Do the changes you need. Click on the Update button.How to remove a hyperlink? Select the text of which you already created a hyperlink (you dont need to select the whole text, its ok to just click on itonce). Click the-button (Unlink).ImagesHow to insert an image?Just above the WYSIWYG editor youll nd a button to insert an image:If you click on this button, the following window appears:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 21 23. There are 3 ways to insert an image: From Computer: upload an image from your computer From URL: use an image on the internet Media Library: insert an image you already uploaded to your media libraryIts better not to use the option From URL. With this option, you use an image from elsewhere on the internet. Imagine youselect an image from another website, and suddenly that image is removed by the webmaster. Then that image will not bevisible anymore on your site too. And second, its not because its easy to use an image from another website, that you alsohave the right to use it on your blog or website!Insert an image: From computer Click the Add media button on top of the WYSIWYG-editor. Click the Select les button. Select an image from your computer. Once uploaded, you can edit the image, just click the Edit image button. Here you can scale or crop the image. In the Title eld you can change the title if needed, also dont forget to add a little description in the Alternate Text eld. Choose the alignment (none, left, center or right). Select the size. Click the Insert into Post-button to insert the image.Once you inserted an image, that image is also uploaded to your media library.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 22 24. Insert an image: Media Library Click the Add media button on top of the WYSIWYG-editor. Select the Media Library tab. Click the Show link on the right of the image you want to insert. If you want to, you can edit the image, just click the Edit image button. Here you can scale or crop the image. In the Title eld you can change the title if needed, also dont forget a little description in the Alternate Text eld. Choose the alignment (none, left, center, right). Select the size. Click the Insert into Post-button to insert the image.How to edit an image? To edit an image you inserted in a post or page, click on the image. 2 buttons appear, click on the left button (Edit Image): Make the changes. Click the Update button to save your changes.How to delete an image? To delete an image you inserted in a post or page, click on the image 2 buttons appear, click on the right button (Delete Image): The selected image is removed from your screen, but is still available in your Media LibraryMediaYou can insert / edit / delete media (a Word document, an Excel sheet, a PDF,...) the same way as you do for images. Theonly difference is that a hyperlink to the le is inserted. The inserted media also appears in your Media Library.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 23 25. PagesUsageIn most cases, pages are used for static content / general information. For example an about us page.Only editors and administrators can add and edit pages.OverviewClick on Pages in the left menu to get an overview of all pages:How to add a new pageSelect Pages > Add new in the left menu. Youll see the following screen:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)24 26. Lets take a look at all the elds on this screen.Page Title:On top of this screen, you can choose your page title. Its always possible to change this later.If you dont use custom menus, then this title will also be used in the menu. In that case, you have to keep the title of thepage short.Under the page title, the Permalink (or URL) of the page appears after you lled in your page title. You can always changethis permalink by clicking the Edit button on the right of the permalink. Now you can ll in your own URL:Click the OK button to conrm this change.Adding contentThe part under the title is the place where you can insert the content trough the WYSIWYG-editor:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)25 27. To nd out how this WYSIWYG editor works, please read the part The WYSIWYG editor in the beginning of this guide.PublishIn this part you nd the options to save, publish and delete your page:Lets take a look at all the options: Save Draft (button): save your page without publishing it on the internet. Preview (button): preview your page in your browser. Status: select the status of your page, draft or pending review. Visibility: select the visibility of your page: public, password protected (visitors have to ll in a password to see thecontent) or private (only visible for logged in visitors). Publish: publish immediately or pick a date to publish your new page later. Move to Trash: move your page to the trash, but its still possible to restore it from the trash. Publish (button): click the publish button to save the page AND to publish it on the internet.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)26 28. Page attributesIn this part you nd some extra options.Lets take a look at the available options: Parent: select the parent page of the current page. This is important when you dont dene your own menu, or when youuse a breadcrumb plugin. Template: Most themes contain multiple templates. This means you can choose a (different) page layout for this page. Thenumber of templates depends from theme to theme. Here you can select the template for this page. Order: ll in a number for ordering your pages. You have to use this option when you dont dene a custom menu. Youcan also use the plugin PageMash in stead of the Order option. With PageMash you can drag and drop your pages tochange the order of your pages.Featured imageWith the Featured image you can uplad an image that will be used with that article, depending on how its dened in yourtheme. For example, a lot of themes use this option so you can easily select a header image or a thumbnail for 1 specicpage.This is easy to use. Just click the Set featured image and select an image. After selecting your image, click on the Use asfeatured image hyperlink at the bottom of this screen:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)27 29. How to edit an existing page Go to the page overview (choose Pages > All pages in the left menu) Now you get an overview of all your existing pages. Put your cursor on a page title. Under that title some options willappear:Click on Edit. The selected page will be opened to edit: You can change the content of the page You can change the options of the page To get the page ofine, select Status: Draft in the Publish part at the right Click the Update button to save the changesHow to delete a pageTo delete a page, you rst have to move this page to the trash. After that, you can delete a page permanently or restore thatpage.Move a page to the trash Go to the page overview (choose Pages > All pages in the left menu) Now you get an overview of all your existing pages. Put your cursor on a page title. Under that title some options willappear:Click on Trash. The page is now moved to the trashRestore / Delete permanentlyTo restore a page or to delete a page permanently, go to Trash and put your cursor on the page title of the page you want torestore or delete permanenty:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)28 30. WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 29 31. PostsUsageIn most cases, posts are used for blogging. But you can also use posts for a news section of your website.OverviewClick on Posts in the left menu to get an overview of all posts:How to add a new postSelect Posts > Add new in the left menu. Youll see the following screen:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 30 32. Lets take a look at all the elds on this screen.Post Title:On top of this screen, you can choose your post title. Its always possible to change this later.Under the post title, the Permalink (or URL) of the post appears after you lled in your page title. You can always change thisURL by clicking the Edit button on the right of the permalink. Now you can ll in your own URL:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 31 33. Click the OK button to conrm this change.Adding contentThe part under the title is the place where you can insert the content trough the WYSIWYG-editor:To nd out how this WYSIWYG editor works, please read the part The WYSIWYG editor in the beginning of this guide.PublishIn this part you nd the options to save, publish and delete your post:Lets take a look at the options: Save Draft (button): save your post without publishing it on the internet. Preview (button): preview your post in your browser. Status: select the status of your post, draft or pending review. Visibility: select the visibility of your post: public (with the option to stick the post on your front page), passwordprotected (visitors have to ll in a password to see the content) or private (only visible for logged in visitors). Publish: publish immediately or pick a date to publish your new post. Move to Trash: move your post to the trash, its still possible to restore it from the trash.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 32 34. Publish (button): click the publish button to save the post AND to publish it on the internet.FormatIn this part you can dene the format of your post:With this feature, a blogger can change how each post looks by choosing a Post Format from a radio-button list. Thedifferent post formats can differ from theme to theme.CategoriesHere you can select one or more categories for your post:Youll learn more about categories in the next part.TagsHere you can tag your article:Just ll in your tag and click the Add button. Or you can click the Choose from the most used tags link to make aselection from your most used tags.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)33 35. Youll learn about tags in the next part.Featured imageWith the Featured image you can uplad an image that will be used with that article, depending on how its dened in yourtheme. For example, a lot of themes use this option so you can easily select a header image for 1 specic post.This is easy to use. Just click the Set featured image and select an image. After selecting your image, click on the Use asfeatured image hyperlink at the bottom of this screen:How to edit an existing post Go to the post overview (choose Posts > All posts in the left menu) Now you get an overview of all your posts. Put your cursor on a post title and under that title some options will appear:Click on Edit. The selected post will be opened to edit: You can change the content of the post You can change the options of the post To get the post ofine, select Status: Draft in the Publish part at the right Click the Update button to save the changesHow to delete a postTo delete a post, you rst have to move this post to the trash. After that you can delete a post permanently or restore thatpost.Move a post to the trash Go to the page overview (choose Posts > All posts in the left menu) Now you get an overview of all your posts. Put your cursor on a post title and under that title some options will appear:Click on Trash. The post is now moved to the trashWordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 34 36. Restore / Delete permanentlyTo restore a post or to delete a post permanently, go to Trash and put your cursor on the post title of the post you want torestore or delete permanenty:Post categoriesUsageCategories provide a helpful way to group related posts together, and to quickly tell readers what a post is about.How to create a new categoryChoose Posts > Categories in the left menu. Youll see following screen:In the left part of this screen you can add a new category, at the right part you get an overview of all existing categories. Ifyou just installed WordPress, there is only 1 category: Uncategorized.To add a new category ll in the following elds: Name: the name of your category as it will appear on your screen Slug: name used in the url (leave blank if you want the same slug as your category name) Parent: if you want to create a sub category, you can here select the parent categoryWordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 35 37. Description: ll in a description of the category (optional)After you lled in all the needed elds, click the Add New Category button. Your new category will now appear in the rightpart of the screen. When adding or editing a post, the new category will also be available in the categories part.How to dene the default categoryIf you dont select a category when adding a new post, the default category will be selected. To choose which category isyour default category: Choose Settings > Writing in the left menu to open the Writing Settings screen. At Default Post Category, select the category you want to use as a default category (this has to be an existing category).Note, you cant delete a category thats selected as default category.Post tagsUsageIn general, tags are similar to categories. But they are more specic and optional.How to create a new tag: adding a tag through the Tags screenChoose Posts > Tags in the left menu. Youll see following screen:In the left part of this screen you can add a new tag, at the right part you get an overview of all existing tags.To add a new tag ll in the following elds: Name: the name of your tag as it will appear on your screen Slug: name used in the url (leave blank if you want the same slug as your tag name) Description: ll in a description of the tag (optional)After you lled in all the needed elds, click the Add New Tag button. Youre new tag will now appear in the right part of thescreen.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 36 38. How to create a new tag: creating a tag in the postFor tags, its easier to add a tag when youre in a post. In the Tag part of your post, ll in the name of the tag you want toadd:If the tag doesnt exist yet, it will be created.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 37 39. Custom menusIntroductionOut of the box, WordPress automaticly adds a menu to your blog or website. This has the advantage that you dont have todo a thing to create a menu. The disadvantage is that its not user friendly to order the menu-items, or to add a category oran external link to your menu. Of course, there are plugins to solve this, but its easier to create a custom menu.How to create a custom menuSelect Appearance > Menus in the left menu. The following screen will appear:Next, ll in the name of your new menu and click the Create Menu button:The new menu will now appear at the right part of your screen:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)38 40. Lets take a closer look:1. Click the +-tab to create a new menu2. When you select the option Automatically add new top-level pages, new added top-level pages will be added automatically to this menu3. Click the Delete Menu link to delete this menu4. This is the place where your added pages, categories and links will appearHow to attach your custom menu to your themeDepending on your theme, your theme supports 1 or more custom menus. You can select which menu to use at whichlocation in the Theme Locations part:Select the menu you want to use and click the Save button.Add custom links, pages and categories to your menuAdd a custom link to your menuYou can add custom links to your menu in the Custom Links part:Fill in an URL, a menu label and click the Add to Menu button to add the link to your menu.Add pages to your menuYou can add pages to your menu in the Pages part:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 39 41. Select the page(s) you want to add to your menu and click the Add to Menu.Note, if the page you want to add exists and isnt listed in the Most Recent tab, try the View All or Search tab.Add categories to your menuYou can add categories to your menu in the Categories part:Select the category / categories you want to add to your menu and click the Add to Menu button.Note, if the category you want to add exists and isnt listed in the Most Recent tab, try the View All or Search tab.How to change the order of the menu items?You can change the order of the menu items very easily:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)40 42. Just hover with your cursor over a menu item, and drag this to the right place.You can also set a menu item as a sub item in the menu here: just drag a menu item a little bit to the right under the parentpage:Check out the result!How to remove a menu item?In the Menus screen, click on the arrow at the right of a menu item:Then click on the Remove link:Dont forget to click the Save button at the bottom of the screen!WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)41 43. User managementIntroductionOut of the box WordPress contains a basic user management. You can create different accounts for different users. Becausenot every user needs the same rights, there are 5 different roles.The 5 different roles in WordPress Administrator: The administrator role has full rights to do everything. Editor: An editor has the rights to create and edit posts and pages and can also edit posts from other users. An editordoesnt have administrative rights. Author: An author is able to write posts and to publish them. Contributor: A contributor can write posts but cant publish them. Subscriber: A basic member of a WordPress blog. Has the same rights as a guests, but doesnt need to log in again toreact on posts.How to add a new userChoose Users > Add new in the left menu. Youll see following screen:In this screen you have to ll in the following elds: Username (required): the username of the new user E-mail (required): the e-mail address of the new user First Name: ll in the users rst name Last Name: ll in the users last name Website: here you can ll in the url of the users website Password (twice, required): choose a strong password for your new user Send Password: Do you want to send the password to your user? (I always leave this option unchecked) Role: select a role for your new userAfter you lled in all the elds, click the Add New User to create the new user.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)42 44. Tip: create at least 2 user accountsFor security reasons its better to create at least 2 user accounts: 1 administrator: for installation and conguration of WordPress, users, themes, plugins,... 1 editor: for creating and editing the contentFor security reasons NEVER use admin or administrator as an account name. If created by default, create a newadministrator user and delete the original one. The reason for this is that hackers who want to hack your blog, will rst try tobreak in with admin or administrator.How to extend the basic user management?For most of us, the basic user management offered by WordPress will be perfect. However, if you need to extend theexisting roles, or if you want to create new roles, then you could install User Access Manager plugin.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)43 45. WordPress ThemesThe different possibilitiesOne of the great advantages of WordPress is that there are a so many ways to choose a layout. There are free themes,commercial themes, theme generators or you could even create your own theme from scratch!Free themesYou can nd a lot of free themes on the internet. In a lot of cases, free themes are great to discover WordPress, or if youhave a tight budget. But dont worry, most of these themes are from good quality.The best source to start searching for a free theme is the list of the most popular free WordPress themes at the ofcialWordPress website.There are also some companies, like WooThemes, offering free themes.Tip: A free theme could also be a good start to create your own theme.Commercial themesCommercial themes are often named Premium themes.In general, these themes dont differ so much from free themes, except you have to pay for them. In most cases, they havebetter support and have more options. Most commercial themes cost around $35, which is much cheaper then designingyour own theme.Some great places to start looking for a commercial theme: Themeforest WooThemes StudioPressUse a theme editor like ArtisteerA great option for web developers who are looking for a simple way to create custom themes, is a theme generator. Artisteeris a commercial theme generator for Windows and Mac. Artisteer lets you create good looking themes without any technicalknowledge. In fact, a lot of web designers use Artisteer to create websites for their clients.Personally I think this is a good option when you want to build a website (CMS). For blogs, I prefer other themes.For more information about Artisteer, check out my review about Artisteer or visit Artisteer.com.Create your own theme (coding / slicing)Coding your own theme is the most exibel way to create a theme. Creating your own theme with WordPress is easier thenyou might think. The only downside is that it just takes more time.Another technique thats used a lot is slicing. In this case, you design your theme in Photoshop and send it to a slicingcompany (you could also do this yourself if youre good in creating your own WordPress themes). The slicing company willdevelop a WordPress theme of your Photoshop design.Installing a themeThere are 3 ways to upload and install a theme in WordPress: Using FTP Upload a theme trough the WordPress DashboardWordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)44 46. Select a free theme through the WordPress DashboardAs you can see there are multiple ways to install a theme. For most users, using the WordPress Dashboard will be theeasiest way.Using FTP Download your theme to your computer Upload this theme to you web hosting (using FTP) into the folder wp-content > themes Log in in the back end of your WordPress blog or site and select Appearance > Themes in the left menu Youll nd your new theme in the list of available themes: Click under a theme on Activate Visit the home page of your blog or site to see the resultUpload a theme through the WordPress dashboard Download a theme to your computer Select Appearance > Themes (1) Click the Install themes tab (2) click the Upload link (3) Select a Zip le on your computer and click the Install Now button (4) After the theme has installed, click on the Activate link: Visit the home page of your blog or site to see the resultWordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 45 47. Select a free theme through the WordPress dashboardTip: rst go to www.wordpress.org/extend/themes/ and search for a theme you like. Select Appearance > Themes (1) Click the Install themes tab (2) Fill in the name of the theme or the author and click the Search button (3) The following screen with search results will appear:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 46 48. Click the Install link under the theme you want to install The following popup will apear: Click the Install Now button After the theme has installed, click on the Activate link Visit the home page of your blog or site to see the resultWordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 47 49. WidgetsWhats a widget?Widgets are small applications / extensions you can place in a space provided on your blog or website. This is usually acolumn left or right on the page (where also the menu is located) or a space at the bottom of the blog or website. Thenumber of spaces to place widgets is limited and depends on the used theme.ExamplesSome examples will clarify the potential of widgets. There are widgets to: show all the pages or categories of a blog or website just ll in some text display your latest tweets from Twitter show adds ...How to activate a widget? Select Appearance > Widgets in the left menu Drag a widget from the central screen to a widget space right:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 48 50. PluginsWhats a plugin?In my opinion, plugins are the real power of WordPress!Plugins are small programs giving you the possibility to extend the functionalities of a basic WordPress installation. Mostplugins can be downloaded and installed for free.Today, there are already thousands of plugins available. So if you want to extend your blog or website with a certainfunctionality, you may be sure there is probably a plugin for that.Find a pluginThe search for plugins can be done best through the website of WordPress itself. A good indicator for good plugins is thepopularity. So its a good idea to explore the list of the most popular plugins:http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/browse/popular/You can also use the search box:http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/How to install a plugin?Search and install a plugin through the back endYou can install most of the plugins through the WordPress Dashboard. Select Plugins > Add New in the left menu. Youll see the following screen: In the search box, ll in (a part of) the name of the plugin and click the Search Plugins button. You will then receive a list of search results:WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)49 51. Once you found the plugin where you were looking for in the search results list, click the Install Now link. Once again,you get a pop up for conrmation. Click the OK button. After the plugin installed succesfully, click the Activate now link. Dont forget to congure the plugin.Upload and install a plugin through the back endSome plugins can only be downloaded to your computer from the authors website. In most cases, these are commercialplugins. Luckily WordPress has a built-in function to upload and install downloaded plugins. Select Plugins > Add New in the left menu. Click the Upload link: Select a ZIP-le on your computer and click the Install button. After the plugin installed succesfully, click the Activate now link. Dont forget to congure the plugin.How to congure a pluginBefore we can use a plugin, you rst have to congure it. This means there are still some settings that have to be congured.This depends from plugin to plugin: some plugins just have a few settings, other plugins have a lot more settings.My favourite pluginsAfter 3 years of working with WordPress, I tried and used lots of plugins. This is my selection of WordPress plugins I use forthe moment. For this selection, I also selected plugins that are well supported. Free plugins are great, but sometimessupport stops after a while because the author just doesnt have the time anymore to update the plugin.Google AnalyticatorYou can use the Google Analyticator plugin to track your visitors with Google Analytics. First, create a Google account (if youdont have one yet), then apply for Google Analytics. Google Analytics is a free service by Google to track your visitors. Thisis very detailed! After youve done this, install Google Analyticator and congure the plugin.More information about Google Analyticator.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 50 52. WordPress SEO by YoastThere are many (good!) free SEO plugins to enhance SEO of your blog. But WordPress SEO by Yoast is my favouritebecause its so complete. I used to use a combination of All In One SEO Pack and Google XML Sitemaps, but WordPressSEO by Yoast has all those features in 1 plugin (and even much more) and in my opinion its a bit more user-friendly.More information about WordPress SEO by Yoast.Secure WordPressThe Secure WordPress plugin adds some basic security to your blog. As securing WordPress is becoming an importantissue, a security plugin is really necessary. I chose Secure WordPress because its so simple to use. Even if you only havebasic WordPress knowledge, you can congure this plugin.More information about Secure WordPress.Login LockLogin Lock also makes your WordPress installation more secure and is also easy to congure. It protects your blog or siteagainst hackers who try to hack your site through the login screen. After x wrong login / password combinations, they willautomaticaly get blocked for x hours.More information about Login Lock.White Label CMSIf youre crating websites for clients, then youll know the basic WordPress dashboard is too complicated for your clients.With the White Label CMS plugin you can choose which menu options your clients will see. You can also include your ownmessage in the dashboard screen. Other features are the possibility to include your own logos (in the login screen, in thedashboard).More information about White Label CMS.W3 Total CacheInstalling a caching plugin is an easy way to boost the speed of your blog or site. There are couple of caching plugins, butW3 Total Cache offers the best results. Its a little bit more difcult to congure, but WordPress will run faster!More information about W3 Total Cache.WPML (commercial)If you need to translate your blog or site, then WPML is the best plugin to do this. Usage is very easy, and this plugin issupported by a lot of themes. Pricing is rather cheap because this plugin will save you a lot of time.More information about WPML.Contact Form 7If you need to extend your blog or site with forms, then I can highly recommend Contact Form 7. With this plugin, you caneasily create multiple forms for your blog.More information about Contact Form 7.Gravity Forms (commercial)In my opinion, Gravity Forms is the best plugin to create forms for your WordPress blog or site. For my job, I create forms(using php / jQuery / Javascript) all the time. But when working on a WordPress project, I only use Gravity Forms. Itsamazing how simple it is to create extended forms. The only downside is that this plugin isnt for free. But believe me, thisplugin is really worth the price!!More information about Gravity Forms.WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition) 51 53. Whats next?After you read this tutorial, you should know the most important basics. But if you want to learn more about WordPress,blogging and SEO, it could be very interesting to visit my blog: More information about hosting: www.wpbrix.com/wordpress-hosting/ More information about themes: www.wpbrix.com/wordpress-themes/ More information about SEO: www.wpbrix.com/wordpress-seo/ Interesting books: www.wpbrix.com/wordpress-books/ How tos and tutorials: www.wpbrix.com/wordpress/WordPress for Beginners Tutorial by WPBrix.com & WordPressNinja.com (FREE beta edition)52