Christine Amatrudo LIS488-03

Getting Started At WordPress.com

INTRODUCTION

WordPress.com or WordPress.org?

WordPress.com provides easy, free web hosting primarily for bloggers and requires little to no experience with web design. WordPress.com does not allow you to upload custom themes or run ads, so for more control over your site a Wordpress.org installation is the better option. You will need to find outside web hosting, probably for an annual fee. If you are looking to start a simple blog or site but feel intimidated by the web, WordPress.com is the way to go. Note that if you change your mind later, WordPress.com offers domain upgrades or a guided transfer of your existing site to a new host for a fee. This tutorial provides an overview of the basics to get you started at WordPress.com.

Why should I blog?

Blogging is a great way to network with colleagues around the world, especially if your site is connected to your other social media accounts. It can also be an important tool for patron outreach, especially if you keep it interesting with frequent and varied updates.

SIGN UP

(1) Go to WordPress.com and click on the

orange button that says Get Started Here.

(2) Fill out the account form.

! Choose your blog address.

o You will be informed if your chosen

domain name is already in use.

o The dropdown menu shows your

suffix options; note that the only free

one is a “.wordpress.com” account.

! Choose your username, which is often the

same as your blog address.

! Choose your password (the form includes a

strength indicator) and provide an email

address.

! Read the “fascinating terms of service” by clicking the blue link by the sign-up button.

! Click Create Blog.

(3) Confirm your account

! Check the email account you provided for an activation link.

! The link will take you to your blog’s dashboard. Your dashboard’s URL is

“[domain name].wordpress.com/wp-admin/” and it is only visible to you.

! Clicking your blog address on the upper left of your dashboard will take you to your blog as

the public sees it. Clicking your username on the right will take you to your personal user

profile.

The next section

will introduce

you to a few key

parts of the

dashboard menu

!

DASHBOARD BASICS

APPEARANCE

(1) Appearance > Themes

! Themes determine your site’s color scheme, fonts, header

design, and column layout.

! You can browse 151 themes (those marked Premium are not

free) or click Feature Filters on the upper right to search for

specific design elements (shown below).

! When you find a theme you

like, click Activate or

Preview to try it out. You

can always go back and

change your theme, so feel

free to experiment.

(2) Appearance > Widgets

! Widgets are applications that add extra content to the sidebar of your site, including

monthly archives, recent posts, and a search feature.

! If you see one you want to try under Available Widgets, drag it to the Sidebar on the right,

give it a title, and click Save.

(3) Appearance > Menus

! You can create a custom menu here. Many themes automatically create a top navigation

menu, but you can create your own instead. Most themes support only one menu.

! Name your menu and click Create Menu.

! Select the pages to be included in your

menu and click Add to Menu. Then you can

drag them into any order you’d like.

! In the Theme Locations section to the

upper left, select your custom menu

under Primary Navigation and be sure

to save your work.

(4) Appearance > Theme Options

! The Theme Options tab will vary according to the theme you’ve chosen. Some things

you may be able to do here include hiding pages and choosing alternate colors.

(5) Appearance > Custom Design

! The Custom Design tab can only be used if you purchase a $30 per year upgrade. It

could be worth considering if you would like to be able to customize your fonts and

create your own stylesheet without having to deal with a WordPress.org installation.

LAYOUT AND CONTENT

Pages or Posts?

! Pages are static; common examples are “About” or “Contact” pages.

! Posts are entries listed in reverse chronological order on your homepage or blog.

! Your front page will display your latest posts, unless you change the default setting.

If you want a static homepage (for a more traditional website), go to Settings > Reading on the

lower left of the dashboard menu.

o Choose static page and assign a page

you’ve created to be the Front Page.

o If you have created a page for your blog

posts, select it as your Posts Page. If you’d

prefer only to work with static pages, you

don’t have to assign a Posts Page at all.

!

!

!

(1) The Pages section of the dashboard menu is a good place to start building

your site structure.

! Pages > Add New takes you to this screen:

o Here you can add a title and content to a static page.

o The Page Attributes menu on the lower right allows you to order your page on

the menu bar and nest your page by assigning it a “parent” page.

o You can preview your work or save a draft before clicking Publish.

! Pages > All Pages produces a list of the pages you’ve created:

o From here you can edit, delete, or view existing pages

o The search features will be helpful as you accumulate more pages; you can sort

them by date or do a specific keyword search.

(2) The Posts section of the dashboard menu is where you add, edit,

and categorize your blog entries.

! Posts > All Posts and Posts > Add New

o These tabs will look familiar. They are in the same format

as the corresponding Pages functions.

! Posts > Categories

o This tab allows you to create and manage

your own categories and nest them in a

hierarchy if you like.

o When you add or edit a post you can check

off the appropriate categories or choose none

at all.

o Some themes automatically create a new

page for each category, so that is something

to keep in mind when previewing themes.

! Posts > Tags

o Tags are another way to group similar posts.

o Here you can create tags in the same way as Categories.

o You can then add tags as you compose a new post or edit an existing one using the

form shown here:

! Posts > Copy a Post allows you to use one of your own posts as a template for a new one.

Note: When adding or editing a page or post, you can switch to the HTML view tab.

However, you are only permitted to use

a limited number of simple HTML tags—

some, like “embed” or “frame,” are

forbidden, as is posting Javascript.

START BLOGGING

Now that you know the basics you are ready to start blogging!

The best way to learn is to play around with the settings yourself, but if you encounter any problems

WordPress offers dozens of specific tutorials and FAQs at http://en.support.wordpress.com/.

More resources to continue building your blog:

! A list of acceptable HTML tags: http://en.support.wordpress.com/code/

! A guide to adding media to your site: http://learn.wordpress.com/get-flashy/

! A guide to getting your blog noticed: http://en.support.wordpress.com/getting-more-site-traffic/

! A daily prompt to push you through writer’s block: http://www.plinky.com/

! An easy tutorial on web hosting, if you decide a WordPress.org installation is more your style:

http://www.w3schools.com/hosting/default.asp