NOTE: Because of our recent site upgrade (March 18/10), some of the images below may NOT correspond exactly to what you currently see.
[This page contains MANY images - please allow enough time for them all to load before using.]
If you only want to visit or look at your blog …
If you just want to visit the blog you first had created when you registered, type in the browser or click on the URL link you were given in the registration email you were sent.
In the case of our fictitious John Doe, it would be:
http://johndoe.chss-alumni.ca
and you would see ..
If you want to CREATE NEW ENTRIES and/or EDIT your blog …
You need to log in to the Admin features with a Username and Password.
In the case of our fictitious John Doe, he would type the following URL into his browser:
http://johndoe.chss-alumni.ca/wp-login.php
which would bring him to a screen like this:
Type in the Username and Password you were given. If you have changed your password from the original one given to you when you first registered, enter it instead.
If the log in information you type in is correct, you will be taken to what is called the Dashboard of your blog.
Now at this point, I need to simply say that you should spend some time exploring things that appear here. If you have already worked with a blog, most things will be familiar. What appears below is NOT meant to be a primer on working with a WordPress blog. There are lots of books and internet tutorial out there to help you understand WordPress in more depth. What follows is simply a thumbnail description of the major sections to your Dashboard.
DASHBOARD
1. Home Dashboard screen
This is meant to provide you with a quick and current overview of your blog.
2. My Blogs
Like the title states, here is a list of all the blogs which you currently manage. Although you can certainly create more than one blog, most people will find that a single blog more than meets their needs.
POSTS
3. Edit Posts
You’ll visit this screen a lot if you like to make frequent updates on your blog. You’ll see an individual listing of all your separate story posts and be able to easily edit/delete or view them.
4. Add New Post
Add a title, write and format some content and, finally, assign any applicable tags/categories to your post. Be sure to “Publish” the post if you want people to see your work.
5. Tags
Basically just keywords that can be attached to your posts that you think people might use to search your content with by clicking on what’s called a “Tag Cloud”. Individual posts can have several tags attached to them.
6. Categories
If tags can be thought of as equivalent to the labels on a file folder, Categories would be equivalent to the name of a drawer in a file cabinet. Individual posts can have several categories attached to them but it’s best to leave it to no more than 2-3. Unlike tags, categories can have sub-categories.
MEDIA
7. Media Library
Here you will find a listing of all the images associated with your posts.
8. Add New – Upload New Media
If you want to add to your media library for later use, here you have the option of selecting either single or multiple files and uploading them. Remember, you have a limited amount of storage space on the server. Downsize and scale your images to conserve space and speed up their display on screen.
LINKS
9. Edit Links
You have the option of including in the sidebar of your blog a listing of outside website links that you think other people might enjoy visiting. This screen allows you to edit your links.
10. Add New Link
Pretty self-explanatory. Don’t get too worried about the other options towards the bottom of this page. Defaults will probably work for you.
11. Link Categories
Like Posts, your links can be assigned to appear in separate categories. You might decide to have a Business links section and a Personal or Family links section. When you create a link, you can assign it to a particular category.
PAGES
12. Edit Pages
Unlike Posts, Pages are not meant to be commented on. Their information seldom changes or needs updating. Think about putting contact information on a Page rather than in a Post. You can add a Pages widget to your blog’s sidebar.
13. Add New Page
Like the title implies.
COMMENTS
14. Edit Comments
This is the place to manage the comments people might make on particular posts appearing on your blog. You can Approve, Edit or Delete particular comments people might have left.
APPEARANCE
15. Manage Themes
You have a very limited number of other appearance choices to make here. More options may be added in the future. Try to make what’s available now work for you.
16. Widgets
Drag and drop particular widgets (small chunks of content) that you’d like to see in the sidebar panel of your blog. Within the sidebar, you can drag to arrange a particular order you want.
17. Customize Header
I know – it’s not terribly inspiring or an eye-catching design, but again, for our purposes right now, this gives you a little flexibility in creating the header of your blog.
USERS
18. Users – Authors and Users
Most of you will only have a single user assigned to your blog.
19. Profile
Here is the place to change your password or to add certain contact info for your profile.
TOOLS
20. Tools
You should probably play it safe and ignore this page.
21. Import
If you have a small blog on another supported format site, you could import posts and comments you have there so that they appear on your Alumni blog. Some things transfer fine while other things will need tweaking to make them appear ok. Don’t attempt this unless you’ve got some time to play with and fix the results.
22. Export
This is basically giving you the option of the reverse of #21. It will also provide you with a good backup file of your blog’s content should you need it.
SETTINGS
23. General Settings
If you want to change the name of your blog’s displayed title and tagline plus date and time formats, this is where it all happens.
24. Writing Settings
Some of you may be interested in Remote Publishing (posting stories written in other apps besides a web browser). For example, if you own an iPhone, there is a free WordPress app that will allow you to publish to your blog from your phone or handheld iTouch.
25. Reading Settings
Maybe you don’t want your blog to open showing your latest posts. Maybe you’d like to display a Contacts Page instead. Here you get to determine what’s the first thing people will see when they visit your blog.
26. Discussion Settings
A lot of options on this page that allow you to control how and if people can comment on your content. Read through them carefully. For most people, the defaults will suffice just fine.
27. Media Settings
Here you get to choose the default size settings for images inserted into your posts.
28. Privacy Settings
Most people will want to keep their blogs “visible” to search engines (so others can find you) but for those who want shut out “Google”, here’s the setting to change.
29. Permalinks Settings
Here you can tailor the precise URL format you want your posts to take. The default will be fine for most people.
30. Delete Blog
This step is NOT reversible. You will not be able to access your blog’s information after you delete it. Deliberate carefully before choosing this option.
I know all the above can be quite intimidating at first when you have had no or little experience setting up and managing a blog. Take a deep breath and relax! With more time and experimentation, you’ll soon discover why blogging is so much fun.
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