Here are a couple video tutorials if you prefer them over reading:
How to Post and Edit Content – Part 1 (6:10 minutes)
How to Post and Edit Content – Part 2 (4:45 minutes)
Note: There are a few minor differences in the newest version of the WordPress interface since these were created back in 2010.
Logging in to your WordPress Dashboard
To log into your WordPress site, type /wp-admin on the end of your domain, i.e. www.mydomain.com/wp-admin – this will take you to the WordPress Dashboard. Enter your user name and password.
You will most likely be set up with Editor privileges, not Administrator privileges, so that you cannot accidentally change core site files.
Adding and Editing Posts or Pages
Posts and Pages are similar in format but the purpose is different for each.
- Pages are, well, pages on your website that are typically accessed by viewers through the site navigation links. They contain information like – About > Contact > Products > Services.
- Posts (or Blog posts) contain information like events, new products, recent work, tips, or industry news. Posts can be categorized for searching and are typically accessed by viewers from your News/Blog page.
How to add a new Post (or Page)
- Go to your dashboard and hover your mouse or click the Post (or Page) link on the left
- Select “Add New”
- Enter a title in the field at the top of the edit window
- Write or paste text into the main edit window.
First select the Visual tab in the upper right of the edit window. (The Text tab is there for viewing and editing the raw text and code. Unless you are comfortable with code, ignore this view.)
Second insert your text. (There are three main ways to insert text.)
1. Type directly in the edit window.
2. Copy/Paste from any another document.
3. Copy/Paste specifically from MicroSoft Word. - Select any part of your text and format with standard formatting like bold, italic, numbered lists, bulleted lists, alignment, underline, colored text. There are many useful formatting functions. For detailed descriptions and instruction on editing and formatting text, go to How To Use The WordPress Visual Editor For additional formatting button options more tools can be added with plugins like Ultimate TinyMCE PRO.
- Select the appropriate Category and add Tags for search-ability in the righthand column. I can or have already set up appropriate categories for you. The default is the Uncategorized setting. It is best to create and consistently use appropriately named categories for searching and sorting your posts. Get in the habit of setting these before you have a lot of posts to deal with. Contact me for more information about using Categories and Tags.
How to save, preview and publish your Post (or Page)
- In the righthand column under Publish, click – Save Draft
- Click – Preview to see what your post (or page) will look like in a browser.
- There are a variety of other options within the Status and Visibility categories but you can generally ignore these. Your main concern is whether you want to publish immediately or schedule a time/date. To publish immediately, simply click the Publish button. To schedule a time/date, click the Edit link next to Publish Immediately. Do not click Publish at this time, simple click Save Draft again.
How to edit an existing Post (or Page)
- Go to your dashboard and hover your mouse or click the Post (or Page) link on the left
- From the list in the main window, click the title of the Post (or Page), or the Edit link below the title. Alternatively you can change a few basic settings with Quick Edit, or you can delete the post by clicking Trash.
- For detailed descriptions and instruction on editing and formatting text, go to How To Use The WordPress Visual Editor
- Contact me for more information about using Categories and Tags.
Adding Images
Before adding images, it is best to resize and optimize it using and image editor like Adobe Photoshop.
- Go to your Dashboard and hover or click to Add New.
- You can drag and drop into the Upload New Media window or Select files on your computer from the browser window. (You can upload multiple files at a time and they will all be added to your Media Library.)
- Go to a Post or Page and place your cursor anywhere in the edit window where you want the image to appear.
- Click the Add Media button above the edit window. Select the image (or multiple images) from the Media Library and click the “Insert into page” button. (Alternatively, you can upload and insert files directly from this window by toggling from Media Library to Upload Files.)
- To change the image properties such as alignment or add a link URL click once on the image.
You can then use the text alignment or insert link buttons at the top of the visual editor to change the alignment.
For more options click the Edit Image or Delete Image icons that appear at the upper left corner of your image. Make sure you’ve clicked the image so that they magically appear. Once in the Edit Image window you can change the size, alignment, border style, link URL, title and caption. (Note that adjusting the size of images in this mode does not work reliably so resizing before uploading is the best option.) - Click Update to save the changes.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me for help.
