A great option for bloggers

1. WordPress
A GREAT OPTION FOR BLOGGERS

2. What is WordPress?
WordPress is a Content ManagementSystem (CMS). In other words, it is a
piece of software that can helpyou manageand organizecontent into a
coherent website.
InitiallyWordPresswascreated as a bloggingtool, but over the years it has
become much more than that.Today, manyWordPress driven sites look
nothinglikea blog.That is due to the flexibilityofWordPress.
In this class,we will be using the free version ofWordPress as a blogging
tool. Keepin mind,WordPress powers simpleblogs, corporate sites and
everythingin between. WordPress is open source so allof its code is free to
use and customize.This makesit a powerful marketingtool.

3. WordPress.orgVS WordPress.com
WordPress.com allowsanyone to sign up for a free WordPresssite that WordPress will host on
its servers. All you need to do is provide content for the site. Because the hosting is free, we will
be usingWordPress.com for this class.
When youset up a free site at WordPress.com,your site is actually a sub-domain on the
WordPress.com domain.Youdo not own the site,WordPress.com does. For example,if you
wanted to create a WordPresssite onAmerican design,youcould set up a website called
americandesign.wordpress.com.(Assuming no one else hastaken that addressalready.)
There are some restrictions onWordPress.com;for example,a limited choice of
themes/templateswill be available.
WordPress.org isa site where you can download your own copy of WordPress for free. You can
then upload that copy ofWordPressto any web server youlike and start building a site youown.
The difference betweenWordPress.com andWordPress.org isthe similar to renting or owning a
house.When yourent a house, there are limitsto what you can do.When you own the house,
you can do whatever youwant. The big advantage of WordPress.com is that the rent is free!

4. Great Features of WordPress
• The template system for site design meansthat changing the look and feel of your site is as
simple as installing a newtheme.There are a lot of quality, free WordPress themesavailable.
• Pluginsare piecesof code that you can download into yourWordPresssite to add new features.
There are literally thousandsofpluginsavailable.Many are free. Please note, because
WordPress.com includes the most popular plugin functionality within its sites automatically, plugins
are only available for WordPress.org sites.
• Once it isset up, youcan concentrate on adding great content to your site.Yousimply type it
into an editor withinWordPress,hit publish,andWordPress takescare of the rest.
• WordPresshasWidgets,which allowthe user to customize features and place them, for
example,in the site’s sidebar.For example,youmay have a widget that allowsyou to display a
poll to your visitors.Widgetsare typically used in sidebars,but some templatesallowwidgetsto
be placed in the site footer as well ason the homepage.

5. Getting Started with WordPress
LET’S BUILD YOUR BLOG

6. • Go to www.WordPress.com. Click the Get Started linkat the top of the page.
• Choose a theme.You can alwayschangethis later.
• Choose your a free “.wordpress.com” blog addresswisely! Makesure it makes
sense with your brand, product, message, cause or identity.Also, try to be
creative, but KEEP IT SHORT. Keep in mind that your blog address and user
name will match. Enter a phraseor keyword,andWordPress.comwill give you
your free option. Explore differentkeywordsand titles before choosingyourfree
URL. Clickthe blue select button next to the free option, onceyou are satisfied.

7. • Select the Free Plan on thenext page.
• Enter your email address.
• Keep the username thatWordpress assigned
you and enter a strong password.
• Don’t worry.You can changethesedetails later.
• Click the blue Create My Account button.
• Please note,you can only have one
WordPress.com account per email address, but
you can have multiple blogs associatedwith
one account.

8. • Clickthe Welcome box.
• Click”Get Started here.”

9. • You will be prompted to verifyyour emailaddress. Please do so.

10. • After verifyingyour email address, navigate to your MySite
Dashboard.Youcan accessthe page by clickingtheblue MySite
button in the upper left-handcorner.
• Clickthe three dots next to your URL to
customize your icon.
• Clickthe Edit Icon link.
This will take youto your
ClassicDashboardwhere
youcan edit your icon
andGeneralSettings.

11. • Click theChoose File button in the Blog Picture/Icon dialog box.Your
blog image will be used acrossWordPress.Click the Upload Image
button after you have chosen your file.WordPress will prompt youto
crop your image.Click back to Blog optionswhen done.
OTHER SETTINGS
• Change your site title, if necessary. KEEP IT SHORT.
• Add a brief tagline introducing yourselfor your blog to your reader.
KEEP ITSHORT.
• Choose UTC-5 from theTimezone dropdown menu.That isour time
zone code.
• Choose a Date Format that you like or customize the format.Also
choose aTime Format,Week Start day and Language.
• Click the blue Save Changesbutton.At the top of the page,
WordPresswill notify youwhen the changeshave been saved.

12. Adding a Header Image
• Click theAppearance link in theClassic Dashboard to open up the
Appearance dropdownmenu.Choose theCustomize link.
• If your theme allowsfor it, click on the Header Image link to open
its menu.
• WordPresswill make recommendationsfor size based on your
theme.Choose an interesting,newimage for your header image.
• You will be able to crop your header image.Click the white Add
new image button.

13. • When uploadingyour logo,
or anyother image to
WordPress, you willbe
prompted to upload filesto
your Media Library.
• Be sure to includea title,
caption, alt text and
description.The title and
alt text can typicallybethe
same, whilethe caption
and descriptionare also
normallythe same.
• You can also linkout to a
customized sourceURL. By
default images will linkto
the blog post.

14. • Onceyou add your
tile and other
information,clickthe
blue Select andCrop
button.
• Drag the rectangle
and/oradjust the crop
size then clickthe
blue Crop Image
button to crop your
image.
• ClickSave & Publish.
Then clickthe small
arrow to explore
other customizations.
You may be able to
customize colors,
fonts and more.

15. • Clickthe Widgets linkto open up its
menu.
• Explore your positionoptions, and
chooseone.You will see the widgets
currently on your blog.Click a widget
to edit its options.
• Please note, most themesonly have
Sidebar placement options for
widgets.
• Clickthe Add aWidget button to
explore your options.Optionsmay
vary by theme.
• Select or search widgets from the
Add aWidget menu.
• You can also customizewidgets once
youselect them. Be sure to give your
widgets appropriate titles.

16. For this class,please add at least the following widgets, if they are available.
If one or more is unavailable, please make a note of that when submitting your assignment. Most of these widgets will be available in
most themes. Be sure to readabout the functionalityof eachwidgetas you place it on your blog.
o Categories
o Archives
o Facebook Page Plugin
o Follow Blog
o Pages
o Tag Cloud
• ClickReorder to rearrange the widgets
if necessary.Pay attention to other
widget options.
• Clickthe blue Save & Publishbutton
when you are done.

17. • Clickthe X in the upper left-handcornerof the dialogbox to
navigate backto your dashboard.
• Clickthe small buddy iconin the upper right-handcornerand
chooseMy Profilein the dropdown menu.
• Clickthe buddy iconto upload a profilephoto.You can enter
your first and last names or your business or brand name.
• Include a brief bio about youor your company.ClickSave
ProfileDetails when you are done.
• Clickthe blue MySite button to navigate backto you’re My
Site Dashboard.

18. Your My Site Dashboard
• From your MySite Dashboard, youcan write posts, add pages,
view stats and more.
• Check out the menu on the left-handsideof your dashboard.
• You will use a lot of these linksto manageyour blog. Next week,
we will customizeand enhanceour blogs even more.
• For now, let’s edit our About page. Clickon the Pages linkto
open up its menu.

19. • Clickin the text editor to delete the
default text and add yourAbout
page information. Clickthe blue
Update button to save your
changes.
• Notice the About page linkunder
the Publishedtab in the Pages
menu. WordPress automatically
generated this page for you.
• Clickon the three dots next to About
to edit the page
Example Information:
My name is Louise Jett, andI love writing andgraphic design. I teachSocial Media Marketing,
Photoshop,NewsWriting and,occasionally,InDesign at Lewis andClark Community College,
where I also work full time as a media specialist.I love my job,and I also love to write.
I recently finished my first book,Images of America: Carlinville. It is a pictorial history ofCarlinville,
my hometown.If you wish to learn more about my bookor me, please leave a reply below, andI
will be in touch.

20. Your first blog post
• Select the Blog Posts link from your dashboard.Click the blue Start a Post button.

21. • Click in the title field to change the
title of your post.
• Click in the post editor to compose
your blog post.
• Click the image iconin the post
editor tool bar to add an image to
your blog. Images are not an
assignment requirement for your
first post. But, feel free to include
them.
• If youdo include images, be sure to
include caption information when
adding images. If the image is not
your own, be sure to include the
image’s URL in your caption. We
will explore other ways of properly
citing images next week.

22. • Click on theTags & Categories link on
the left-hand side of the page.
• Add at least one category to your
post.Try to limit the amount of
categories youassign a post.
Categories are a way of organizing
your posts.The categories will appear
in your Categories widget.Uncheck
the Uncategorized box.
• Add at least two tags to your post.
These tags will be displayed in your
TagCloud widget and help people
find your posts.Type the tag word
and hit enter onyour keyboard to
save it.
• Preview your blog to check for
formatting issues.
• Click the blue Publish button when
youare finished. We will explore the
other options for customizing posts
next week.

23. Welcome to My World
I am an individual who loves to write and dabble in graphic design. I want to use this blog as a creative
outlet while I observe and process the world around me. (Fair warning, things could get political.) I
believe perception shapes reality, and, therefore, each of us experiences the world differently. I see the
value in sharing my view and being exposed to the views of others. I think this blog will be a great place
to have a variety of conversations.
Let me introduce myself; my name is Louise, and I am truly a lifelong learner. My curiosity and
creativeness allows me to enjoy new challenges. From solving design problems and building curriculum
to writing poetry and making photographs, I keep busy.
I also consider myself a bit of a local historian. I wrote my first book, Images of America: Carlinville in
2013. It is a beautiful, historical and pictorial tribute to the town I call home. If you are interested in
learning more about the book, you can visit the Images of America: Carlinville Facebook Page.
Currently, I am cooking up a batch of poems. Creative writing forces me to face my inner self and recall
my past experiences, bad and good. All of my poems are extremely personal. While a poem can flow
from me almost effortlessly at times, it is always hard for me to share such intimate details with the
world. I just might share a few poems here, but I might not.
There is this strong desire within me to communicate. I suspect this blog just may help scratch that
itch. But, my ultimate goal is not one-way communication. I would love for a community to blossom
around my blog. Please leave me a comment and let me know a bit about yourself and/or ask me a
question I didn’t quite answer in this introduction.
Thanks for reading!
Louise
FirstPostExampleforMyPersonalBlog

24. Viewing your site
• Clickthe site linkon your My
Site dashboardpage to view
your blog and your first post.
• Be sure to edit your post right
away if youhave made any
mistakes.Alwaysdouble-check
your post before sharingit on
socialmedia.
• We will learn more about the
WP Admin dashboardandStats
next week.

25. Sources
If you need help setting up yourWordPress accountvisit the following
link, http://learn.wordpress.com/get-started/#create.WordPressdoes
an excellent job of educatingusers and providingsupport.
www.wordpress.com
Louise Jett