Introduction to WordPress: The Basics
1. Basic Navigation
After completing the login process, you will automatically be taken to the WordPress Dashboard screen from which you can begin adding content to the site by clicking on the appropriate links. Should you wish to see the blog, click on the View site link circled in red below. After writing a post, it is a good idea to view the blog to make sure the post was properly published.
As long as you are logged in, you can always return to the Dashboard from the front page of the blog by clicking on the Site Admin link circled in the image below. However, be aware that the name and location of this link might change should the class use a different template for the blog's design and layout.
The Site Admin link is not available on all pages within a blog, but you can always use your browser's back button to return to the front page of the blog where this link is located. Alternatively, you can add /wp-admin/ after the directory path in the URL identifying the class to which the blog belongs. In the following example, /wp-admin/ has been added after the path that identifies the blog as one for section 10 of English Composition 3 during the fall quarter of 2006.
http://dev.cdh.ucla.edu/engcomp3-10-06f/wp-admin/
Although the the names of classes will be abbreviated in the path directory, it should be relatively easy to identify where to insert /wp-admin/.
2. How do I add a post to the blog?
From the Dashboard, click on either the Write tab or the Write a post link circled in the image below. Either of these links will open up the simple text editor where you compose your posts.
Enter the title of your post in the title field, and then write the content of the post in main editing box. Composing your post in the text editor is very much like using a simple word processor. You'll notice that the WordPress editor provides certain buttons for formatting the appearance of your text. When you hover the cursor over a button, a pop-up box will explain its function. In the image below, the cursor is over the button for the HTML editor. Users familiar with HTML might want to use the HTML editor to have even more control over the format of their posts. Nevertheless, knowledge of HTML is not required to use WordPress, so this introduction does not provide any information on HTML. However, users interested in learning more about HTML can find simple lessons here.
Once you have composed your post, the buttons at the bottom right of the editor allow you to Save or Publish the piece. Saving the post will store it as a draft on the same page as the text editor (see image below), but it will not be visible to those who visit the site. To make your post accessible to visitors, you must publish the post by clicking on the Publish button. The Publish button will only post what appears in the text editor at the time you click the button. This is important to know because it is very easy to hit save and then publish. However, saving the post will remove the text from the editor before it is published, and you will end up publishing a blank post. If this happens, just click on the name of your post listed next to Your Drafts, and it will again appear in the text editor where you can further edit it or go ahead and publish it as is. Saved items will remain listed as drafts until you publish them.
3. How do I edit or delete a post once it has been published?
Once a post has been published, you still have the ability to edit it, or even delete it. From the Dashboard, click on the Manage tab circled below.
When the Manage page loads, click on the tab for working with Posts.
You will then see a list of the last fifteen posts published on the blog along with information about the authors of the posts and the categories to which they belong. Even if the post you want to edit is not included in the list of the most recent items, you can use the Search Posts textbox or the Browse Month menu to locate any post. Once you locate a post, click on the Edit button to the right of the name of its author. This will open the post in the text editor where you can change it and republish it. Click on the Delete button if you wish to delete a selected post.
4. How do I assign a post to a category?
Categories are a useful way to organize posts on your blog by theme or topic. Although students do not have permission to add categories to the class blog, instructors may create categories for them. If categories have been created, they will appear on the front page of the blog once posts have been assigned to them. As you can see in the image below, an individual post will also be followed by information about which category it has been posted in. Notice that a post can be assigned to more than one category.
Assigning posts to categories is done on the page for composing and editing posts. To the right of the area for inputing and editing text, you will see a column of additional editing options. Click on the plus sign next to Categories.
Choose the category or categories to which you want to assign a post by adding a check mark next to the name of the category. After the category has been selected and you have finished composing your post, publish the post as usual. When you publish a post with a category selected in this manner, it will then be posted in the appropriate category.
5. How do I include an image in a post?
Adding images is done in the same window you use to write a post, but there are two options for including images in your blog. You can either upload images to your blog or you can link to images located elsewhere on the Internet.
1. Uploading images:
Beneath the area for composing text, you will notice a tab for uploading files. Click on the Upload tab, and then click on the Browse... button to locate an image file on your computer.
After you have selected the appropriate file, the name of it should appear in the File field. Enter a title for the item and a description of it if you wish, then click on the Upload button circled in the image below.
Once the image has uploaded, it should appear in the browse tab as below.
Click on the image once to bring up the following menu. Then click on the Send to editor command to make the picture appear in the text editor where you compose your message.
Once the picture is in the text editor, you can choose how the text will be positioned in relation to the picture. First, select the picture by clicking on it once. Then, click on the Insert/edit image button in the tool bar.
A dialogue box will appear with a pull-down menu containing the various alignment options for the display of the text. Choose one and click on the Update button to see how the text will appear in relation to the picture. If you do not like the layout, you can always choose another alignment option following the same procedure.
When you are satisfied with the layout, continue composing your post and adding additional images to it as you like. When you are ready to publish the item, follow the same procedures outlined above.
2. Linking to images:
If you would like to include an image in your blog that might be copyrighted, you can link to that image rather than illegally saving it and reproducing it on your blog. First, however, you will need to locate a legal version of the image on the Internet. For more on copyright issues and locating legal images, please refer to Ecampus help.
Once you have found an image, you must first copy its location by right clicking on the image and choosing Copy Image Location.
After you have copied the image location, return to the WordPress text editor on the Write Post page and choose the Insert/edit image button from the tool bar.
The following dialogue box will appear. In the empty field next to Image URL, paste the location of the copied image using the Edit menu's paste command (control + v in Windows or command + v on Macs). Add a brief description of the image and choose the preferred alignment for the text by following the instructions under Uploading Images . Click Insert, and the image should appear in the text editor at the location of the cursor.
When you are ready to publish the item, follow the same procedures outlined above.
6. How do I include a link in a post?
When composing a post, any text in the item can be linked to another web page. In the text editor, highlight the word or words you would like to serve as the active link and then click on the Insert/edit link button in the tool bar.
A new dialogue box will appear, and in the empty field next to Link URL, enter the URL (web address) of the page to which you want to create a link. In this case, the box has been filled with the address for UCLA's library. Click on the Insert button and the link will be created.
7. How do I comment on a post?
To comment on any post, simply click on the No Comments (or Comments ) link at the bottom of the post to which you wish to reply.
A page where you can type your comments will load. Enter your comment in the reply box, and simply click on the Submit Comment button once you have finalized your text. If you comment does not appear after clicking on Submit Comment, your instructor has probably configured WordPress to only post comments that have been reviewed by the instructor. It will appear on the blog after the instructor has approved it.
IMPORTANT: Students do not have the privilege to edit or delete posted comments, so please make sure you want to post your comment before submitting it. If you want to have a reply deleted, you will have to ask the instructor to do it for you.
8. What other tools are available?
At present, students using WordPress blogs hosted as part of an Ecampus course page will only have limited access to the variety of tools normally available through WordPress. If you feel an additional tool would contribute to the educational value of the blog, please let your instructor know so that the Center for Digital Humanities can try to make this available to students in the future. To learn more about WordPress, you can visit its site at wordpress.org.