Tutorial: How to WordPress with examples
How to WordPress is the common question asked by many beginners who have heard about WordPress and wanted to start a blog of your own. In this article, I am going to show: How to WordPress.
*All the options discussed in this article are for WordPress version 3.3.1.
How to WordPress or how to start a WordPress Blog?
Once you get your own hosting account, you can install WordPress and get started. To download WordPress, visit the official website by clicking here. Just follow the prompts & instructions given by WordPress to upload & install the files on your website.
How to log in WordPress?
After you have installed your WordPress blog, you will need to login into your WordPress Admininstration area (also commonly known as Admin Panel). From within this Admin Panel, you can write Articles, Posts, Manage plugins, Themes, etc. To login to WordPress admin panel, simply navigate to the WP login page or directly type the URL in your browser:
http://www.mydomainname.com/wp-admin/
How to write a post in WordPress?
The main and the most responsible activity in WordPress is writing the Posts and Pages. To add a new Post, simply navigate to the “Add New” link under the “Posts” menu located on the left hand side of the Admin panel.
The big white box that you are presented with is called the Editor. From within this editor, you can add the desired content. Once you have added all the info that you want, you can then publish this new post by clicking the Publish button.
If you feel that you are not yet ready to Publish the post but want to save all the content that you have entered so far, simply click the “Save Draft” button. You may then edit this saved draft version of the post at a later point of time. Image below shows you other options with a brief explanation of what they do:
Creating pages in WordPress
The process to create Pages in WordPress is very similar to creating Posts in WordPress. Simply click on Add New link in the Pages menu.
When you are ready with your new page, click Publish to save it as shown below:
WordPress Main functions
Do you find the menu options (on the left hand side) overwhelming? Did you wonder what they do? If yes, read below to find what each of the main menu options stands for.
- Dashboard: This is the option that takes you to the main page/front page of the Admin panel. You can see a quick summary of your blog stats as well as read Recent News & comments.
- Posts: This is the option that you should use if you want to provide articles for the Blog.
- Media: Lets you upload images that you can use when adding new Posts/Pages.
- Links: Lets you add links that you can use when adding new Posts/Pages.
- Pages: Lets you add Pages. This option is very similar to adding a Post with the exception that Pages are to be used when you want to post static information or an information page about your website/blog. A good example of using this option is to use it when you want to add pages like “About Us” page or “Services” page, etc.
- Comments: Lets you manage all the comments posted on your blog.
- Appearance: Lets you tweak the way the Admin Panel & the user front end looks. You can also use this option to upload new themes to your blog.
- Plugins: Lets you enhance the way your default WordPress blog installation works by adding additional functionality to it.
- Users: Lets you manage users and assign them roles.
- Tools: Few tools that you can use to manage your blog efficiently.
- Settings: Use this to configure the Settings of your blog and choose what information to present to and how.
WordPress Categories:
Categories are very helpful to maintain a decent look and structure for your blog and ease up your visitors’ navigation throughout your Posts and Pages. You must always make it a point to see that you select only the most relevant categories for your Posts & Pages. You can select only a single Category or multiple ones.
Create a new Category for a Post/Page in WordPress:
Under the “Posts” menu, click on the “Categories” link & fill in the required info to create a new category.
Edit Category in WordPress:
To change the category of a Post or Page, click on the “Edit” link under the “Posts” menu. Then hover over the post that you wish to edit and click on the “Quick Edit”. Then, from the Categories section, select/unselect Categories as you want to. Once done, click on “Update” to save the changes.
Change Category of a Post/Page in WordPress:
Click on “Categories” under the “Posts” menu. Then hover over the Category that you wish to edit and click on “Edit” to view all details of the Category. Click on “Quick Edit” if you wish to edit only minimal information about your Category.
Delete Category in WordPress:
Click on “Categories” under the “Posts” menu. Then hover over the Category that you wish to delete and click on “Delete” to that Category. Note that if you have assigned this category to a post or a page, then the post or the page won’t be available in this category.
How to Manage Comments in WordPress
When you create a post, your visitors will have the option to leave comments on the post, by default. You can moderate/manage all the comments made so far on your blog, by clicking on the “Comments” menu. Just hover over the Comment that you wish to perform an action on. WordPress will present you with some options, such as Unapprove, Reply, etc. Select an action that you want to perform and that will be executed.
How to manage Comment options in WordPress:
There are different options that you can tweak around with for the Comments. You can access these options by clicking on the “Discussion” link under “Settings” menu option. From within this page, you can specify if you want allow people to post comments on new articles or if you need them to register to post comment, etc.
How to install new themes in WordPress:
Click on the “Themes” link under the “Appearance” menu. Click on “Install Themes” tab & click on “Upload”. Choose the file (zip format) which contains the theme that you wish to install and click on the “Install Now” button. Once the upload is complete, click on the “Manage Themes” tab and click on “Activate” link for the theme that you wish to use. You may also Preview, Delete the themes from this page.
How to install new Plugins in WordPress :
Plugins add additional functionality to the existing ones of your blog. You can install new Plugins by uploading them via Admin panel. To upload a plugin, simply click on “Add New” link under the “Plugins” menu option & click on “Upload”. Select the zip file of the Plugin that you wish to upload & click on the “Install Now” button. Once the upload is complete, click on the “Activate” link to activate the plugin. Note that this action is required to activate the plugin failing which; you won’t be able to use the plugin.
How to add new users in WordPress:
If you want to allow your friends or family to administer your blog on your behalf, you can add them to your blog and assign them appropriate roles. Do this by clicking on the “Add New” link under the “Users” menu option. Fill out the required information & select the appropriate Role from the dropdown list. If you want to automatically send the password to this user, simply select the checkbox that says: “Send this password to the new user by email.”. Finally, click on the “Add New User” button & the user will be added to your blog.
Note: There are many features & settings available in the admin panel of your WordPress blog. The features & functionality that I have discussed above cover only the most basic and essential ones as this article was primarily intended to get you started with your WordPress blog quickly.
That’s it for now!
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