WordPress Refresher
As part of the handover when we have completed a website build, we offer basic training on how to update and edit your website going forward. This article is a simple refresher to help jog your memory for what the training included. If there’s something you want to do that isn’t in the article, get in touch.
We use WordPress CMS (content management system) because not only is it one of the easiest platforms for website development available when it comes to our clients updating their websites, it’s also one of the most popular platforms in the world. The advantage of this is that most, if not all, companies that deal with websites in any way will know how to use it.
According to WordPress they currently power around 36% of the world’s websites! It is an incredibly versatile platform and can be used for anything from a personal blog or small business to en e-commerce site for a multi-million pound company.
Once your site is ready for handover you will be sent login details unique to you. These details are tied to your domain, which means you can edit and update your website from any device with a browser and an internet connection.
Posting Articles or Blogs
The section of WordPress you’re probably going to use the most is the one that deals with posts. From here you can add and edit new posts or news articles as well as managing your categories.
Adding a New Post
Once you’ve selected ‘Add New’ from the posts sub-menu, the first thing you should do is give your post a title, bear in mind when naming your post that WordPress will automatically pull the URL from the title. Unless of course, you choose to manually edit your URL.
Top Tip: Make sure you use your keyword(s) in your title to help with your website’s SEO
Once you have your title, you’ll need to create your post. You can anything into your post, from simple text blocks and images to lists and tables. Adding text is as easy as when you type into Microsoft Word (a program most people are familiar with), even shortcuts like Ctrl+b to bold text will apply here. The only difference to bear in mind is that if you press return it will start a new ‘block’ not just a new line (for a new line within the same text block just hold the shift key when you press return).
Changing a block from text to a header, quote or list is really straight-forward, just bring your cursor to the block you want to change and select the little drop down arrow next to the paragraph symbol, it will change to a symbol similar to the reload one on your browser and open up a little menu. From here you can select the type of block you want to create.Using headings within your post will not only increase the readability but is also useful for SEO purposes.
You can also add blocks in WordPress for images, custom HTML, files and ones containing both images and text. If you select an image block you will need to wither select an image from your media library or upload one from the device you are using. To add a new block, click anywhere within an existing block and then hover over the line at the bottom of the block, a small plus symbol inside a circle will appear, once you select this you’ll be presented with the image below and can choose the kind of block you’d like to add.
Using images or videos within your post will help to break up the writing into easy to read chunks as well as making the post more aesthetically pleasing. You can change how the image/video aligns as well as whether they fill the width of the page or not.
Categories
On the right hand side of your screen you’ll have noticed a sidebar, while you are creating content for your post chances are it will have the block you’re in selected. If you change this to ‘document’ you will be presented with the options for the whole articles. One of these sections is ‘categories’, this can be a very useful tool, especially if you have your website set up that certain pages pull through posts on specific categories (for example, on our website the ‘Our Work’ page only shows posts that have been put into the ‘our work’ category. It will also help people find what they are looking for as they will be able to filter by category on the front-end of your website.
Feature Image
From the sidebar on the right you can also set a feature image for your post, this image will be displayed on the front end of your website where ever the post pulls through, as well as being a header image when someone clicks through to the post itself. As with any images added, you can either use the media library or upload an image from the device you’re using. It is worth previewing (select preview at the top of the sidebar) your post once you’ve added an image to ensure it aligns how you would like and that the image is of a high enough quality for the size.
Publishing Your Post
Once you’re happy with the post and how it looks in the preview, the next step is to publish your post! You can set a date and time for the post to be published if you don’t want it to go live straightaway, just use the options under ‘Status and Visibility’ on the sidebar. All you need to do is select publish at the top of the page and your post is live!
Editing an Existing Post
You can edit or add images to your existing posts, just select ‘all posts’ from the posts sub-menu, move your cursor to the post you want to change and select ‘edit’. From here, it’s the same as adding a new post, you can edit images and text, add new blocks etc. Just don’t forget to click the ‘Update’ button in the top right hand corner before exiting the post!