This WordPress guide is intended to be a primer for WordPress beginners learning how to login and post a page or a post for the first time. It’s not meant to be an guide on how to use WordPress in general.
How to Login to Your WordPress Website
In order to edit your website using WordPress, you will first need to login. You can do that by going to http://[yourdomain.com]/wp-admin. You’ll need to enter your username and password provided to you by your web designer or host.
If you get it wrong, don’t worry about locking yourself out like you can on some other websites. Unless there is a specific plugin (an add-on piece of software for WordPress installed by your web designer), you won’t get locked out.
How to Navigate the WordPress Dashboard
Once you login, you will see your dashboard. From there you can click on “Posts” to view current posts or “Add New” to add a new post. A post is just a term for a specific type of web page within the content management system. It is different from a “Page” for example. Media is where pictures you have uploaded can be managed. Comments (if enabled) can be approved, deleted, or replied to from the “Comments” link. “Profile” is where you can change your password.
How to Write a Post
Under the “Posts” heading on the left navigation, click on “Add New”. You can type your post just as you would in any other advanced text editor like Microsoft Word. There is even a button with many smaller boxes in it which opens up more editing options like the ability to change text color and underline. Its the second icon from the right in the editing toolbar.
To add a picture or music, use the “Upload / Insert” menu just above the editing toolbar. The box-in-a-box icon opens a window which allows you to select files. To add or edit a link, highlight the word or phrase, then click the chain-link icon in the menu. You’ll have the option to type or paste a link in or link to existing content on your site by clicking “Or link to existing content”.
How to Add an Image to a Post
click the camera icon above the editing box. When the box comes up, upload the image, fill in the options, and click “Add to Post”. Options like left, right, and center will do that to the image relative to the text.
Click “Select Files” then choose options for the picture. You can add a title, a link, or a caption as well as left, right, or center the picture. These settings can be changed at any time so if you’re not sure, just go with the default. Once the picture is in your post, if you don’t like it, hover over it and click the properties button to change options.
How to Publish or Update a Post
Once you are satisfied with the way your post looks, click “Publish”. Once you do this, it becomes live on your website. To preview it first, click “Preview”. When you are done, simply log out or close your browser. If you’ve already published and are just editing, the button will say “Update” instead. This button saves your changes.
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