Three years ago when we designed and developed our WordPress website we added a Blog. My partner Ellen said a blog would drive traffic to our website and help us rank higher in Google’s search results. It was all so new to me and had been a while since I’d written anything, but I’m always up for a challenge. Ellen went over how to create and format a blog post and gave me some ideas of what to write about. I’ve been blogging ever since – “how to”‘ or “instructional” type posts are my favorite and seem to generate the most interest.
One of our client’s was having trouble getting started with her blog. We provided her with step-by-step instructions, but not everyone likes to read instructions – that’s when I decided to do a video tutorial. Our client found the video walkthrough helpful, therefore, we decided to share it with those of you needing a little help to get you started. You will learn how to:
[ba-list style=”note”]- Use the WordPress editor
- Copy text from MS Word or other sources into the editor
- Format with “Headings”
- Add media “Photos” to your blog post
- Link to other sites or articles relevant to your post or article
- Select categories and a featured photo
- Save draft, preview and publish your post
Photos and images
Use some images or photos within your blog post. If it’s a short post, add an image or photo at the beginning, somewhere around the first paragraph. If your blog post is “how to” instructions, take some screenshots and save them as .png or .jpeg format and add them – visuals help the reader better understand your instructions.
Make sure the images you use were purchased from a reputable website or you created them. Creative Commons is a great resource or my favorite, 123RF, have excellent photos and images. Beware of the photos and images that you find on Google Images. Even if they look like they are free and don’t have a watermark, doesn’t mean they are free. They may be licensed. Find out who owns them and read the fine print. Providers of licensed images, such as Getty Images, are cracking down on people using their photos and images without purchasing or permission.
WordPress Advanced blog training – coming soon
This WordPress Beginner training video is to get you started. Our next WordPress Advanced training will include adding videos, using Short codes that will let you add fancy bullets, quotes, social icon, carousels, dividers and a lot more. Let us know if there’s something that you would like us to include.
