The document provides guidance on exploring and customizing a WordPress blog. It explains how to navigate between the My Site dashboard and WP Admin dashboard. It covers how to add and edit blog posts and pages, including inserting images, links, categories and tags. Tips are provided for writing scannable posts between 300-600 words with a strong opening and call to action closing. The dashboard menu is also outlined, allowing access to blog themes, users, and other settings.

1. Diving Deeper into
Your WordPress Blog

2. 1. Your
WordPress blog
is flexible and
customizable.
Let’s explore!
3. Click the three
dots next to your
name, then choose
“Edit Icon” to
navigate to
the WP Admin
Dashboard.
2. Sign into
WordPress.com
and click the blue
My Site button in
the upper left-
hand corner of
the page.
4. This is a more
extensive version
of the My Sites
Dashboard. From
it, you can edit
your blog, view
comments, create
polls and more.
Any time you want to access your WP Admin Dashboard, just replace the red characters of the
following URL with your blog’s name: https://NAME_BLOG.wordpress.com/wp-admin.

3. We will explore the WP Admin Dashboard
later, after first getting more familiar with
the My Site Dashboard. Remember, anytime
you want to navigate to this dashboard,
click the My Site button in the upper left-
hand corner of the page no matter which
Dashboard you are on. By default, you will
automatically land on the Stats page. Since
you just started blogging, you will not have
very many stats displayed. Eventually, this
link will show you how many people have
viewed your blog posts, the comments
those people have made, a list of your
Followers and more.
Basic My Sites Dashboard

4. Click on the Blog Posts link to view Published posts, Scheduled
posts, Drafts of posts and Deleted Posts. Click on the tabs at the
top of the page to navigate between the types of post you see.
Search the tab you have selected by clicking the magnifying glass.
To add a new Blog Post, click the white Add button next to the
selected Blog Posts link. You can also Edit a post, View a post, view
a post’s Stats or move the post to the Trash from the links
contained under your blog posts listed on this page.
Blog Posts

5. Click the white Add button next to the selected Blog Posts link. Hoover over each tool in the Toolbar to read
a short description. Click the three dots on the right-hand side, the Toggle tool opens up the Advanced
toolbar.
Hoover over each one of the tools in the expanded toolbar and read the short description. Click some of
the tools in the toolbox to see what options they offer you. You can change the color of text, insert special
characters, clear text formatting, adjust the text justification and so much more.
Exploring the Blog Post Editor

6. To include a hyperlink in a blog post or on a blog page, type the name of the link, for example
“Images of America: Carlinville Facebook Page” or “Contact me on Facebook” or “Follow me on
Twitter.” Then highlight the text you want your readers to click to access the link. With the text
highlighted, select the Insert/edit link button.
Copy in paste the URL into the Insert/edit link dialog box and include a title for your link. Please
note, the title does not change the text to which you applied the link. Check the Open link in a
new window/tab box so your blog will remain open when people click the link, and click the
blue Add Link button. You can also link to existing content once your blog has other posts.
Exploring the Blog Post Editor

7. You can select text and assign it a Heading style from the paragraph
dropdown menu.
Add Photos by using the image button.
Add videos by simply copying and pasting the URL into the text editor.
WordPress will automatically generate a video preview.
If you know how to code using HTML, you can click on the HTML tab to
open up the HTML toolbar and text editor.
Exploring the Blog Post Editor

8. When inserting an image, you can
either click the Add New button to
upload a file or choose an image
you have already uploaded from
the Images tab. Once an image is
loaded, hoover over it and click the
edit button.
Be sure to include a title, caption,
alt text and description when
uploading a photo. The title and alt
text can typically be the same,
while the caption and description
are also normally the same. You
can also link back to the photo
source with a custom URL.
Click the Insert button and your
photo is now embedded in your
post. You can type text above or
below the photo in the text editor.
Inserting an Image into a Post

9. If the photo is not an original
photograph you took, you must
cite your source both in the
caption and with a link embedded
in the photo itself. After you place
the photo in the blog post, click
on the photo to open up an
editing menu. Click the caption
bubble to add a caption.
Citing Your Photo Sources
After you enter
a caption,
select the
image source
text and use
the Insert/edit
link button to
link back to the
source URL.

10. Locate the menu down the left-hand side of the page while in the
Blog Post Editor. Open the Tags & Categories menu. Tags are
displayed in your Tag Cloud widget and help people find your posts.
Categories are a way of organizing your posts. They appear in your
Categories widget. Click Add a New Category to add categories.
Click inside the Tags bar to enter tags. Press enter after entering a
tag to commit to it.
Exploring the Blog Post Editor
Open the Featured Image menu to add a unique custom header
image that will display for that specific post.

11. WordPress will automatically share your new posts on your
social media sites if you connect your accounts. I believe you
should create specialized messaging for each site and
physically share your posts yourself. While in this course,
please do not connect any of your accounts to automatically
share posts.
Exploring the Blog Post Editor
You can adjust the format
of your blog post from the
Post Format dropdown
menu. Choose different
formats and preview them
before settling on one.

12. Open up the More Options menu. From here you can add a slug,
which appears at the end of your post’s URL. You can also change
post format and visibility. You can also add an excerpt.
Exploring the Blog Post Editor
You can add a location to your post from this menu, too.
Excerpts are used to shorten your blog posts so that only part of
the entry — usually the introduction or a summary of the post you
insert here — is displayed, instead of the entire entry. When you
click the post title, you’re taken to the full-length post. Using
excerpts is completely optional.
You can also turn comment, pingbacks and trackbacks on our off
form this menu. A pingback is a type of comment that’s created
when you link to another blog post where pingbacks are
enabled. Trackbacks are a way to notify legacy blog systems that
you’ve linked to them. If you link other WordPress blogs they’ll be
notified automatically using pingbacks, no other action necessary.
Think of trackbacks as the equivalent of acknowledgements and
references at the end of an academic paper or chapter in a text
book.

13. At the top of the text editor, you will find Mark as sticky (this pins the post to the top of your blog
roll), Edit visibility (you can set posts to public, private or password protected) and the Send post to
trash buttons.
Preview your blog before publishing it. Notice you can also save
your blog and finish it later.
You will be required to create a new blog post this week. Use some of the tools and options in this
slideshow to enhance your post. Be sure to preview your blog before publishing it. Don’t use text
colors that may be difficult to read. Do use headers to break up content.
Your second blog post will need to include at least one properly attributed photo and one link in the
text body. Please note, like all software, WordPress sometimes glitches. Be sure to save a draft of
your blog every now and then while working on it in case WordPress freezes up or your Internet
connection fails.
Exploring the Blog Post Editor

14. Click on the Pages link to access your Published pages, Drafts
of pages and Deleted pages. Click the three dots next to the
page name link to open up a dropdown menu, from which you
can open the page for Editing, View the Page or Move the page
to the trash.
The page editor is similar to the blog post editor. You can
change the publish a page, rearrange page order, select a
featured image for a page and adjust a page’s advanced
settings.
Pages

15. Let’s go back and finish exploring the menu down the
left-hand side of you’re My Sites Dashboard page. From
the Personalize section of the menu, you can change your
blog’s Theme edit your blog’s default Menus.
From the Configure section of the Basic Dashboard menu,
you can control Sharing options, add or invite other Users
to edit your blog, add additional domains and change
Settings (like your blog’s title, tagline, language and
visibility).
My Sites Dashboard Menu

16. Tips for Posting
Keep in mind, we read content online differently than we do in person with print media. You
must make an effort to write posts that readers will start and finish.
Make your posts scannable so online readers can skim them. Use short paragraphs, lists,
headings, bold and italics to draw the reader’s eye through the post.
Break up longer posts into a series of posts. A series fills more slots in your editorial calendar
and is easily read. Series work best for narratives or tips that can be broken up into smaller
pieces. Use cliffhangers with your series so readers will want to come back for more.
Start strong. Your first paragraph should creatively use keywords to draw readers into your
narrative.
End strong. What do you want your reader to do at your end of your post? How do you want
them to engage? The last paragraph of your post is a chance to use a clear and concise call to
action. You can ask readers to leave a comment, read another post, sign up for your newsletter,
visit your Facebook page, buy your book or product, or visit your web site.

17. Tips for Posting
Keep your posts short and sweet. As a general rule, a blog post should be 300 to 600 words
and include at least one image with a caption when possible. Your posts should be long enough
to express your thoughts adequately but not any longer. Edit out all the filler and the fluff.
Use internal links to posts or pages on your site. Hopefully, readers will stick around your blog
and explore additional posts and pages. Make your hyperlinks interesting. Don’t use URLs. Use
strong, hyperlinks with keywords. Stray away from “Click Here.” Linking to a page with its title
boosts its Search Engine Optimization.
Make sure to use good hyperlinks when linking externally, too.
Interact with your readers’ comments. People will be more likely to leave comments if you
engage. You can develop a good relationship with your customers and cultivate super fans.
Include promoting your blog content on your editorial calendar. Schedule and share your blog
across your social media sites.

18. Search Engine Optimization
Search engines use electronic spiders that crawl the internet constantly. Their sole purpose is to
visit and revisit web pages, index, categorize and organize the information contained on those
web pages, and file that information away so when someone is searching, it can be found
quickly.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the practice of presenting and tweaking your site in
various ways so it is recognized and ranked more favorably by search engines. Many of these
SEO factors are out of your control. However, there are some things you can do to increase your
chances of landing in a favorable spot in search engine results.

19. Search Engine Optimization
Keywords are the main terms you use in your search. If you’re a blogger, keywords are the words
spiders associate with your web page. Use keywords in your blog. Think about how someone
would search for the information on your blog and use those keywords as tag words and in your
blog name, your posts, your pages and your links. This will increase your chances of getting
associated with those keywords by the spiders and land closer to the top of the search results.
For example, if someone wants to start a blog, they might type into Google, “how to start a blog.”
So, if your blog is about blogging you will want to use that exact phrase in some of your posts,
pages and links. Make sure not to use too many keywords to the point that your posts no longer
sound conversational or your blog feels unauthentic.
Once they are posted, never change your permalinks. (In other words, once a blog post is
published, do not edit your slug.) Your permalink structure determines what your URLs will look
like for each of your posts. This is one of the most important optimization settings because your
permalink structure will directly impact your SEO.
Let’s get some key words straight. Domain = www.lc.edu. URL = http://www.lc.edu. URL +
permalink = http://www.lc.edu/green. Changing the permalinks (aka slugs) of a blog will result in
broken links. Your permalinks should reflect your post title for the best SEO.

20. Most importantly, write great content. Write from an authentic place and use an
original voice. Educate, entertain and interact with your readers. Be creative and
constantly request comments and feedback. Remember to listen, and have fun!
When deciding what to write about consider the following:
o Readers want to solve a problem.
o Readers want to connect with the blogger on a personal level.
o Readers want to be educated.
o Readers want to reach a goal.
o Readers want to be entertained.
Shout it from the Mountains
Promote your blog on all your social media sites, business cards, letterhead and in email
signatures. Let everyone know about it. Spark people’s curiosity with teasers to your
blog posts on your other social media sites. Don’t forget to create quality content to
keep your readers coming back.

21. WWW.WORDPRESS.COM
WWW.AMYLYNNANDREWS.COM
LOUISE JETT
Sources