This document provides a cheat sheet for using WordPress, including definitions of common terms like blog, widget, and plugin. It offers tips for getting started with WordPress by choosing a hosting option and designing your blog. Suggestions are given for creating engaging content through posts, comments, and multimedia elements, as well as using plugins to enhance functionality and track analytics. Popular plugin recommendations include Editorial Calendar, Tweetmeme, Feedburner, and Akismet.

1. Resource for Writers
Wordpress Terms
Blog: Online Diary
Widget: An application such as a blogroll or
Wordpress Cheat Sheet
search tab that can be added to your blog.
PlugIn: A tool such as a Feedburner
subscription that you can install to enhance the
Created by Shennandoah Diaz functionality of your blog.
Analytics: This is the data on your blog traffic
Getting Set Up
Top Plug-ins
You can use Wordpress just as a blog or as a website as well. You can host on
Wordpress with the wordpress.com URL (e.g. http://yourname.wordpress.com) There are hundreds of plug-ins to
or you can purchase a unique domain name and hosting from a 3rd party. This choose from, but here are our top
looks more professional and most web hosts can facilitate the process. Go to picks for writers:
www.wordpress.org to set up. • Editorial Calendar: Lets you
easily manage content
Design • Tweetmeme: Twitter follow
button with retweet count
You can use a free Wordpress design available through their backend under
• FBmeme: Facebook follow
“Themes,” purchase a template, or have a designer custom design one for you.
button with share count
Wordpress uses CSS code, so be sure to select a designer who is familiar with
• Feedburner: Lets people
Wordpress. Designs are easy to install and many have some level of
subscribe to your blog
customization. Wordpress allows you to create static pages in addition to the
through email
blog feed. Pages are created just like a blog post. Typical pages include About,
• Akismet: Helps block spam
Contact, Portfolio/Publishing Credits, Speaking, Press Room, and Resources.
comments
Content
Content should be informative and entertaining. It is recommended to post Additional Tips
Interviews, reviews, how-to’s, and guest posts all help drive traffic to your blog.
Use Multimedia
Look at other blogs you like to see what they offer. Other tips to boost traffic and
search-ability include: Pictures and videos break up long
passages of text and rank high in
• Create titles that mimic how people search. For example, “How to searches and user appeal.
Write Short Stories.”
• Use tags that also mimic how people search. Key phrases do better than Use Bullet Points and Varying Fonts
keywords. For example, instead of “fiction” use “fiction writing tips” or Subheadings, bullet points, colored
“thriller plot development.” font, and other style variations not
• Use categories to organize your blog posts and make it more navigable only add interest but also help break
for visitors. Categories are subject topics like “fiction writing tips,” “self- up long blocks of text.
publishing,” or “book marketing.”
Track Your Data
Comments Use the dashboard analytics plug in or
Google analytics to see which posts
To avoid spam, set comments to “moderate before post” under the “writing”
get the most traffic and comments.
section of your Settings panel. Respond to all approved comments to drive
Both tools are free and are easy to
positive engagement. To limit spam in the comments section use the Akismet
read and install. Knowing what
plug-in. The plug-in is typically loaded but not activated in your plug-in panel.
people respond to will help you
Akismet requires an API key which is free for a single, personal blog.
develop future content.
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