richard kongarlington heights memorial library

BLOGGING WITHWORDPRESS.COM

what will we cover?

1. setting up a new blog/website

2. customizing the theme and more

3. creating and editing posts

4. creating and editing pages

5. inserting images and video

6. advanced topics (comments, domain registration, mobile app, etc.)

7. hands-on practice

what is a blog?

/blôg/

NounA type of website on which an individual or group of users record opinions, information, etc. on a regular basis.

VerbTo add new material to or regularly update a blog.

who’s blogging?

• CNN: http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/

• NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/blogs/directory.html

• Mashable: http://mashable.com/

• Fortune 500 companies: UPS http://blog.ups.com/

• Professional bloggers: Heather Armstrong http://dooce.com/

• Normal folks like you and me: AH Moms http://www.arlingtonheightsmoms.com/

• The Library: Staff Choices Blog http://ahml.info/borrow/ra/staff_choices

what is wordpress.com and how popular is it?

“a hosting platform that makes it easy for anyone to publish online. you don’t have to download software, pay for hosting, or manage a web server.”

http://en.support.wordpress.com/

“today wordpress powers one of every 6 websites on the internet, nearly 60 million in all, with 100,000 more popping up each day. those run through its cloud-hosted service, which lets anybody create a free website online, attract 330 million visitors who view 3.4 billion pages every month.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2012/09/05/the-internets-mother-tongue/

wordpress.com vs. wordpress.org

http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

WordPress.com is a hosting platform that makes it easy for anyone to publish online. You don’t have to download software, pay for hosting, or manage a web server. WordPress.com has hundreds of themes, and includes the functionality of many plugins, but you can’t upload your own plugins or themes.WordPress.org offers free software that you can install on a web server. You can upload and install themes and plugins, run ads, and edit the database.

getting started at wordpress.com

creating a new wordpress.com account

upgrading option

Click “Create Blog” for a free blog

confirming registration in your email

adjusting your blog title and tagline

adjusting your blog title and tagline

choosing a theme

Premium themes are not

free

creating your first post

tags

inserting an image

click to insert

image or drag and drop file

onto editor

inserting a video

copy and paste a youtube url (link) into post and publish.

more video options at http://en.support.wordpress.com/

videos/youtube/

checking the public view

getting to your dashboard

understanding the dashboard

choosing and customizing your theme

creating a new post

NOTE: Posts are displayed in the order in which they are published on your front page.

editing a post

creating a new page

NOTE: Pages are best for timeless (i.e., static) content like About, Contact, etc.

making a page your frontpage

handling comments

discussion settings

domain registration

wordpress mobile app

Available for iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play)

1. visit wordpress.com

2. create an account or login to your existing account

3. create a new post

4. create a new page

5. continue to practice and ask if you need help

now it’s your turn

please fill out the class evaluation form before you

leave.

thanks!

visit wordpress.com help and tutorial sites:

http://support.wordpress.com/

http://learn.wordpress.com/

schedule an appointment:

http://ahml.info/appointment

need more help?

the studio: digital media labvideo editing, music, design software, scanners, cameras, production room, and more