Adding Posts
Writing a post is pretty straightforward, once you’re familiar with the WordPress interface. Start with this two-minute introduction to writing posts.
In detail, here’s how to post:
Getting started
First, you have to be approved as a contributor. Get a WordPress account and then contact Jeff or Nathan to be added as a contributor. We have to officially add you before you can add a new post.
You’ll start by going to our “dashboard” (control page). Once you’re logged in, you can get to the dashboard any time by finding the grey bar at the top of the page and clicking “My Dashboard.” Even easier, you can bookmark the VSTF dashboard and use that bookmark any time you want to post (if you use the bookmark before you’re logged in, WordPress will just give you a login screen and then the dashboard).
From the options on the left side of the dashboard, go under “Posts” and click “Add New.”
This brings up the editing screen for your new post. It looks like this:
Title and content
The one-line text box under “Add New Post” is for the catchy, descriptive title. This, along with the date of your post, will also create the address of your post:
Fill the big text box with your informative, thought-provoking content. You can format your text with the buttons just above the box. It’s best to type your post directly in this box. If you have text you’ve typed in Microsoft Word, use the “Paste from Word” button to insert it. It’s button #25 in this screenshot:
If you don’t see a button you need, try clicking the multicolored button at the far right (#15). This opens up the second row of buttons. Remember that pasting from Word will preserve some but probably not all of the formatting you used in the Word file. This isn’t something to fix: blog posts use less text formatting than Word. Just make sure things look clean and put together.
Links, images, and files
You can select a word or phrase and turn it into a link:
You can upload or insert images, videos, or other files using the icons next to Upload/Insert above the main text box. A dialog box will come up to let you locate and upload or link to the media you want to share. Once you’ve inserted the media, it will appear in the edit window.
If you upload a PDF document, make sure you click on “File URL” under “Link URL” in the dialog box:
The title you enter for the document will be inserted as a link to the file you uploaded (the document is only visible if the user clicks on the link).
Saving, scheduling, and publishing
Put your post in a category using the category list on the right-hand side of the screen. This lets users find all the related posts, e.g. all Green Tidbits or all Task Force Business.
Once you’ve added your information, you can choose an option from the “Publish” box on the right:
To save your work without publishing it, click “Save Draft.” Click “Preview” to see your draft in a new window without publishing it.
You can schedule your post to automatically publish at a future date/time by editing the publishing time:
This way we can upload a number of Green Tidbits all at once, but have them appear a week apart.
To make your post public right away, just click “Publish.”
You can publish a post but keep it visible only to task force members by editing “Visibility” in the Publish box:
A “private” post is only visible to VSTF members who are registered users on the website. A “Password protected” post is available to anyone who knows the password you assign it, whether they are registered users or not. We can use private posts to have internal discussions out of the public eye.
This is also where you can make a public post “stick” to the main page. We can make the Green Tidbit that is currently running in the newspaper stick to the main page for the week.
Editing an existing post
You can edit existing posts (and pages) by clicking on “Edit” under “Posts” (or “Pages”) in the dashboard:
This is also the way to retrieve a post you saved as a draft when you want to start working on it again. “Edit” brings up a list of posts. Click the title of the post you want to edit. You’ll use the edit screen in the same way you used it to write the post. When you’re done, save your changes. They’ll appear immediately for a published post, or at the scheduled time for a scheduled post.
There’s much more information at the WordPress support site.
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