Ask for Help!
ASK FOR HELP! Click this link to post a WordPress question and get a quick answer. You can also look at some of the previous questions and answers as well. Need step-by-step instructions? Peruse the list below.
Make 2012 the Year of WordPress
Welcome back to school! The Chinese New Year is January 23 and 2012 is the Year of the Dragon. Let’s make our 2012 the Year of WordPress and make updating your WordPress site your new year’s resolution. The timing couldn’t be better. WordPress 3.3, the newest version, is now installed on your site. Check out all the new features. And we now have over 30 themes for teachers to choose from including these new ones:
Paradise
Ink Spots
Pink Chalk
Astronomy
Blue Header
Learning Tree
Mustang
Technology
Look for these two WordPress workshops when you receive this month’s Bethel Training Opportunities email:
WordPress Dr0p-In: Stop by to get your questions answered or learn a new WordPress skill. Stay for 10 minutes or the whole 90 minutes.
WordPress Next Steps: Get step-by-step instructions on how to add some great WordPress features to your site including videos, picture galleries, widgets and plugins, embedded Google Docs, posts sent to your email list and much more.
Use the search box at the top left on this page to find other posts that give you step-by-step instructions for a variety of WordPress skills.
Questions? Comments? Ask or share by clicking on the “Leave Comment” link at the bottom of this post.
WordPress 3.3 Brings New Functionality
WordPress 3.3 is here and all Bethel WordPress sites have been upgraded to the new version. Here is a quick overview of changes that you’ll want to look for:
File Type Detection
We’ve streamlined things! Instead of needing to click on a specific upload icon based on your file type, now there’s just one. Once your file is uploaded, the appropriate fields will be displayed for entering information based on the file type.
Drag-and-Drop Media Uploader
Adding photos or other files to posts and pages just got easier. Drag files from your desktop and drop them into the uploader. Add one file at a time, or many at once.
Flyout Menus
Speed up navigating the dashboard and reduce repetitive clicking with our new flyout submenus. As you hover over each main menu item in your dashboard navigation, the submenus will magically appear, providing single-click access to any dashboard screen.
Header + Admin Bar = Toolbar
To save space and increase efficiency, we’ve combined the admin bar and the old Dashboard header into one persistent toolbar. Hovering over the toolbar items will reveal submenus when available for quick access.
Adding an Insert More Tag
If your post is rather long and would require the reader to scroll to continue reading, you might consider adding an “Insert More” tag to jump to the full story. Here’s how:
1. Compose your post then find the point where you’d like the jump to occur. Place the cursor there. If you have a picture or graphic with your post, put the “Insert More” tag at least below the picture so it stays on the front page.
2. Move to the edit window menu bar and click on the “Insert More” button.
You’ll see the line appear where the cursor is blinking.
3. Publish or Update your post and then view the post to see how it looks. Not where you want the “Insert More” tag?
WordPress Next Steps
WORKSHOP AGENDA
1. What are widgets and plugins?
2. Akismet Spam Blocker
3. Post Notification
4. Managing Comments
5. Uploading PDFs to WordPress
Helpful How-Tos
1. How do I add a single image to a post?
2. H0w do I add a video to a post?
3. H0w do I add a Google Document?
4. How do I add a Google form (survey or test) to a post?
WordPress Custom Menus
Using the basic WordPress set up allows you to have pages appear on your site as a menu. Most themes do this by default. When you look at the 2011 WordPress Theme (which is the default for new sites), pages appear across the screen below the large graphic header. Any new page you add will appear there as well.
But what if you want to have a menu that includes posts, categories, Internet sites or even documents? Or maybe you don’t want to have all the pages show up on the menu. That’s where WordPress Custom Menus comes in. Here’s a very quick How-To on using this feature of WordPress.
To create a custom menu:
1. In the Dashboard scroll down to Appearance and then click on Menus.
2. Click on the + tab just above Menu Name in the top-middle of the screen.
3. Give the menu a name and click Save Menu.
4. On the left-hand side of the screen you can select from existing pages on your site by putting a check next to one or more pages then click on Add to Menu. You can also add a post as a menu item. How cool is that?!
5. You can add custom links by entering a URL and giving the link a name. Click on Add to Menu and you’ll see your link appear on the menu.
6. You can order your menu items by dragging them up or down to reposition them.
7. Be sure to click Save Menu before proceeding.
To add your new menu to your site:
1. Click on Widgets under Appearance in the Dashboard.
2. Find the Widget area where you’d like the menu to appear. Open that Widget area and drag the Custom Menu Widget to that area.
3. Select the menu you’d like to use (assuming you have more than one), give it a name and save it.
Now you’re all set. Go to your site and see what chaos you have wrought!
Tip of the Week: Adding a Table
Sometimes one column just isn’t enough. You might have a list of 20 things to add to your post like some links you want students to use for a project. Putting them in one long column isn’t a very good use of space. You can add a table to a post in several ways:
1. By far the easiest way is to simply cut and paste these 9 lines of HTML code into you post with the HTML tab active. Then switch back to the Visual tab and you’ll see that your table is ready for entry:
<table style=”text-align: left; width: 590px; height: 32px;”
border=”0″ cellpadding=”2″ cellspacing=”2″>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td align=”left” valign=”top”></td>
<td align=”left” valign=”top”></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
Your table should look like this:
| MS NBC News ABC News LA Times The Nation New York Times |
News Hour Extra Front Pages from Around the World |
You can adjust the width of the table by clicking on the HTML tab and changing the width to a smaller or larger number depending on the size of the center column of your site.
2. A second way to create a table in a WordPress post is to use the plugin WP Table Reloaded. Although this plugin takes a bit more effort than using the HTML code, it also provides a few more bells and whistles. You can see an example of the WP Table Reloaded plug in at List of Bethel Bloggers. WP Table Reload is a plugin ready for you to activate in all Bethel Blogs.
The Importance of Categories
Selecting one or more categories when you create a post is critical to how your WordPress site is organized. Categories allow visitors to your site to easily find what they want. Perhaps you have a category called “Parents”. Parents visiting your site can click on that category and see all posts in the Parent category in chronological order.
“Uncategorized” is the default category and doesn’t say anything to visitors (other than you forgot to give the post a category). Not only should you select the appropriate category (or categories), but you’ll need to uncheck “Uncategorized” as it is selected by default. Continue reading
Adding a Single Image to a Post or Page
Social Media Guidelines
In this American School Board Journal article, North Carolina district official Nora Carr shares this adaptation of the Social Media Guidelines Wiki:
• Be careful about what you post. “Online behavior should reflect the same standards as those used for face-to-face communications. Deleted information may be stored and retrieved indefinitely, while information marked ‘private’ rarely is, and may be forwarded easily, even by someone you trust.”
• Be aware of your official role. “Ensure that content reflects and is consistent with the work you do for your district. Once you identify yourself as a school or district employee, or former employee, you are automatically connected with colleagues nationwide.”
• With students, stick to school business. “Don’t use e-mail, text messaging, instant messaging, or social networking sites to discuss non-school-related issues with students. Homework, class activities, athletics, extracurricular activities, parent nights, choral concerts, and other school activities represent appropriate topics of discussion. Keep relationships with students professional at all times.” Continue reading
Picasa Slideshow in WordPress
****Before you start, make sure you have the plugin Unfiltered Mu activated. This allows html code (the embed code) to be placed in your post or page. Click on Plugins in the dashboard on left when you are editing and then click on “Activate” under Unfiltered MU.****
Just when you thought you’d heard all the great reasons to have a Google account here’s one more. The easiest way we’ve found to add a slideshow to your WordPress site is by using Google’s Picasa. Here are the steps:
1. This assumes that you have taken some pictures and moved them to your computer and re-size them. If you haven’t re-sized them, look at the post below for instructions.
2. Login to your Google Account, go to the “More” menu and select Photos. Don’t see Photos? Click on “even more…” at the bottom of the list.
3. Click on “Upload” and “create a new album”.
4. Give the album a title and select anything but Private.
5. Now click Browse and select your first photo to upload. Continue until you have five photos. Click on “Start Upload”.
6. Once you’ve uploaded all your the photos in groups of five, click on “Link to this Album” at the far right and click on “Embed Slideshow”.
7. Select size “Large” and check or leave checked “AutoPlay”.
8. Copy the embed code.
9. Return to your WordPress post or page and select the HTML tab and past the embed code into the Window.
10. Select a category, preview your post or page and click on Publish.
11. If the slideshow window is too small or too large, go to the embed code in WordPress and change the width and height.