How to Blog
How to Register
On the blog (http://blog.shop.org/), click on Register under the User Login area.
- Input a username (format: firstnamelastname), your email address, and click Register.
- Access your email account to retrieve your password. Click on the link to sign in.
- Input your username, password, and press Login
- Once successfully logged in, you’ll see your profile. Take the time to add some details like your first and last name, also change your password to something more memorable.
- Tip: We are going to use the nickname area to display your name and company with your posts and comments:
- Enter your nickname like this: My Name | My Company
- Press Update
- Then select the “Display name publicly” dropdown and choose: My Name | My Company
- Press Update again
Note: If you lose your password, click on “forgot password” at the login screen.
How to Login to the Blog
Access the dashboard by using the following URL: http://blog.shop.org/wp-admin. (Tip: bookmark this URL.) Alternatively, on the blog’s main page http://blog.shop.org/, you can click on Login under the User Login area.
How to Write Posts
- Access the blog by signing in with your username and password.
- Click on Write (it defaults to writing a post, which is what you want).
- Type in the title and the write the content into the boxes provided.
- To link: highlight the link, and then click (
). Paste in link in the URL field (internal ones don’t need the whole URL, but must be /yyyy/mm/day/post-name). For external links, click the target dropdown to open a new window). - Styling: You can also make words bold (
) or italic (
) or make bulleted (
) or numbered lists (
). You can also change the alignment of the paragraphs so they are left (
), centered (
), or right (
) aligned. Your blog is designed to default to left aligned, so you shouldn’t have to use these very often. - To include a new image within a post:
- Place the cursor where you want to insert the image (usually at the start of a paragraph works best)
- Click on ImageManager icon (
) in the post toolbar. - Click on Browse button (next to the upload field).
- Find your file on your hard drive, and then click Open.
- Then type in a title in the Alt/Title field (leave all the other fields as is).
- Click Upload.
- If image is greater than 500×500 then you should resize it.
- To size, click on the (
) on the bottom of the image to load the image editor window. - Click on the on the (
) icon. At the top of the window, change the larger dimension to 500 (the constraint will automatically calculate the proper proportion). Click the check box (
) to resize. - Click the (
) icon to save, then click the check again. Then, click on the OK button and then close the window. - On the ImageManager, click on the refresh button to see your newly sized image.
- Please delete the original image by clicking on the trash (
) icon. Click OK to confirm deletion. - Click on the image you want to insert and click OK.
- Notes: The image(s) will be right justified within the post contents, styled with a border, and automatically placed with a thumbnail size. Readers can click on the thumbnail to see a bigger image if they wish. If you want a left-aligned image, change the class from “rightimg” to “leftimg” and the align pull-down to “Left.” If you wish to show images between two paragraphs of text or below a post, change the class to “nowrapimg” and set the align pull-down to “not set.”
- To include an existing image within a post:
- Click on ImageManager icon (
) in the post toolbar. - Click on the image you want to include and click OK.
- Notes: The image(s) will be right justified within the post contents, styled with a border, and automatically placed with a thumbnail size. Readers can click on the thumbnail to see a bigger image if they wish. If you want a left-aligned image, change the class from “rightimg” to “leftimg” and the align pull-down to “Left”
- Categories: The default category is “uncategorized.” Uncheck it and check the appropriate category(ies) for each post by clicking the appropriate box. If you do not find an appropriate category, please contact Larry Joseloff to add it for you. Timestamp: The timestamp will be created at the time when you publish the post. To change it, click on the checkbox and put in the new date/time.
- Post Status: The post’s status is on draft. Your post will not be published until you change it to publish.
- Fields that don’t need updating:
- Discussion: Currently comments are turned on. Pings are turned on (this allows your post to be indexed on the Internet).
- Post Author: Your display name is here.
- Excerpts: You can put in an excerpt to display in the feed’s view. Not really necessary.
- Trackbacks: The trackback address doesn’t need to be changed.
- Custom Fields: Haven’t used these yet.
- Password Protection: Automatically off, but enter a password and only those with it can see the post.
- Slugs: This is actually the name of the post; keep it blank it and it will automatically use the post’s title (a great feature, so think about catchy title names).
Before You Publish
As you write your draft, it is a good idea to occasionally press Save and Continue. (If you just press save, you will leave the post you are on.) When you press Save and Continue the first time (and all subsequent times), you can scroll down and see a preview of how the post will look when you publish it.
The post will not be live until you press Publish (or change the status to Published and press Save). Consider the following before publishing your post to the world:
- Check your spelling.
- Check your grammar (tip: read it out loud).
- Don’t write in all capital letters (the web views that as yelling).
- Watch trademarks, copyrights, and legal issues.
- Don’t swear or defame anyone, any company, or any product.
- Stay away from being controversial.
- Write often. Have fun. Provide value. Think quality.
How to Manage Your Own Posts
- Access the blog by signing in with your username and password.
- Click on Manage.
- Click on Posts.
- Find the one you want to edit/change and you’ll be brought to the “write” screen.
- Edit as above.
How to Make Comments
- When you are reading a story that you’d like to comment on, click on Add a Comment.
- Write in the text blog.
- Press Submit Comment.