Transcript Wordpress II 2nd March 2013 Today We shall: 1. Recap on last week. 2.

Wordpress II
2nd March 2013
Today
We shall:
1. Recap on last week.
2. Create a new post.
3. Embed a video from Youtube.
4. Create custom menus.
5. Create a form in order to get readers' feedback.
6. Discuss the social aspect of blogging and why we might
encourage comments.
7. Look at the different roles available for readers - "editor",
"reader" etc..
8. Assign categories and tags.
9. Use themes.
10.Add Widgets.
Recap
So far we have covered:
1. Registering with Wordpress and creating a blog.
2. Creating a post/page.
3. Formatting a post (emphases - bold, italic, underline).
4. Inserting media:
a) pictures;
b) documents.
5. Inserting a link.
6. Linking an image or other media to another website.
Recap continued
We also talked about:
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Copyright and images - creative commons, privacy issues,
consent.
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Different interpretations of the terms "blog" and "website".
Creating memorable passwords.
Making a site accessible ("alt text").
Embedding videos.
Today
Today we shall...
1. Embed videos from Youtube.
2. Customise menus according to theme.
3. Look at themes in some detail.
4. Insert a form to get feedback from users/readers.
5. Consider the importance of comments and audience
involvement.
6. What roles are available for different members of our
audience.
7. Categories and tags.
8. Widgets.
The Dashboard
The Dashboard
A brief look at the dashboard: what can you see, what does
it do and how do you get it on the screen?
There are three main categories of the menu:
a) general management;
b) content creation;
c) settings and user management.
Each of these categories has subcategories.
Over to you
Now log on to your Wordpress site and create a post with headings and
paragraphs and insert or paste in a picture. Do not worry about the words
you choose, you can copy and paste from another website if you want. Do
make certain that you give your post a title, heading and that you insert a
picture.
Our objective is to master the tools we use to control the layout of your site's
pages.
Remember that the left mouse button is used to choose an item, the right
mouse button is used to bring up a menu or ask a question.
Keyboard shortcuts can be used:
Ctrl+C - Copy
Ctrl+V - Paste
Ctrl+Z - Undo
Ctrl+X - Cut
Ctrl+B - Bold
Ctrl+I - Italic
Ctrl+U - Underline
Hold the control key down first
then press the other key.
Embed a video
Embed a video.
No matter how refined the subject of the post you have just
written is you can be sure to find a video on
www.youtube.com that can be used to illustrate it.
Visit youtube and search for something (e.g. "cake").
Then click on the video. You can pause the video by
pressing the spacebar or clicking on the pause symbol if
you want to.
Embed a video II
Underneath the video frame you will see this:
We want to share this video on our Wordpress site, click on "Share".
Then click on "Embed".
Copy the blue text.
(Remember Ctrl+C or
mouse menus.)
Embed a video III
Switch back to your Wordpress tab and paste your copied
text into the edit window of the post or page you are
editing. Remember to click in the blank "page" space
before you paste.
Paste using Ctrl+V or the mouse menu (right click).
Pasted from youtube.
Click on
"Publish" or
"Update".
Menus
Menus
Menus are to be found on the dashboard under the "Appearance" section on
the left hand side of the dashboard.
The first thing you need to do
is name your menu. Nobody
else will see this name.
Then click on "Create
Menu".
Menus II
You are able to add pages to menus but not posts. You can also add external
links to menus (e.g. "www.bbc.co.uk").
We will return to this.
Your most recent pages will appear here. As
this is a new blog only one page - "About" appears here.
I can click on the checkbox to add it to the
menu, then click on "Add to menu".
Menus III
To the menu "fishcakes" I have added the page "About".
Depending on my theme you can
choose a theme location. This will
change if you change your theme in the
future. It will most usually be something
like "top right" or similar. It's an area of
the screen that we commonly think of as
a location for menus.
Menus IV
Theme locations as per your menu.
Different themes allow different theme locations. You choose the location of
your custom menu via the theme location box, which is on the left hand side
of your menu screen.
In this case I have chosen my menu named
"fishcakes" to be placed in the primary
menu area. This is the only menu area
available for the theme I have chosen.
I click on "Save". When I visit
my page, the menu is in the
place allocated by the theme.
Themes
Themes
A "theme" is the general appearance of your site, (i.e. the colours, typeface (or
font), the columns and so forth). The theme allows you to give some style
and individuality to your site without sacrificing consistency and coherence.
Themes exist for the same reason that hairdressers and mechanics exist because we are not specialists in graphic design. Colours and layout of a
website or a printed page are most distinctive when they are wrong. That's
what we avoid by the use of themes.
There are a multitude of themes. We should not spend too much time
exploring themes now, but 10 minutes should do no harm.
Bear in mind that any alteration in theme will also alter customised menus. To
correct these alterations choose the correct menu in "Appearance" after
changing the theme.
Choose your
theme.
Forms
Forms
A form is a means by which your readers communicate directly with you. If you
want feedback from your readership then you should use a form.
To insert a form from the edit new or existing post/page from the dashboard
click on the "new form" button
This will bring up a
window giving you
the option to choose
which fields
(questions) you want
to ask your
readership.
Forms II
You choose what kind of fields there are (e.g. text box, text area, check box,
radio button, email address etc.) and which are "required". If a field is
required then the reader must fill it in, otherwise the submit button will not
work.
When the reader clicks on "Submit" you will receive an email from Wordpress
with all the details of the form filled by your reader. The reader will see a
"block quote" with what he or she has said.
Definitions of terms
1) Text box - a short field such as a first name/surname box.
2)Text area - a longer text box, suitable for addresses or comments.
3) Check box - one choice among several, more than one can be
chosen (e.g. favourite T.V. programmes).
4) Radio buttons - only one can be chosen at a time, as with old car
radios.
5) Email address - of the form [email protected].
There are more.
Comments
Comments
The wider audience of people who are on Wordpress, or on the internet
generally, can comment on your posts and pages. Initially this is quite
alarming, particularly considering how anonymous these things can be.
In order to redress the balance we can moderate comments. That is to say that
one person can choose to comment on a page or a post, and it is only
passed on to our reading audience once we have ourselves approved the
comment. In this way we are protected from malicious or thoughtless
comments by others.
It is true that manners and etiquette are different on the internet, just as they
are in a pub, a church, a school room or a doctor's surgery. We do not
need to be afraid of this, but we do need to be aware. What is rude in the
doctor's waiting room is not necessarily rude elsewhere and vice versa.
Unlike the doctor's waiting room, comments can be deleted or even prevented
from ever becoming public.
Users' roles
Users' Roles
You can invite new users of you blog or website from the dashboard by clicking
on the "Users" category just below "Appearance" on the left hand menu.
An email address is sufficient to
invite a new user.
The role of the new user is defined
by you as, "follower", "contributor",
"author", "editor" or "administrator".
The link next to the choice box will
give you a precise definition of these
roles.
Followers, contributors,
editors.
Unless your site is solely for your own use the workload of creating content
should be spread in order to keep it live, active and interesting for your
readers.
If people choose to follow your blog it is a good thing because it means that
your followers will be immediately informed of any posts or pages you
create.
You are automatically the administrator of your
site. This means that you can control all
content, appearance, users and even delete the
site if you choose to. An editor can edit their
own content or anyone else's, an author can
create and edit their own content.
More details on the precise roles are found on
the user management section of the dashboard.
Categories and tags
Categories and tags
A post can be assigned a category and have tags attached to it.
Example - categories.
A post on my sister's birthday party (that goes well) can be categorised under
family, fun, birthdays.
A post on my brother's birthday party (that goes badly) can be categorised
under family, birthdays but not fun.
Example - tags.
A post on my sister's birthday party can be tagged with cake, balloons,
alcohol, party, cheese, crisps, dancing, music, Julie, Toyah, Gustav,
Bruce etc..
A post on my brother's birthday party can be tagged with cake, party, cheese,
argument, sober, boring, Phil, Ted, Ralph, Maureen, Bill etc..
Definitions - tags &
categories
Tag = Index
Put simply a tag is a word that you choose to use to index your post. A tag
word will usually be found in the post itself and suggest itself naturally.
Commonly used tags will also suggest themselves when you come to
choosing them after editing your post.
Category = Subject
A post is categorised under a subject heading. All posts about shoes go under
footwear. Some posts about shoes also go under party, some posts about
shoes go under hiking and footwear but not under party.
footwear
party
hiking
Tags & Categories
Tick all the categories that apply.
Do not create too many
categories. Always untick
"Uncategorized".
Type in any tags you feel are
relevant. Do not be worried
about creating too many. Put a
comma between each tag or
click on "Add".
Widgets
What is a "widget"?
A widget is a gadget that does something or other. On a Wordpress page a
widget can provide the reader with dynamic (changing) information. In
contrast to the content (words, pictures etc.) that you, the author, put on the
site a widget will change over time depending on other things that happen
on your site or in the outside world.
The easiest example of a widget is the "milestone". This counts down to a
specific date with "25 days to go" etc..
Widgets are found under "Appearance" on the left hand side of the dashboard.
To use a widget it should be dragged across to
an area of your theme that can be used to
display a widget. In many cases this is a
sidebar. The widget should appear on all pages
and posts unless it is turned off on any
particular page.