Teach Yourself VISUALLY WordPress

Janet Majure is an author, writer, and editor with more than 30 years experience in the publishing industry as well as writer on three WordPress blogs (individual blogs Homecooking Revival and Foodperson plus group blog Ethicurean). She has written and edited books, newsletters, articles for daily newspapers and technical white papers.

Chapter 1 Introducing WordPress

Choose a Version of WordPress 4

Choose a Site Topic 6

Understand WordPress and Website Terms 8

Plan Your Site’s Content 10

Research Site Titles 12

Buy a Domain Name 14

Chapter 2 Setting Up Your WordPress.com Site

Sign Up with WordPress.com 18

Set Up Your New Site 20

View Your New Site 22

Get to Know Your Site’s Dashboard 24

Understand the WordPress.com Toolbar 26

Select Your General Settings 28

Choose Your Personal Settings 30

Create Your Public Profile 32

Consider Premium Features 34

Chapter 3 Setting Up Your WordPress.org Site

Choose a Host for Your Site 38

Install WordPress via Your Host’s Auto‐Installer 40

Get an FTP Application for Manual Installation 42

Download WordPress Software 43

Set Up the MySQL Database 44

Upload the WordPress Files 46

Complete the Configuration and Installation 48

Troubleshoot Installation Errors 50

Log In to Your Site’s Administrative Area 52

View Your New Site 54

Know the Administrative Screen 55

Get to Know the Dashboard 56

Get to Know the Toolbar 57

Check Your General Settings 58

Select Your Profile Settings 60

Choose a Theme 62

Install Your New Theme 64

Chapter 4 Knowing Your Administration Tools

Customize Admin Screens 70

Review the Writing Settings 74

Set Up to Post by Email 75

Choose the Discussion Settings 76

Learn about Site Visibility Settings 78

Select Your Site Visibility Settings 79

Set the Permalinks Structure 80

Consider Other Settings 81

Chapter 5 Creating Written Content

Get to Know the Add New Post Screen 84

Introducing the Visual Mode Button Bar 86

Introducing the Text Mode Button Bar 88

Try the Alternative Post Screen at WordPress.com 89

Write and Publish Your First Post 90

Add Styling and Formatting to Your Text 92

Add Text Hyperlinks to Your Content 94

Use Distraction‐Free Writing Mode 96

Publish from Your Mobile Device 97

Create Post Teasers 98

Write and Publish a Page 100

Restore an Earlier Version of Posts or Pages 102

Import Posts from Existing Sites 104

Chapter 6 Creating Visual and Audio Content

Think Visually about Content 110

Prepare Images for Uploading 112

Upload and Insert an Image to a Post 114

Work with Images in the Content Editor 116

Upload Images to the Media Library 118

Edit Images in WordPress 120

Understand Featured Images 124

Add a Featured Image 125

Insert an Image Gallery 126

Edit an Image Gallery 128

Embed YouTube (and Other) Videos 130

Upload and Insert Video to a Post 132

Upload and Insert Audio to a Post 134

Chapter 7 Organizing and Managing Your Site Content

Understand Categories and Tags 138

Add New Categories 140

Manage Categories 142

Add New Tags 144

Manage Tags 146

Convert Categories and Tags 148

Find Posts and Pages 150

Quick Edit Posts and Pages 152

Bulk Edit Posts and Pages 154

Chapter 8 Using Widgets and Menus

Understand Widgets and Widget Areas 158

Get to Know the Widgets Screens 160

Choose and Add Widgets 162

Rearrange and Remove Widgets 164

Manage Widgets from the Customizer 166

Understand Menus and Menu Locations 168

Get to Know the Menus Screen 170

Create a Menu 172

Reorder Menu Items 174

Assign a Menu Location 175

Edit and Delete Menu Items 176

Add a Custom Menu 178

Chapter 9 Tweaking Your Theme

Understand Options for Tweaking Your Theme 182

Get to Know the Theme Customizer 183

Add a Logo 184

Add a Header Image 185

Change Color Scheme 186

Change Background Color 187

Change Text Color 188

Add a Background Image 189

Get to Know Theme Options 190

Use Post Formats 192

Use Page Templates 193

Make Your Site Mobile Friendly 194

Understand CSS 196

Experiment with Your Site’s CSS 198

Modify Your Site’s CSS 200

Understand Child Themes 202

Chapter 10 Adding Functionality with Plugins

Understand Plugins 206

Find Plugins 208

Choose Plugins Wisely 210

Install and Activate Plugins 214

Deactivate and Delete Plugins 216

Add a Contact Form 218

Control the Display of Widgets 222

Use the Jetpack Plugin 224

Consider These Admin Plugins 226

Consider These Content Plugins 228

Chapter 11 Making Your Site Social

Understand How to Make a Site Social 232

Let Visitors Share Your Content 234

Add Follow Buttons 236

Display Social Feeds 238

Publicize Posts on Social Media 240

Understand Mailing Lists 242

Offer Email Subscriptions 244

Add a Mailing List Manager 246

Understand Comments 248

Choose Comment Settings 250

Moderate Comments 252

Edit Comments 254

Deal with Comment Spam 256

Display Testimonials 258

Chapter 12 Managing Your WordPress Site

Change What Your Front Page Displays 262

Use a Page Builder Plugin 264

Edit Content for Search Engines 266

Use an SEO Plugin 268

Track Site Statistics 270

Understand Site Statistics 272

Understand User Roles and Capabilities 274

Add New Users 275

Chapter 13 Maintaining Your Word Press Site

Understand WordPress Backups 278

Back Up at WordPress.com 280

Use Server Backup Tools 281

Use a Backup Plugin 282

Understand Updates 284

Update WordPress Manually 286

Update Themes 287

Update Plugins 288

Check for Broken Links 290

Keep WordPress Secure 292

Force Strong Passwords 294

Limit Login Attempts 295

Troubleshoot WordPress 296

Find Support at WordPress.org 298

Find Support at WordPress.com 299

Discover More Support Options 300

Index 302