WordPress and the County Web Page

Transcription

1 WordPress and the County Web Page These are simple steps that will help you make some good changes toward bringing your web page forward. It all begins with logging into your WordPress Dashboard. Sometimes it s best to start with a clean sheet of paper. In our case that means removing most of the old TECO page elements altogether and rebuilding from scratch. To log in to your county web page Dashboard go to Removing the MENU BAR In the WordPress Dashboard menu, click on Appearance to open its dropdown menu. Then select Menus. In the Main Navigation part of the page, click the down arrow next to the menu item you want to remove. This opens its properties info. Click the Remove button. Repeat this process for each menu item that you want to remove from your web page. You don t have to get rid of everything but here s your chance to. Once you ve removed all the menu items you wish, click on the Save Menu button. Remember, nothing really happens (gets sent to the server) until you press the save button. Page1

2 Removing Old Content In the Dashboard menu, click on the Pages down arrow and then select All Pages. You should see all of your web pages listed on the main part of the page. Select your landing page. This is will be your main web page that visitors see when viewing your web site. In our case the page is called Crane county. Yours will be called something different. Hold your cursor over the landing page in the list and then select Edit. Highlight any text, URL s and images that you want to remove and then press the delete key. Once you ve removed all the items you wish, press the Update button. Remember, nothing really happens (gets sent to the server) until you press the Update button. Page2

3 Changing the Video and then select Widgets. In the right portion of your page you should see Right Column. Click on the down arrow to expand its properties. This usually contains the Agreilife: Watch, Read, Listen widget. Our example uses a Youtube video to replace the existing video link. In Youtube, click the Share button for the video you want to attach to your web page. Then copy the URL for that link. It should already be highlighted so pressing Ctrl + C copies it into your clipboard. Paste the video URL into the Playlist link field. Click the Save button. Visit your site and see your changes. Page3

4 Add, Rearrange and Remove Widgets and then select Widgets. There are two areas of this page: Available Widgets (left) and your web page areas (right) listed as Right Column, Sidebar Navigation, Right Column Bottom and Home Page Bottom. Widgets work with a drag and drop process. To place a widget into your web page, drag it from the Available Widgets area and drop it into one of your web page areas. To remove it from the page, reverse the process. Tinker with this. Visit your web page to see the effects. Click on the image link to play a video of this process. Leaving some areas of your page empty can make room for other areas to expand. You can add more than one widget to a particular area. Page4

5 Adding Menu Items and then select Menus. From the Pages selection box, select the page or pages that you want to add the menu items to. Click the Add to Menu button. The page you selected should now appear in the list of menu items. Click the Save Menu button. Page5

6 Rearrange Menu Items and then select Menus. Arranging menus work with a drag and drop process. To move a menu from one area to another, or to nest a menu under another menu item, drag it from its position and drop it into whichever location you want it to occupy. Visit your web page to see the effects. Click on the image link to play a video of this process. You can arrange menus in whatever hierarchy and nesting levels you would like to have on your web pages. Menus are a convenient way to keep the landing page from becoming too busy while allowing visitors to quickly access a rich source of your information. Click the Save Menu button when you ve completed your changes. Page6

7 Adding a Custom Link and then select Menus. Find the Custom Links dialog box. Use Copy/Paste to copy a URL from your link source and then paste it into the URL field. Add an appropriate label to appear on your web page. Click the Add to Menu button. Remember, when linking to outside web sources that if the source page changes your website will show that change or have a broken link. You ll need to check these regularly. Rearrange the new menu item as you wish and then click the Save Menu button. Page7

8 Creating a Slideshow From the Dashboard menu click on Pages. Select your landing or home page from the list of pages. Use the Page Attributes dialog box to select Home: Slideshow from the list of templates. You can use up to four images in your slideshow. Enter the number of the slide you wish to show first. * This is optional but useful. Click the Update button. From the Dashboard menu click on Posts and then on Add New. Enter a title for your image and then enter any text you wish to have displayed with the image. Click the Publish button. In the lower-right portion of this window, locate the Featured Image dialog box. Click on Set featured image. Page8

9 Creating a Slideshow (cont.) In the Set featured image window, notice there are three tabs to select from; From Computer, From URL, Media Library. To use an image that s on your computer, click the Select Files button. Navigate to the file you wish to use and select it by double left clicking. *You should reduce image size before uploading. 600X480 is big enough ( or another appropriate ratio ). Irfanview works really well for resizing. In the Set featured image window, give the image a title. Select the image size (Medium works well). Click Use as featured image. Click the Save all changes button Close the Set featured image window. In the Add New Post window, scroll down to the Featured Post dialog box and check Feature this on the home page. Click the Publish button. Visit your Landing or Home page to view the results. The golden rule of computers: Change one thing at a time and check your results before changing something else. Page9