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WordPress: Creating Pages & Posts
WordPress, version 5.7. The instructions in this guide apply to sites built with the PLU Digital Humanities Lab version of WordPress and may not translate to sites built with WordPress.com or other versions.
Site content is created through pages and posts. Pages are the static sections that dont often change and structure the website and main content. Home, About, and Contact are examples of pages on typical websites. Posts are individual blog entries that will appear in the blog page of a website. These are usually written articles, images, or current news/events. Pages and posts will look different depending on the theme, customization, and settings of the site. The utilization of pages/posts will depend on the intention and goals of the site.
To create a new page/post, navigate to Pages[or Posts] > Add New from the Side Menu. The editor for pages/posts is shown below.
Interface
1. Return to Dashboard: Exit page/post editing. Be sure to save beforehand to avoid losing work.
2. Add Block: Add a new block of content. A pop-up with all block types will appear.
3. Controls: Switch tools, undo/redo, view details, and view block outline.
4. Publishing Options:
- Preview: View how the pending changes will look when published.
- Publish/Update: Save and publish changes to the web. When a new page/post is created, the button displays as Publish. After the first publish, the button displays Update instead.
5. Settings (2 tabs):
- Document: Adjust settings for the page/post, such as author, privacy, and allowing or disabling comments.
- Block: Adjusts settings for the selected block. In this example, a Paragraph block is selected, so the settings are related to the text, such as color and size.
Adding Blocks
Content is added to pages/posts using blocks. For example, there are blocks for text, images, video embeds, buttons, widgets, tables, and more. The major benefit of using blocks is that its easy to add, edit, and arrange content throughout the page/post. Although blocks contain different types of media and formatting, adding content is similar across all blocks.
To add a block:
- Click the + Add Block button at the top of the page. A drop-down menu will appear, with content options divided into categories:
- Text: Text options such as Paragraph, Headings, Lists, etc.
- Media: Images, audio clips, video players, etc.
- Design: Stylizing elements to add columns, line breaks, and buttons.
- Widgets: Displays site elements like a list of blog posts, tags, and comments.
- Embeds: Easily incorporate content from other sites like YouTube, Spotify, and Reddit.
- Select the desired block type. An empty block of that type will be added to the page/post.
- Use the toolbar that appears above the block to modify the content.
Text Blocks (Paragraph, Headings)
The two most common text block types are Paragraph and Heading. Paragraph blocks are used for body text, and Headings are for headlines. Use Headings to breakup text into sections based on topics. Text Formatting options such as alignment, bold, and italicizing are available in the toolbar above the text block.
To change the text color, click the down-arrow in the toolbar and select "Text color."
To add a link, such as to another website:
- Add a Paragraph block to the page/post.
- Enter the desired link text into the block.
- Click-and-drag to highlight the text.
- Click the chainlink icon from the toolbar above the block. A new window will appear.
- Type or paste a URL into the field.
- Select the option, "Open in a new tab."
- Click the Submit/Enter button. The previously highlighted text will be converted into a clickable link.
General Block Options
- Settings: access settings, such as background color, from the panel to the right in the "Block" tab. If the panel is hidden, click the gear icon to the top-right and it will open.
- Copy/Duplicate/Delete block: click the kebab button in the block toolbar, located to the far right, and make a selection.
- Insert a block between 2 other blocks: hover between them and click the + Add Block button, then select an option.
- Reorder blocks: click the up/down arrows from the toolbar above the block to reorder the blocks on the page/post.
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