This Users Guide is for the website https://principalitiesandpowers.org/. It can be viewed on either a desktop computer or a mobile device, but will be easier to navigate on a computer. This guide assumes you are using a computer. We can share information with each other by creating and publishing posts on the blog. The website was created using WordPress
Part 1. Basics
WordPress
Two ways of displaying content are pages and posts. They are used for different purposes.
- Pages are static–they are not associated with a date or time. They are permanent fixtures of the site for people to access at any time. Examples of pages on our site are Home, Resources and About. They can be accessed through the menu at the top of the site.
- Posts are individual pieces of time-based content on the site. Think of them as resources or updates to be shared with members of our group. Two ways of accessing posts are through the Blog page (see top menu) and through categories (see right sidebar). The most recent posts are shown on the right sidebar.
Public and Private Content
Although our group is small, the theme of Principalities and Powers is important, and it may be useful to make the resources we share available to a wider audience. By default content on our site is currently public unless it is explicitly marked to be private. At present we have one private page, which contains links to recordings of our Zoom meetings.
WordPress Accounts
In order to read private content or to create new content, you will need a WordPress account for the site. Depending on the role assigned to the account, you will have various capabilities:
- Subscriber — can only read content
- Contributor — can write and edit your own posts but cannot publish them
- Author — can write and edit your own posts and publish them
- Editor — can write, edit and publish both posts and pages for yourself and other users
- Administrator — has access to all the administration features within the site
We are initially assigning the role of Author to members of our group.
Discussion via Comments
You can easily leave comments to a post. Look for the comment block at the bottom of the post. Type in your comment and name and email. Checkboxes allow you to save your information, be notified of follow-up comments by email, and to be notified of new posts.
After you have typed in the information and checked the desired options, click the Post Comment button. The first time you do this, your comment will be held for moderation. Subsequently your comment will be posted immediately.
Subscribe
Besides opting in to new posts when you make a comment, you may also directly subscribe to the blog by using the “widget” on the right sidebar. Type your email address and click the Subscribe button.
WordPress will then send you an email allowing you to confirm you subscription. You won’t be subscribed until you have confirmed. You will then receive an email when a new post is published.
Part 2. Creating Your Own Posts
Login
While it is not necessary to be logged into a WordPress website to make comments to a post, in order to create a new post you must login. Use this URL:
https://principalitiesandpowers.org/wp-admin
Use your username or email address plus password to log in.
By checking Remember Me you will be automatically logged in the next time you visit the website.
Dashboard
When you login you will be brought to the Dashboard. The screenshot shows the Dashboard for a user with Author privileges. More options become available with other roles, such as Editor or Administrator.
Accessing the Dashboard
Once you have logged in and are working on a post, you won’t see the Dashboard. You can get to the Dashboard by clicking on the WordPress W at the top left.
Add a New Post
There are two ways to add a new post. The first is to select Posts from the Dashboard on the left and then Add New Post.
The second is from + New in the top menu.
(We will discuss Media later.)
This will bring up a simple editor for creating a post. The very first time you work with the editor, either creating or editing a post, a tiny 4 page tutorial comes up. You can come back to it later if you wish through this link: Welcome to the block editor. Then type / or click the + to choose a new block.
First type a title and then you can start typing straight text. This will be in a paragraph block. We will look at other blocks a little later. If all you want to do is type straight text in one or more paragraphs, you can skip ahead to Publish Your Post.
Simple Formatting
Now let’s illustrate how to do bold and italics and to create links. You start by selecting some text in the editor (press your mouse button and slide over the text you want to format). That will bring up a simple toolbar.
Use the B for bold, the slash / for italics, and the link symbol (as in a chain) for a link. For a link you simply type it in or do copy and paste.
Italics
Here is an example of supplying italics after selecting some text.
Link
And here is an example of supplying a link. Typically, you will copy and paste the link.
Note that while you are copying in the link the selected text is not highlighted. But after you press ENTER to add the link, the selected is highlighted.
Block Attributes
As you are entering your content, the right sidebar shows attributes for the block you are currently working on. If desired, you can customize text and background color, typography, and so on. But we won’t do any customization but simply keep the defaults.
Post Attributes
Before publishing, examine the post attributes. Select Post from the top of the right sidebar. Normally you won’t change any of the ones at the top. If you would like someone to review your post before publishing it, you can check Enable Public Preview and copy the link.
Assign a Category
Scroll down and you will find a Categories section. Check the appropriate category. The default category is Resources. In our example, we will check Commentary and uncheck Resources. (A post may be assigned to multiple categories.)
Preview Your Post
When you are done entering your content, it is a good idea to preview how it will look when published. Do this by selecting the icon representing a screen from the toolbar at the top right. It is next to “Save Draft” (WordPress will frequently do an auto-save, so normally you don’t need to save your work unless you plan to take a break and come back later.) Click on “Preview in new tab” in the dropdown menu. This will preview how your post will look on the Desktop. If desired you can also get previews of appearance on Tablet or Mobile. When you are satisfied you can proceed to publish your post.
Publish a Post
When you are ready, click the blue Publish button at the top right. You will see some pre-publishing checks. If you are satisfied, go ahead and click the Publish button again.