Tagged! Posting

This document is meant to help highlight some of the more important features of WordPress‘ text editor. (And it is . . . a work in progress.) It will also identify some small things we would like you to do specifically for your post on Building Moxie :: The Blog. For the definitive document from WordPress, you can also look here:

http://codex.wordpress.org/Writing_Posts.

Posting on Building Moxie :: the Blog

To begin your post, click the menu option >> Posts > Add New. Alternatively, you will find a New Post button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Both options will take you to a page called Add New Post. From here, you will publish your new post.

*Add New Post

In general, you should only concern yourself with the text editing, Tag, Category and Publish sections of the screen. Other portions of this screen will either not be used or will be updated by Administration later (more on this in a bit).

>> Publish > Status — An important first step with any post is to find the Status field in the Publish section at the right of the screen. This field should be set to Draft until you have completed your post. To modify this setting, click Edit and select Draft. As you compose, choose to click Save Draft NOT Publish.

*Add New Post > The Posting Area

The posting area consists primarily of the text editing box that appears in the center of the screen. It can be set to display in two manners: 1) in HTML 2) in Visual mode. For the sake of this document, we will cover only the Visual mode.

>> The large box displayed in the center of the screen will ultimately contain the contents of your post. This is where you enter your text and images.

>> Above the large box, you will find a series of buttons that will allow you to apply stylistic elements to your post. Many of these buttons, you may recognize.

>> Here are a couple of key ones however that we would like to point out:

The Kitchen Sink – This button will show/hide *all* style options for the post.

Paste From Word — The easiest way to enter text into the text editor is to compose it (with minimal formatting) in a standalone text editor such as Word. Click this button to paste what you have into the WordPress text area.

>> Once text appears in the text area, you can then style your post . . . upload pictures, add hyperlinks and do other things to get your article ready for publishing.

>> Title your post – A title or headline is added in the plain with box that appears above the text editor. Note: We would like your title to begin with YOUR NAME :

*Add New Post > Uploading Images

Important: We ask that you include aminumum of one image in your post.  The first image in a post will act as the post’s thumbnail in the site’s RSS feed.

One of the most interesting elements of the WordPress platform is the Upload/Insert section. As the gallery below will show, these tools may be found immediately above the main text area. Because images are not embedded directly into posts, but rather added to a Media Library, this section/action may take some time to get used to. Please do not hesitate to send questions. Start by clicking this graphic and provide settings as shown in the gallery.

*Add New Post > Setting Tags, Categories & Post Thumbnail (Optional)

>> Post Tags — Tags are just that, words or phrases that tag your post. On any page of :: The Blog, you will find the Tag Cloud. The tags that you add or select will be placed here as well. You may choose to select from our Most Used Tags or simply type in and Add your own comma-separated short list. (We recommend selecting no more than four.)

>> Categories – For your post, you have the option to select from our available list of Categories. Selecting from the list of high level Categories (House, Home, Life, etc) will place your post under one of these associated tabs. *Here we would like you to Add a New Category. Select the Parent Category = Tagged! and add your name. This will add your name in the Tagged! drop down menu that appears as a tab on the site.

>> Post Thumbnail — Post Thumbnail is the image that will appear next to your post on the home page, in search results, and in the featured content section. The easiest way to set the Post Thumbnail is to click Set Thumbnail only after you have uploaded, and are happy with, all of your post’s images. Click this button and it will again open the Add Image box. Select Gallery, then Show — for the image you would like to select as your Thumbnail. A new section will expand allowing you to click Use as Thumbnail. You will then close out this step by clicking Save all Changes; a Thumbnail will be set for your post.

*Don’t sweat these steps too much. If you miss anything here, administration has your back (more on this in a bit).

*Add New Post > Spell Checking and Publishing

>> Spell Check — when you are happy with your post, run the text editor’s Spell Check option to clean up basic spelling issues.

>> Publish Your Post — When you are ready, you can choose to simply click the Publish button. You may also choose to publish at a later date and time by editing the Publish immediately setting.

That said, if you would prefer to have administration check your post before it goes live, change Publish Status to Pending Review.  This can be done by clicking the Edit link next to the Status field and selecting Pending Review and Save as Pending.

*Posts > Edit

You may revisit and edit your post at any time by clicking on the Posts > Edit option found in the left margin menu.

What Building Moxie :: The Blog Will Handle

It’s :: The Blog’s goal to stay as hands off as possible when it comes to your guest post. Let’s just say – we like to be surprised, and we will be reading your post along with everyone else.

That said, there are a handful of things we will take care of within hours of your post. We will:

1. Review your post to ensure that Tags, Categories and a Thumbnail have been set.
2. Clean up any overly funky formatting.
3. Mark your post as a Featured Post.
4. Set custom SEO options for your post.

That’s it! It may seem like a lot, but it is our hope that the experience in the end is worth it.

Please do not hesitate to send questions, and in some cases we may be willing to proof your post.

Our email: blog@buildingmoxie.com

Thank you and BMoxie BMore!

>> Let’s Add a New Author.  Click here for a brief description.