So, you’ve signed up for a blog (or been assigned one in a class). Now what?

If you’ve used Facebook, Blogger, MySpace, Flickr or Twitter you already have the basics of interacting with a dynamic website. WordPress has a Dashboard (where you write and organize your content) and a Front – where your beautiful blog can be read by anyone, or anyone you allow.

Customizing: Everyone starts with the basic default template.
Twenty-ten has been developed specifically for WordPress 3.0, which is what we are running. You can easily switch out the header art (Appearance > Header) and the background (Appearance > Background) to your customized art. There are different “widget” areas, where you can add blocks to help organize your content, or add personal touches. To add a Widget to your blog, go to Appearance > Widgets and drag the ones you’d like to use to the preset areas. If you know a bit of CSS and want to get fancy, you can add your custom code via the Custom CSS module (read the directions, first).

There are other templates you can try, also. Most of the templates have forums at WordPress.org where you can learn more about using them. If there is a WordPress template you’d like to use, let the admin know. We can probably add it for you.

Organizing: Your WordPress blog is pretty much a blank slate. One of the first things you’ll want to do is create some categories that will help make your content easier to find and share. WordPress also encourages the use of “tags,” that give you even more flexibility in organizing your content.

Images, art, videos, and more. WordPress utilizes plug-ins to add powerful features to it. Some are already turned on for all users, others you can select by going to Plug-ins and Activating ones you are interested in.

If you add the URL of a YouTube video, it will automagically be embedded on your page
(do not link it, just post the URL in plain text).

Add images, music and web-sized video to your blog via the Media library. Have bigger videos to add? Activate the Katura “All-in-One” video server plug-in to upload your videos.

If you expect to have multiple galleries of art, activate the NextGen gallery and use it for your artwork.* There is also a Flip-book style gallery, which can be nice for sharing journal pages or other book-like presentations.

* you may need to get assistance from the admin, me, to get this set-up right, but try it and see. Once activated, NextGen adds it’s own menu of features to your Dashboard.

Importing. Have a Blogspot or WordPress blog already? You can import your content into your new blog if you wish. (Tools > Import).

Posts vs Pages: There are two kinds of content in a WordPress blog. Posts are the typical chronological additions that are organized by categories. Pages are meant for static content, your artist statement, for example, that can stand on their own. Pages are often linked from the main navigation menu.

Menus: WordPress 3.0 has a new feature called Menus. Use it to organize what content you would like to appear in your top navigation menu. You can attach pages, categories and even outside links to your menus.

BuddyPress and the User Menu. This installation of WordPress Multisite is also running BuddyPress, which adds social media features. You can use it to form groups and create forums. You can also easily see what your peers are writing and up to by following the Activity and Blogs menus. Your Buddypress account also has places to add personal info and an avatar. Please take a moment to update your profile and avatar image when you log in. The User Menu at the top of the page gets you to your blog and dashboard, and has links to your BuddyPress account. You can send messages to your peers through the system as well.

Have fun using your new blog. Save early and often. Contact me, or leave comments here, if you have more questions.

-Eleanor Ramsay

This story also appears in my blog, along with lots of links to WordPress tutorials and information.