Blogging with Wordpress

1. Blogging with Wordpress Fairfield Public Library 12 October 2011 Merry Uk merryuk@fplct.org

2. A blogging tool, run on PHP and mySQL. Also known as a CMS; can be used for website management Open source Highly customizable without needing to understand code Released in 2003 Wordpress.com opened in 2005 Over 61 million Wordpress blogs in the world today! Wordpress.com hosts about half of those.

3. What to blog? Why? • Love taking pictures? Start a photo blog • Love cooking? Post pictures of dinner with recipes • Have pets? Share pictures, videos and stories • Professional blog – talk about your work, what you do • Personal blog – anything goes • Blog about anything you’re passionate about! • Get your opinions out • Share your knowledge!

4. Some examples: • Fairfield Public Library’s own blogs: • Movies: http://fairfieldpubliclibrary.org/blogs/movies/ • Books for Adults: http://fairfieldpubliclibrary.org/blogs/adults/ • One Book, One Town: http://www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org/obot/ • New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/blogs/ • Best Buy Stores: http://stores.bestbuy.com/577/ • General Electric’s Healthyimagination Initiative: http://www.healthymagination.com/

5. Visit wordpress.com Click on “Get started here” Fill out the information Pick a blog address Pick a username Activate your blog in your email confirmation Let’s Get Started!

6. Visit wordpress.com, and sign in at the top left. At the top left, you’ll find a few tabs with some dropdown options. Head to your dashboard! Your dashboard is your “back end” – your control panel. Start poking around - change and tweak settings as you desire. Sign in!

7. On the left side, head to appearance -> themes. Search for themes according to your needs, style and taste. Preview Activate! Many are further customizable, which allow you to change colors or add your own images. Use “widgets” to control the different features of your columns. Choose your theme

8. On the left side, head to posts -> add new. Enter a new title. Add your entry. Pictures are worth a thousand words! Keep your blog posts friendly and conversational. Add tags and categories to help both you and your users find relevant posts easily. If you’re interested in getting people to comment, try asking questions at the end! Preview first, then publish. Start blogging!

9. Suitable for timeless information: bio page, statistics, a glossary, etc. On the left side, head to pages -> add new. Works very similar as a post. Enter a title for the page. Add your information. Preview first, then publish. Add pages

10. Get connected, get popular: • Update your blog with frequent, high-quality content. • Find other bloggers or websites with similar content – comment, link, share. • Remember to tag your content – wordpress.com allows visitors to search through tags. • Engage with your visitors – respond to their comments – remember to stay respectful (even if they are not). • Brand yourself, and make use of social media, like Facebook and Twitter and let the world know your blog is out there!

11. Overwhelmed? Underwhelmed? • Head to http://learn.wordpress.com and http://support.wordpress.com for more help. • Get books from your favorite library about Wordpress! • Ready to do even more with your blog, and turn it into a full website? Try http://www.wordpress.org for even more control with your blog.

12. Thank you! Merry Uk merryuk@fplct.org www.fairfieldpubliclibrary.org