Distraction Free Writing
Posted on 06. Jul, 2011 by conorp in Screencasts
With the release of WordPress 3.2, one of the most interesting features in my opinion is the new Distraction Free Writing option in the WordPress post editor. This feature replaces the previous Full Screen mode, with a new mode than fades the clutter completely into the background, and just presents the post editor box.
I have made a quick video below showing how you can access this new feature, and what exactly it looks like.
Distraction Free Writing in WordPress 3.2
To access Distraction Free Writing you must have WordPress 3.2. Having trouble upgrading? No problem, let us Upgrade WordPress For You
Guide to setting up Multisite in WordPress 3.0
Posted on 19. Jun, 2010 by conorp in Screencasts
One of the most talked about and hyped features of WordPress 3.0 is the merge between WPMU and the standard single WP install. This new feature allows you to create new instances of WordPress right from your dashboard, all sharing a single database. Every instance of WordPress can have completely different themes and plugins but they also have the option of being active across the whole network.
In today’s video, I go over from start to finish the complete process of setting up WordPress Multisite and creating new sites with it.
Not a video person?
- Start by adding define(‘WP_ALLOW_MULTISITE’, true); to your wp-config file.
- Under tools in your WordPress dashboard you will now have the Network option.
- Depending on your host you will be able to choose between a subdomain and subdirectory for your network. So the domain for your added sites would either be test.test.com or test.com/test.
- You will now be greeted with your next list of steps: creating a blogs.dir directory, editing wp-config.php, and .htaccess. WP recommends backing up wp-config.php and .htaccess files before proceeding.
- Now go to the Sites menu option and create a new site.
Congratulations you have now setup Multisite in WordPress 3.0
I have tried to make this as simple as possible, but are you still confused? Let us do it for you. We will set up your WordPress blog so that you can easily create new sites by the click of a button.
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How To Automatically Close Comments
Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by conorp in Screencasts
WordPress 2.7 brought us the option of automatically closing comments on articles after a certain date. This is very useful in combating spam, and just reducing the overall amount of comments that you need to moderate. What good is a comment on a post from 2 years ago?
This feature needs to be turned on, and is as simple as going into your WordPress dashboard, scrolling down to the ‘settings’ menu item, and then to ‘Discussion’. In the ‘Discussion’ menu item, simply tick the box that says “Automatically close comments on articles older than __X__ days”
Here is a screencast showing the above steps:
Screencast- How To Automatically Close Comments
Finding this to complicated? No problem, just Contact Us, and we’ll see what we can do to help.
What are Widgets and How can you use them?
Posted on 14. Jan, 2010 by conorp in Screencasts
Widgets are things you can put in your WordPress blog, most commonly in the sidebar without knowing how to edit a web page. They can be dragged and dropped, and allow you to customize many areas of your blog without the need to touch any code.
Widgets are very easy to use and involve you going into the ‘Appearance’ menu item in you WordPress dashboard, then down to ‘Widgets’. Now simply drag and drop the widget to your desired location.
Here is a screencast showing the above steps:
Screencast- What are Widgets and How can you use them?
Finding this to complicated? No problem, just Contact Us, and we’ll see what we can do to help.
How to login into WordPress
Posted on 30. Dec, 2009 by conorp in Screencasts
So you just installed WordPress, and your wondering what to do now. You may have even come from WordPress.com, or are in the process of moving. You may even feel uneasy about where to start on your self hosted route. Logging into WordPress is obviously important. Without logging in you cannot write pages or posts, choose a theme, or even change your site name. Today, I am going to show you how to login into WordPress.
Once you have installed WordPress, navigate your way to: “yoursite.com/wp-admin”. Then login with username and password you have been given,
Here is a screencast showing the above steps:
Screencast- How to login into WordPress
Finding this to complicated? No problem, just Contact Us, and we’ll see what we can do to help.
TweetHow to add a new user to your WordPress blog
Posted on 29. Dec, 2009 by conorp in Screencasts
Adding new users can either be very important to your WordPress blog, or not at all. For example, if you run a personal blog, or even just a site solely run by you, then there is no need for adding a new user. It is only if you want multiple contributors to your blog, such as a group of writers, or you want a guest post every so often that this would be of use.
So are wondering how to do it? In your WordPress dashboard, scroll down until you see to “Users” menu option. Then expand the menu option, and click on the “Add New” link.
Here is a screencast showing the previous steps:
Screencast: How To Add A New User To Your WordPress Blog
I have tried to make this as simple as possible. But are you still confused? Let us do it for you. We will set up addition users and can customize what privileges they have, so that a simple guest writer, cant mess with your themes or plugins.
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How to set a static page as your homepage
Posted on 16. Dec, 2009 by conorp in Screencasts
WordPress is a powerful blogging tool. It features posts,pages comments etc. But WordPress can do much more than be just a blog. It can be a Content Management System, which allows you to set up your WordPress install however you want. One popular use of WordPress is using it as a full-blown website, where the front page is just that, a page. An example would even be here on the WP Kick Start homepage.
So how do you do this you ask?
In your WordPress dashboard, scroll down and expand the “Settings” menu. From here go into the “Reading” menu item. Now on the “Reading” page, take the check box off the latest post option, and select the static page option. Finally select which pages you want where and save the page.
Here is a screencast showing the previous steps:
How to set a static page as your WordPress homepage
I have tried to make this as simple as possible. But are you still confused? Let us do it for you. We will Set a static page as a homepage, and set another page as the page where your posts are displayed.
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How to move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org
Posted on 15. Dec, 2009 by conorp in Screencasts
Introduction
WordPress.com is a hosted service, which allows you to set up multiple blogs for free, however there are optional paid options which add functionality to your blog. WordPress.com is perfect for a beginner blogger, however many bloggers find that it is to restrictive and looks unprofessional.
For example:
- On WordPress.com without a paid upgrade your url is www.site.wordpress.com, which makes you seem amateurish.
There are a limited amount of themes, often of poor visual quality. They are also overused due to the large amount of users on the bog hosting provider,
Without a paid upgrade, you cannot edit CSS in any of the available themes. This does not allow you to brand your blog.
You cannot use any plugins
The list goes on…
All of these features are available with a self hosted WordPress.org blog.
The planning
The first thing you will need to do is find a hosting company. You cant have a blog without a host. Check to see if the host meets the minimum requirements of WordPress:
* PHP 4.3 or greater
* MySQL 4.0 or greater
* The mod_rewrite Apache module
Here at WP Kick Start we recommend Kabarty. Not only are they a cool reliable host but they also have WordPress specific hosting, which means your blog will run the best it ever will, due to server optimization that suits WordPress.
Installing a self hosted WordPress blog
1, Uploading the files
Upload all the files and folders in the way you found them when you downloaded them. You should upload them to the directory that you want your blog to be in. Simple right? So upload all the files and folders as they were originally. Do not upload every file to the main directory. Keep the original file structure.
Here is my folder structure:
2, Database
So the standard values are the following:
Database Name
Database Name used by WordPress
Database Username
Username used to access Database
Database Password
Password used by Username to access Database
Database Host
The hostname of your Database Server
The steps to get that information are:
1, Make a database in your cpanel
2, Make a new user- Fill in your password etc
3, Add the user to the database
4, Use this information in your wp-config.php.
In most cases, your Database Host is localhost
The file wp-config.php does not exist by default. You will need to re-name the wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php
3 Final Install
Go to: www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php to set up your username etc.
Exporting your posts from your WordPress.com blog
First things first. Go to your WordPress.com dashboard. Scroll down until you see the menu item “Tools”. Expand the “Tools” menu and you will see an “Export” link. Upon clicking the export link, you will see an option to select which users you want to export the posts from. I would recommend exporting all users. Then download the WXR file, which will appear as a xml file to your desktop.
Here is a screencast showing those very steps:
Screencast on Moving from WordPress.com to WordPress.org- Part 1
Importing posts into your self hosted WordPress.org blog
Go to your self hosted WordPress.org blog and locate the “Tools” menu item. But this time click “Import”. This will take you to a page where you select what type of file you want to import, such as Blogger or Typepad posts. In this case we obviously want to select WordPress as our import type. From here upload your WXR file which we previously exported from your WordPress.com account. You may be asked now to select who you would like to assign the posts to. You can create a new user or select a current user from the list.
Here is a screencast showing these steps:
Screencast- Moving from WordPress.com to WordPress,org- Part 2
I have tried to make this as simple as possible. But are you still confused? Let us do it for you. We will Upload WordPress, Export the posts from your WordPress.com blog, Import the posts into your new self hosted WordPress.org blog, and even upload the same theme you were using at WordPress.com.
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How to schedule posts
Posted on 14. Dec, 2009 by conorp in Screencasts
Today’s screencast is about scheduling posts.
Episode 1- How to schedule a post
By the way, I wrote this post a few hours ago and scheduled it for now. See, it is useful.
Please post any feedback in the comments below.
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