Blogs.ed help and support

Find some useful links and documents to help you navigate your blogging features.

There are lots of useful tutorials and documentation freely available on how to use WordPress. We have created a reading list of videos and documentation which we’d recommend viewing if you are new to WordPress. We also recommend using the Help available in WordPress itself.

Please note that the some of the functionality, plugins and themes described in materials developed elsewhere may be different to those available in blogs.ed.ac.uk.

Finding your WordPress dashboard on blogs.ed.ac.uk	blogs.ed.ac.uk - Finding your WordPress Dashboard (193.15 KB PDF)
Using the WordPress admin panel/dashboard	There are lots of sites around which give detailed instructions on how to use the dashboard: LinkedIn Learning course on how to use the WordPress admin panel ShivarWeb 'how to' page on using the WordPress Dashboard Ithemes video tutorial on exploring the WordPress Dashboard
Who can see your blog	blogs.ed.ac.uk - Privacy Settings (420.79 KB PDF)
Adding a new post	There are lots of sites around which give detailed instructions on how to add a post: LinkedIn Learning video tutorial on creating a new post WPBeginner 'how to' page on how to add a new post Ithemes video tutorial on how to create a WordPress post.
Pinning a post to the top of your page	blogs.ed.ac.uk- Pin a post (675.33 KB PDF)
Setting the number of blog posts per page	blogs.ed.ac.uk- Setting posts per page (719.58 KB PDF)
Adding a static homepage	There are lots of sites around which give detailed instructions on how to add a static homepage: ThemeIsle 'how to' page about setting up a static homepage WPBeginner guide on static front pages
Creating a menu	If you want to create a custom menu for your blog, these self-help resources might help. Beginner Blogging guide on setting up menus and widgets WordPress.com video tutorial on custom menus Ithemes tutorial on creating a custom menu in WordPress CloudAccess YouTube video on creating menus in WordPress
Adding in widgets to help navigation	You might want to add in widgets to the side panel of your site that display links to the most recent posts or which allow you to look at posts by category. Add recent posts widget (first part of instructions only) Add categories widget
Adding a Twitter feed widget	blogs.ed.ac.uk - UoE Twitter feed widget (494.48 KB PDF)
Enable Blog Notifications for Student blogs in Learn	Enabling Notifications for Student Blogs Created in Learn (733.21 KB PDF)
Changing appearance	Some themes work a little differently. These differences are described in the following Theme helpsheet: blogs.ed.ac.uk - Changing blog appearance (418.78 KB PDF)
Useful plugins	blogs.ed.ac.uk- Broken Link Checker (810.59 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk - Category Excluder Plugin (124.93 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk - Cryout Serious Slider Plugin (851.81 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk- Disable Comments (796.25 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk- Email Subscribers (929.78 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk- FeedWordPress (801.99 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk - MimeType Icons Plugins (183.38 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk- OpenAttribute (467.78 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk- PDF and Print (681.71 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk - QuickLaTeX Plugin (240.03 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk- Reading Time WP (339.55 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk- UoE Share Buttons Plugin (108.69 KB PDF) UoE Twitter Feed Plugin (494.48 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk- WP Accessibility (763.61 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk- XML Sitemap (877.13 KB PDF)
Managing users	WPBeginner article on user roles and permissions, includes tutorial video and comparison infographic. blogs.ed.ac.uk- Managing Users (247.97 KB PDF)
Importing and exporting	Before you migrate, please look at our Blog Migration Checklist. blogs.ed.ac.uk - Blog Migration Guidance (206.79 KB PDF)
Using media	blogs.ed.ac.uk - Using Media (279.38 KB PDF)
Blog analytics	blogs.ed.ac.uk - Google Analytics + (using University property) (603.94 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk - Google Analytics + (using your own property) (764.22 KB PDF)
Changing the name of your blog	blogs.ed.ac.uk - Changing the name of your blog (164.52 KB PDF)
Changing permissions	blogs.ed.ac.uk - Privacy Settings (420.79 KB PDF)
Making sure your blog is accessible	If you want more information about writing your blog in an accessible manner, consult our page on how to create accessible content.
Providing your WordPress materials in another format	If you want to provide your WordPress material in another format, read our Accessible Material page.
Choosing how your name displays	blogs.ed.ac.uk - How you are displayed as a user (154.42 KB PDF)
How to edit your profile and change how your name is displayed	blogs.ed.ac.uk- Editing your profile (817.5 KB PDF)
Changing the settings for blog post comments	Consult this LinkedIn Learning video tutorial to learn more about managing comments and spam.
How to change blog category	blogs.ed.ac.uk - Changing your blog category (162.07 KB PDF)
Following blogs (using RSS feed)	blogs.ed.ac.uk - Following blogs (using RSS feed) (361.77 KB PDF)
Managing comments	blogs.ed.ac.uk - Managing Comments (315.07 KB PDF) blogs.ed.ac.uk- Spam and Disappearing Comments (366.71 KB PDF)
Blog source: using syndicated and curated content	blogs.ed.ac.uk - Varying your content source (syndicated/curated blogs) (125.21 KB PDF)

This article was published on 29 Aug, 2022