Editing Your Free WordPress Site
Wordpress, Even a Tike Can Do It!
Ok.
So, I have set up your WordPress site, most likely for free. BAM! (That is, if you are a non-profit organization or community-development-focused individual.)
There are a few of you who are off to the races.
You can log in and navigate around. Maybe you have found the APPEARANCE –> ADD NEW THEMES button of the PLUGINS –> ADD NEW sections and found a few goodies to install. I recommend playing with the APPEARANCE –> WIDGETS function to get a feel for how to tweak the sidebar.
So, What Are You Trying To Say?
However, many of you generally do not know where to start. Before you slap me with a fish for offending you, keep in mind that many people feel the same as you. I felt the same way when I started on the web. (Trust me, it’s much easier now!)
The inevitable statement I hear is “It looks good. But can I get it to look like [YOU NAME IT.]”
Yes, I can, but I need to communicate something to you, and it is affectionately known as…
The Spiral of Doom
“Sure,” I say hesitantly.
And I only say it hesitantly because I know what comes next.
I change it.
“Looks great……but can we tweak it with….”
“Uh, yeah.”
I change it.
“Looks great……but can we tweak it with….”
“Uh, yeah.”
I change it.
“Looks great……but can we tweak it with….”
“Uh, yeah.”
(Here is a GREAT cartoon that a designer created, explaining why it is ‘The Spiral of Doom’. This is a GREAT example of what my life was like with my first business, En Passant Productions, a website-design/video production company.)
Usually, not always, but usually, a website is an ever-evolving creature. Which means your designer needs to be on-call 24-7, or you need to know a little about how to use WordPress.
Stop the Insanity
Even though I set up websites for non-profits, that does not mean it is easy or inexpensive to do. (Which is why a) I left the webdesign world, b) why I emphatically use WordPress, and c) why I charge far more than my consulting rate to tweak someone’s website.)
Solution A – Design, true design, good design, design that you never have to say “could we tweak this” about, is usually expensive (and rightly so.) The day before I posted this, I had a designer quote me $1,200 for a logo design. And he is worth every penny. Designers are the real deal. And so are their invoices!
Challenges – Every time you want something updated or changed, you have to pay these fees or find someone will to. And, the cost.
That being said, the reason I have found and deliver the solutions I provide is to help people get a clean-looking site for much less the time and expense of higher-end designers.
Simply put: WordPress saves Time & Money, looks clean, and is useful.
So, Grant, About Those Edits…
Right! Regardless of the above, you still want your WordPress site to look different and do different, neat little things. Great! WordPress was created for that, so here we go.
Solution B – We could get together for lunch or coffee. I could show you how to change the look of your site and how to discover new tools to install on it. All of these things can be done from your back office once you log in, and, once we have met, you should then have the schema to handle most of the tweaking you need done.
Challenges - I am far more affordable than high-end designers, but there will still be a fee. Also, syncing up with my schedule is becoming far more challenging with every day.
Regrettably, I am no longer in the web-design, web-maintenance, or website administration business. I am in the business of providing effective, simple solutions that help you as an individual (or your organization) spark, ignite, and explode. To do that, I recognize the need for website solutions. Hence your site is (most likely) up!
Here Is The Solution I Recommend Most
Solution C – You watch the videos below. They are no more than 23 minutes to watch them all. After that, invest another 2 hours to play with what you learned. Plan on giving the site an additional 2 hrs per week for the next few weeks. And an additional 1 hr a week after that.
Challenges – You will have to invest the time. There are no short cuts. Since your business is ever growing and ever evolving, there is no way that anyone but you or someone in your organization
Below are a series of short, quality videos. No, they are not funky-cool like I would have created. (Maybe I should do that in the future…) BUT, they are informative. Watch them. Learn about how powerful this tool is that you are using. Know that some of the most visited sites in the world were made with WordPress.
After you have watched them, if you still get stuck, I promise you that I will meet with you. And, provided you have watched the videos and ask informed questions, I will even do our session for a significantly discounted rate.
Without Further Ado
Ok, so, you are going to at least start here. I say grab your favorite beverage (hot tea, coffee, hot chocolate, pudding,..whatever), use the bathroom, kick back and learn something. Know that this is an investment in your vision or business venture in that you are saving money on the long term and learning things that can help you communicate with audience.
Intro: How to Change, Install & Edit Your WordPress Theme
A ‘theme’ is a pre-packaged way your site looks. Themes can be changed to look closer to something you want. Themes can be found for free, or, like I did, you can pay for them. There is also an entire industry of those “Solution A” designers who will do them for bank. See also 99designs.com, illusiodesign.com, or just ask me to find someone for you.
How to Insert An Image
This is pretty useful. I recommend becoming familiar with being able to insert an image. The video starts a little off beat, but, again, watch the entire thing to begin to know your back office (also known as your dashboard.) BAM!
How to Upload & Link to A Document
For many of you, you have expressed a desire to make documents viewable or, at the least, downloadable. This video really knocks it out of the park on showing you how to do just that.
Ok, Now What?!
Now, go practice! Go to your website. Click on the link that says SITE ADMIN or LOG IN. Enter your log in information, and start tinkering!
If you are still stuck, contact me here, and we can talk about that cup of coffee.
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