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WordPress Website – Using the WordPress Dashboard

By on January 1, 2012 in !Randy Roedl Internet Marketing, affiliate marketing, wordpress, Wp Headers, Wp Themes

WordPress Website – Using the WordPress Dashboard

I would like to congratulate you on building your WordPress website and commend you for the actions you have taken to get Your Home Biz up and running the easiest way.

In this article and video I am going to explain the WordPress Dashboard. After logging into your WordPress website you will be on what is known as the WordPress Dashboard. From the dashboard is where you can finish setting up your WordPress website and access all the features WordPress has to offer.

So let’s get started.

In the very top line you will see the name of your website in the area to the right. You will also see a box with an arrow that says new post. This is where you can go directly to other features in WordPress which I will explain in future articles. You will also see Howdy (whatever name you chose). Next you will see a log out area (this is where you can log out of your dashboard). Finally you will see two tabs under the first line and over to the left. Screen Options and arrow and Help. The Screen options area allows you to change the look of your dashboard and I recommend leaving it as is for now. The Help section is where you can go to get help with your WordPress dashboard.

Now sometimes you will see a yellow box under the top line saying you can update your website to the most recent version. If you see this box I recommend clicking on it and then clicking on the Auto Update section. This keeps your website up to date with WordPress.

Underneath the above information you will see your screen divided into two sections. The first over to the right is a column (under the dashboard box) that takes you to all of the features WordPress has. The larger second section labeled Dashboard is basically a section to keep you up to date with WordPress information.

Before I go into the explanations I would like to recommend to you to set your WordPress website up with the Networking feature. This will give you the ability to create subdomains from your WordPress dashboard. For those of you not knowing what a subdomain is I will explain. A subdomain is like creating a whole new website. Your main domain will be Your Domain Name.xxx and a subdomain would be xxxx.Your Domain Name.xxx. This gives you the ability to set many websites up under one domain name. You can visit WordPress at codex.WordPress.org/Create_A_Network for the complete details. I am also going to give you a part of the WordPress directions below.

Create a Network

“”As of WordPress 3.0, you have the ability to create a network of sites (Multisite). This article is instructions for creating a network. It is very similar to creating your own personal version of WordPress.com

NOTE: If you are currently running WordPress MU, you do not need to complete these steps. your network is already enabled. Once you upgrade to the 3.x branch, you will be prompted to update your.htaccess rules for MultiSite.

Alert! If you have upgraded to WordPress 3.1, the Super Admin menu has been replaced with the Network Admin section. Look on your admin HEADER on the far right: it will say “”Howdy, YOURNAME – Network Admin – Log Out””. The link is ‘Network Admin.'””

If you activate the network option you will get an additional box in the first line. This box next to the Log Out box will say either Site Admin or Network Admin. Because you have activated the network option you will now have the option to use the dashboard as the Network Admin (everything you do from here has effects on all your sites) or as the Site Admin (everything from here is for one particular site). When you are in the Network Admin dashboard it will say Site Admin next to the Log out box and when you are in the Site Admin Dashboard it will say Network Admin in the box next to the Log out box.

I will give a quick overview of the column under the dashboard box when you are using the Network Admin dashboard (I will go into greater detail of every option in future articles). If you have activated the networking feature you will a section title Sites. This is where you can view all the sites you have built in WordPress under the one domain name.

Next you will see a Users section. This is where you can setup different users for your WordPress website and control what access they have.

The next section is Themes. In this area you have the ability to change the design of your website and control a lot of what people see on your website. Once again I would like to state I will be doing more articles and videos explaining these in detail.

The next section is Plugins. This is where you can install different plugins to make your WordPress website have more features and perform other tasks for you.

The next section is settings and this is where you can set different settings specific to your needs and once again I will state that I will explain these in future articles and videos.

The final section is updates and this is where you can get updates for your WordPress website and updates for features you are using

Now I will explain the column on the left under the dashboard box when you are in the Site Admin dashboard. From this dashboard you will be able to work on one particular site.

The first box will be sites if you have activated the Network option and this is where you can see all the sites you have or create a new one. You will not see this line if you have not activated the Network option.

The next line will be Posts and this is where you can post information to your main page and continue adding new content.

Next is Media and this is where you can incorporate media features into your site.

The next line is Links and this is where you can see where your website is linked to.

Next is Pages and this is where you can add new pages to your website and edit any pages you have already created.

Next is Comments and this is where you can view and control any comments that have been posted on your WordPress Website.

The next line is Appearance and this is where you can control the design and features of your website.

Next is Plugins and this is where you can add, enable and disable the plugins you have chosen to use for your website.

The next line is Tools and this is where you have access to any tools that are used in your WordPress website.

The final line is Settings and this is where you have many options to make your website the way you want it to be.

This has been a longer article than I really expected but I really believe it is crucial for you to understand the dashboard and how I believe it is in your best interest to set your WordPress website up with the Network option.

I look forward to hearing from you and seeing you view my next article.

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WordPress Leading the Way

By on December 10, 2011 in !Randy Roedl Internet Marketing, Blog Business, wordpress, Wp Headers, Wp Themes

For many reasons, WordPress is preferred as the leading blog publisher for websites. Its structured and sophisticated features make blogging so enjoyable and fun. One of its modern features, Kubrick template, is easy to install and customize. Kubrick comes together with WordPress as the default style. For advanced version of Kubrick, K2 is modified to make blog administration easier with the addition of logistics- handling tabs. However, users feel that Kubrick is not user- friendly enough simply because there better themes out there. It is custom theme that can be personalized accordingly.
Bloggers find Kubrick boring after a few posts because of it lack of customization. Upon installation of WordPress, the default theme is Kubrick, which is not sustainable in long-term use. This is because plug- in need to be installed to keep track of comments left by readers. Although WordPress allows easy installation of plug-ins into your blog, it is still a hassle compared to other custom themes that often comes with plug-ins.
In these days, it is not a good idea to use Kubrick as the base theme for WordPress as this leads themes that are difficult to customize. Moreover, Kubrick theme has little documentation and it makes unattractive layouts. For beginners, this is a source of headache when changing layout with Kubrick seems to take forever. In short, Kubrick theme is not user- friendly to bloggers.
Kubrick theme might look too formal with its rigid vertical columns for art lovers. People with art and graphic base often choose more organic and soft-edged designs instead of rigid designs that you would see in Kubrick theme. This is why Kubrick should be changed into a more beautiful theme that suits everyone’s taste.
Also, Kubrick theme should be developed in minimal way for easier customization if it is still going to be WordPress default theme. People always prefer to break away from the default look by tweaking the codes. However, Kubrick codes are not easy to work with. The theme should be plainer so that customization is easier. Therefore, in long-term, Kubrick is not a good base theme for its bad workability.
It is not the end of the world for those who are not good in CSS and HTML editing but yearn for a revamp for their blogs. They can always download themes from websites such as WordPress Theme Generator and IMJTK. These highly informative and useful websites dedicate themselves to provide countless gorgeous WordPress themes to replace Kubrick theme. Downloading and uploading your custom theme is easier this way and saves a lot of time too.
You can also switch themes as much as you like to check the theme’s suitability to your blog. You can always remove the theme if you find the theme looks awkward in representing your blog posts. Unlike Kubrick, there is not much you can do if you find the design not attractive enough for your taste. You need to tweak the finest details to get the result you want which means more time is spent on blog layout rather than concentrating on the blog content.
All in all, custom theme is so much better than Kubrick theme because of its versatility and functionality. It is hoped that one day WordPress decides to replace Kubrick theme with a better-looking theme that is easy to be customized.

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How to Install a WordPress Theme

By on September 13, 2011 in !Randy Roedl Internet Marketing, affiliate marketing, wordpress, Wp Headers, Wp Themes

How to Install a WordPress Theme

One of the cool features of using a self-hosted WordPress website is the ability to very quickly and easily change the layout of your site. There are tens of thousands of free WordPress themes available to choose from. Many can be found on the WordPress website in the Theme Directory and many more can be found on various WordPress related sites as well. A quick Google for “”free WordPress themes”” will present you with all the themes you could possible want to choose from. In addition there are thousands of Premium (aka you pay for them) as well that offer even more advanced functionality and layouts for specific website types.

Installing a new theme is amazingly easy. From within your WordPress Administrative Dashboard, on the left hand side, click on “”Appearance”” and then on “”Themes.”” On this page you’ll see the current theme you have installed. If you are looking at a brand new WordPress install you’ll probably just see the standard default theme. At the top of this page you’ll see two tabs; one for “”Manage Themes”” and another for “”Install Themes.”” You guessed it – click on the “”Install Themes”” tab.

What you’ll see is a search page that lets you quickly search through all the free WordPress themes currently on the WordPress website. Choose a few parameters, such as color, width, number of columns or click on one of the quick tags like Featured or Newest. You’ll see the themes that match your search displayed for you with links for “”Install”” and “”Preview”” at the bottom of each thumbnail.

The Preview feature is pretty neat as it allows you to see how the new theme will look on your website. Keep in mind, however, that once in a while things will look a bit messed up. The new theme your are previewing many have different settings and parameters than you current theme so some things may look a bit out of place at first and require a bit of massaging.

Once you’ve found a theme you like simply click on the “”Install”” link and the theme will be installed into your site. You can then activate the theme to make it live online. Easy, right?

In the case you find a theme on a 3rd party website, not on the WordPress Theme Directory, you will simply need to download the file. Typically you’ll download the file in.zip format and need to extract it (right click, extract all). Once it’s extracted use a FTP program like Filezilla to upload the new theme files to your website. You’ll need to place the folder containing the new files into the wp-content/theme folder. Then visit your admin panel and activate the theme. Easy enough!

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Of WordPress and Widgets

By on May 9, 2011 in !Randy Roedl Internet Marketing, affiliate marketing, article directory, article plugin, article themes, Blog Business, Blog Platform, Blog Posting, blogging, Blogs, Conversion, Domains, Free Reports, Google Adsense, Membership sites, Mobil Blogging, New Blogging, SEO, Themes, Traffic, Web Design, Websites, widgets, wordpress, World Internet Summit, Wp Headers, Wp Themes, Youtube Video

Of WordPress and Widgets

One of the world’s largest blog hosting sites, WordPress, achieved its status by offering users with loads of features, apparently more than its competitors do. However, one feature that truly sets them apart from the rest is WordPress Widgets which is quite simply, the use of widgets on WordPress blogs.

Widgets are basically plugins or tiny applications which can be placed on your blog’s sidebar. In WordPress, the most convenient aspect of putting up widgets is it is easily done without the need of html or web page editing expertise. With the ability to add and arrange widgets at your fingertips, it’s you can get your blog to look the way you want it to be making it a personalized one indeed in no time at all.

There are also huge amounts of widgets available online apart from those available in WordPress and can be obtained from websites such as www.widgetbox.com. Other than providing you with widgets of all sorts, they provide you guides on creating your own widgets to truly add a touch of personality and originality. These guides are even handy for the really tech-savvy individuals like developers and theme and plugin authors. Widget creating is important for them who work for WordPress as they have to keep tabs on the thousands of people from over 130000 blogs many of whom are constantly downloading WordPress programs each day.

With the use of Javascripts as well as Ajax, widgets are quite simply little boxes which represent content elements located within the sidebar of your theme. One downside to this is that once the widget is what it is, its look and the way it works can’t be modified. Among the elements which come as standard are;

Archives – A collection of links for older posts sorted by month.

Blogstats – A display of statcounter as well as a record of the amount of traffic coming into your blog.

Calendar – A calendar which dates can be used as links if there were any entries posted on that date.

Categories – A list of categories for post sorting and searching purposes.

Links – Quite simply, a blogroll arranged according to their respective categories.

Pages – A list of links to every page.

Most Recent Posts & Comments – A list of the most recent posts as well as comments that have been approved.

Meta/admin – A collection of links directing you to meta functions such as logging in and logging out, entries and comments RSS, Site Admin and WordPress’ homepage.

Search – A search tool to search within your blog.

Text – A feature allowing the insertion of HTML, Javascript or simply any form of plain text and can open up possibilities for miscellaneous text widgets.

Another interesting thing is the ability to add RSS feeds sourced from elsewhere using the new widgets available. With functions like these, the uses of widgets encompass almost every thinkable thing where only your imagination is the limit. However, too many widgets may not only cause your blog to slow down, but may end up spoiling the look of your blog as it is never advisable to have too much of a thing and this includes widgets.

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