Videos
Configuring WordPress Settings: General
WordPress is an incredibly flexible and powerful blogging system. A great deal of that flexibility can be configured through the various Settings pages in the WordPress administrator.
This is the first in a series of videos detailing each of the WordPress Settings pages. This video will focus on General Settings.
General Settings include blog title, tagline, blog URL, and time settings, among other things.
The Blogroll: Managing Links in WordPress
It’s been said time and time again: links are the currency of the blogosphere. Once you start blogging you’ll probably want to setup a blogroll of links to blogs you read and recommend. Blogrolls help build community among bloggers, and they can also help new bloggers get noticed by peers (a good blogger will almost always follow a new incoming link and check out the site doing the linking).
This video provides an overview of the WordPress blogroll functionality.
With version 2.5, the blogroll functionality has been renamed “links”. Links have been promoted to a content type along with Pages and Posts, and are created and managed from the Write and Manage menus. These changes are demonstrated in the updated video below.
Import and Export WordPress Data
This video details the WordPress Import and Export features. Export allows bloggers to migrate their blog content to another WordPress installation. Import allows bloggers to import content from other blogging systems such as Blogger, TypePad, Live Journal, and others.
The video also covers some overlooked Import features, including the ability to migrate tags from various tagging system plugins (like Ultimate Tag Warrior) to the native WordPress tagging system.
Managing WordPress Files
The WordPress blogging system is made up of hundreds of system files. Most bloggers will never have a need to edit these files directly. Those who do will likely edit the system files on a test server and upload the fully tested and modified files using an FTP program.
Regardless, WordPress provides a method for editing system directly from the Administrative interface. As I note in the video, this feature should be used with caution.
Managing WordPress Uploads
Update: With version 2.5, the Manage Uploads administrative feature has been replaced by the new Media Library.
Chances are you’ll be uploading photos, videos, and various binary files (like PDF documents) to your blog. Over time, active bloggers can accumulate a large number of file uploads. Managing uploads exclusively through the Post and Page interfaces can be challenging when your uploads span across many months (and years) and hundreds of posts.
Fortunately, WordPress allows you to manage your uploads directly. This video shows you how.
WordPress Categories Explained
WordPress categories can be a key element in providing your readers with a good experience when the come to your blog. A well designed category structure can also have a substantial impact on your blog’s search engine performance.
This video provides an introduction to WordPress categories and category management. We’ll also take a quick look at WordPress tags and how they can be used with Categories to improve the organization of content on your blog.
WordPress Blogging with Lynx
I’m always telling people that WordPress works with any web browser. And I mean ANY web browser. To prove it I put together this short video demonstrating how to post to WordPress with the Lynx text-based web browser.
I realize this isn’t for everyone, but if you ever find yourself in a position where you have to post to a blog and you’re stuck at a command line, just know that you can alway turn to Lynx in your time of need.
Managing WordPress Pages
Now that you know how to write a WordPress Page, you’ll definitely want to know how to manage the Pages you create. It’s very similar to managing Posts. As usual, the details are all in the video.
How to Write a WordPress Page
In an earlier video I taught you the difference between posts and pages. I also taught you how to write a WordPress Post. Today, I’ll teach you how to write a WordPress Page. It’s a lot like creating a Post, but there are some subtle differences. It’s all in the video.
Managing WordPress Posts
Now that you know how to write a post in WordPress, you need to know how to manage those posts. This video will teach you everything you need to know to manage WordPress posts.