Blogging, Custom Pages & Password Protected Pages

This feature is available for Estate Members

On this Page:

• Creating Blog Posts

• Creating Custom Pages (including password protected members pages)

When to create pages vs posts? Pages are best for stand alone or static content. (a members page, contact page, home page)  Posts are best when it fits best into a category where you have lots of content, OR if you want to create a feed of recent content (like a blog).

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Creating Custom Blog Posts

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Get Started

1. Login to your dashboard
2. Under "Pages" click "Add new"
3. Fill in your Title
   1. keep your title succinct but descriptive - the title will automatically become the page url.

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Add Content

The content editor easily allows you to create nice looking layouts. A typical blog post layout might be:

• Wide Image (full width header image)
• Column Image/ Text - An image with text to the right
• Wide Text - for the main block of text or a video
• Gallery - Some photos 
• Button - encourage action - buying a product, joining a business group etc

1. click "add row" to get started 
2. Wide Image
   1. This allows you to set a full width image - choose a photo at least 1920px wide. 
3. Wide Text
   
   1. the "wide text" is is the same as the basic wordpress editor
   2. You can add text, headings, embed videos and add photos inside the "wide text section"
   3. Adding Videos 
      1. If you want to embed a youtube or vimeo video choose "wide text" and then just paste in the video link. It will automatically embed itself.
      2. Learn more about Videos
4. Columns 
   1. These sections will allow you to easily put text and images side by side.
5. Gallery
   1. easily add a group of photo and arrange their order
6. Button
   1. create a nice looking button where you can direct people to visit another link
      1. examples might be joining a facebook business group, buying a product, registering for an event...

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Add a Featured Image

1. Add a featured image (bottom right hand of editing screen)
   1. The featured image shows in the blog feed
   2. The featured image is the "link preview" image for social media
   3. If facebook isn't showing your current featured image learn how to fix that here.

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Add an Excerpt

1. Add an excerpt (bottom of screen below post editor)
   1. The excerpt shows in your blog feed
   2. The excerpt is the "link preview" text when sharing your post to social media
   3. If facebook isn't showing your current excerpt text learn how to fix that here.  

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Optional - Set a Password



1. In the publish section, next to visibility, click "edit"
2. Choose Password protected, enter a password, and click OK
3. If you lock with a password new visitors will be prompted to enter the password. 
   1. If you have multiple pages/ posts with the same password visitors will only be required to enter the password once.

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Select the "Blog" Category

1. Select a Category, or add a new category.
2. 1. I suggest using the built in category called "blog" 
      1. This will allow your posts to show on the "blog" page
      2. You can add new categories, but choose "blog" as the parent category.
   2. Choose only one category per post
   3. 2:45 in the video shows how to make nested categories. 

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Add a link in your menu

1. Sites created after 07/04/17 
   1. Click under "Pages" and find the page called "Blog" (it's already there you don't have to create it)
   2. Click onto the page to edit, 
   3. then click "Publish" in the upper right hand corner. 
   4. You'll now have a link in your menu that will display all blog posts that you've added to the "blog" category.
2. Sites Created before 07/04/17
   1. Add a link to the category you've created for your blog posts.
   2. 9:10 in the video shows you how to add to your menu.
   3. Here is a complete tutorial on editing your menus

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Creating Custom Pages

Creating custom pages is very similar to creating blog posts, but you don't need to set categories.

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Get Started

1. Login to your dashboard
2. Under "Pages" click "Add new"
3. Fill in your Title
   1. keep your title succinct but descriptive - the title will automatically become the page url.

---

Add Content

The content editor easily allows you to create nice looking layouts. A typical blog post layout might be:

• Wide Image (full width header image)
• Column Image/ Text - An image with text to the right
• Wide Text - for the main block of text or a video
• Gallery - Some photos 
• Button - encourage action - buying a product, joining a business group etc
1. click "add row" to get started 
2. Wide Image
   1. This allows you to set a full width image - choose a photo at least 1920px wide. 
3. Wide Text
   
   1. the "wide text" is is the same as the basic wordpress editor
   2. You can add text, headings, embed videos and add photos inside the "wide text section"
   3. Adding Videos 
      1. If you want to embed a youtube or vimeo video choose "wide text" and then just paste in the video link. It will automatically embed itself.
      2. Learn more about Videos
4. Columns 
   1. These sections will allow you to easily put text and images side by side.
5. Gallery
   1. easily add a group of photo and arrange their order
6. Button
   1. create a nice looking button where you can direct people to visit another link
      1. examples might be joining a facebook business group, buying a product, registering for an event...

---

Add a Featured Image

1. Add a featured image (bottom right hand of editing screen)
   1. The featured image shows in the blog feed
   2. The featured image is the "link preview" image for social media
   3. If facebook isn't showing your current featured image learn how to fix that here.

---

Add an Excerpt

1. Add an excerpt (bottom of screen below post editor)
   1. The excerpt shows in your blog feed
   2. The excerpt is the "link preview" text when sharing your post to social media
   3. If facebook isn't showing your current excerpt text learn how to fix that here.  

---

Optional - Set a Password



1. In the publish section, next to visibility, click "edit"
2. Choose Password protected, enter a password, and click OK
3. If you lock with a password new visitors will be prompted to enter the password. 
   1. If you have multiple pages/ posts with the same password visitors will only be required to enter the password once.

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Publish or Save as Draft

1. Click Publish to make public
2. Click "Save Draft" to save for later without publishing
   
   1. To change page status from published back to draft, click the link next to "status" in the publish box. 



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Link together multiple pages

Sometimes if you are creating multiple custom pages, for example a set of password protected team pages it may be helpful to add links on your page to the related pages.

Eg, you've created a pages called "scripts", "graphics", "resources".

After creating all three pages go back to the first page and add a text section either at the end or bottom of the page. Add a wide text section, and type in  Scripts | Graphics | Resources  Then highlight each word and add the link to the appropriate page. Copy the whole thing onto each of your custom pages to make it easy for your users to move between your custom pages.

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Add to your menu

Attention! editing menus is one of the least user friendly things on the site. Once you do it once, it's very easy, but if you're new to wordpress menus, watching my video will probably save you time and frustration!

• From your dashboard hover your mouse over the word  "Appearance" and click "Menus"
  
  • Safari hasn't been working to show dashboard sub menus. Please use google chrome, firefox, internet explorer, microsoft edge.
• On the left hand side of the menu editing screen click on "pages", find your page, and click "add to menu". 
• It'll show up at the bottom of the menu link list. Drag it where you want it
• Click "save menu"