Overview
Intro
For a general introduction to the WordPress dashboard and “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) text editor, there are excellent tutorials on YouTube including this 15-minute training intro:
If you’d like to really get a more comprehensive training in WordPress, the sequence of video training available at Lynda.com is without peer. It’s a great value and the best WP boot camp I’ve seen.
Customizing the WP Dashboard
Every user has his or her own login, so what you see when you log in to WP will be unique in certain ways. Sometimes, the screen may seem crowded with options — especially because we have a number of custom tools installed (like SEO). From any screen, you can click the gray “Screen Options” tab in the top right corner to add or remove options.
For example:
– If you want to specify whether comments are allowed on a post or page, click Screen Options and select “Discussion.”
– If Posts > View All is cluttered and the columns are too narrow because of all the options, click Screen Options and deselect some of the SEO-related info
Updates & Troubleshooting
If you see an alert when you login that mentions a software or plugin update, do not run it. Please notify me at justin@mmntm.com.
Sometimes updates cause unexpected conflicts. They must be tested thoroughly, and the site must be backed up prior to all updates so that it can be restored if anything goes awry.
Adding/Editing Content
Intro & Warning
A quick and essential distinction: Posts are dated entries, like press clips or blog posts, whereas Pages are static, permanent publications. Some Pages employ shortcodes, or bracketed code that looks a bit like this:
That is a warning sign that the page is pulling content dynamically — often showcasing a collection of posts. If you see straight brackets in the page, exercise caution. You can always revert if something goes wrong — see below for details.
Editing Content
I find the most convenient way to work with a WP site is to log in, then go to the front end (public-facing) site and locate the content you wish to edit. From any page or post, just click “Edit this page” in the gray administration bar that hovers atop your web browser window. This bar should offer a really useful set of tools for managing the site.
If you try to edit a page and the content “isn’t there,” this is a sign that the page is set up a special way — either to showcase a collection of posts, a sitemap, a table, or a collection of research reports. These special pages are described below.
Reverting Edits
In the “Publish” tab in the top right corner of any post or page editing screen, you can view Revisions and walk back, via a user-friendly timeline view, to previous iterations of a page to restore them. For more details, see here for a video tutorial.
Adding News, Press, & Events
Any content that you would like to appear under “News” should be added as a post:
– Go to Posts > Add New
– Give your post a title and use the WYSIWYG editor to craft your post
– Add and format media (here’s a tutorial video)
– Add special typography and formatting (like these toggle buttons or pull quotes, drop caps, and other stylistic features using the gray “S” button above the text editor (“Shortcodes”)
– Categorize the post with the check boxes on the right, so that if it’s related to ART CART, it appears on ART CART-related feeds.
– Click Publish (or Update) to save your post
– You can customize the URL (permalink) just below the title bar; for example, to set up a special, memorable address that you can use in an email or on a promotional postcard.
* Always look at the LIVE website after publishing to check that your post looks good! Conveniently, there’s always a View Post/Page button at the top after you save your content.
Editing/Publishing Research Reports
Research reports are created with a custom post type, Research. So to edit previous reports or add a new one, go to Research > View All and either Add New or select a previous report to edit.
If you’re adding a new report, I recommend first consulting a previous one to see how it’s formatted. But the fields should be self-explanatory.
*The one key thing is to upload the cover image of the report under “Featured Image” at exactly 400 pixels wide x 520 pixels tall.
Also, be sure to add categories (e.g., “Artists,” “Policy,” etc.)
Resources for Artists
The resources included on this page are controlled by a tool called TablePress. To add or edit resources, instead of editing the page (you’ll see it contains just a short intro and code) go to TablePress (in the menu on the left-hand side) and use that interface to manage the “spreadsheet” of resources.
You may wish to add additional tables for other content in the future. Just “Create New Table” and follow the instructions, then copy and paste the shortcode into a post or page to embed it. More instructions and background available here.
Editing the Homepage
Most aspects of the homepage are driven by a custom template, so to make significant edits please contact me.
You can edit the slideshow (see below) and the three columns (Our Mission etc) below the featured research reports. Simply log in, then view the homepage and click “Edit this page.”
Editing the Homepage Slideshow
From the admin dashboard, click Slider. Here you can see how previous slides were set up, edit their text, create new ones, and even re-order the slides.
Some HTML coding may be necessary, like symbol codes (e.g. “»” generates double right-facing arrows) and <a> tags for links. Don’t be discouraged if you’re unfamiliar with HTML — just copy and paste, change the stuff between the <> symbols, and experiment. If you want some guidance and basic training, see here.
* If you’re creating a new slide, the background image must be 980 pixels wide by 360 pixels tall.
