It’s been a little while since we last posted a WordPress tutorial, so now seems like an appropriate time to address this by answering one of the most popular questions any Cheshire web agency will hear… How do you create a WordPress blog post??
Now, it’s perfectly understandable if you do not know. Typically, when your new website goes live, you are handed the keys (well, login details), and left to get on with it without any website training. So, when you log into your website for the very first time, the interface will look very overwhelming and it just becomes more convenient to ask your web developer to do it for you.
Well to address the second sentence from that last paragraph, we do offer WordPress training to all our WordPress support package customer and for the purpose of this blog, we will be referencing this post to future customers when they ask the very same question you have now…
Are you ready? Don’t worry, we will guide you through how to create a WordPress blog post and will also highlight various other bits of knowledge along the way so let’s get started.
The Dashboard
It all starts with the ‘Dashboard’. When you log into any WordPress website, all users will instantly land on the dashboard, so think of this as the central hub where you can just about make any changes to your website.
On the left-hand side, you will see a never-ending menu of items. Well to add a new post/blog, simply navigate down and hover over ‘Posts’, where you will see a secondary menu, then click on ‘Add New Post’.
How to give my WordPress blog post a title?
The very first item you will see is the blog post title… Now before naming it anything, this is arguably the most important element of your blog post for several reasons.
Now, not only is this the headline that users will read where you will grab their attention, this also plays a vital role in instructing search engines what your blog post is all about so take your time, and make sure you get your keywords in there so take your time.
How to implement your content?
The interface is very much like using Microsoft Word. Simply type your content into the large text area, and very much like Word, you can easily modify and customise your text. Have a play with the tool bar above the text editor where you can make text bold, italic, colourful, bullet points, add hyperlink, you get it… the list is endless!
SEO Note: Any Cheshire web agency will advise you on this, but I would like to take a moment to mention headings. If you like to break paragraphs of content up with headings, look to use ‘Paragraph’ down-down (referenced in screenshot) and assign your text the correct headings.
Again, headings play a crucial role in describing what your blog post is about to search engines, so again take your time and create headings tailored around your keywords.
How to add images to a WordPress blog post?
Again, another very valid question! Adding an image to your blog post can really energise your blog post and can become a timely break for users when reading a longer blog post…
To add an image, simply click where on the blog you want to add your image with your mouse, then hover up to the tool bar and click ‘Add Media’. Here you can either drag and drop your image and it will automatically load, or you can click ‘Select Files’, and go through the manual route. The second option is better if you are uploading multiple images, or if the image is hidden away in a large file structure.
SEO TIP: Once you have added the image, before clicking ‘Insert into Post’, make sure you assign your image a ‘alternative tag’. An alternate tag provides a caption of what the image is about when it’s not accessible. Again, this will also help you from a search ranking view, when users search for keywords using Google Image search.
How to assign categories and tags to my WordPress blog post?
Not only do assigning categories and tags provide a nice structure to your website, the categories and tags created also offer another opportunity to increase your search engine rankings, especially if you offer a product and/or service your blog falls under.
On the right-hand side, you may already see a list of categories added when your website was first created. If so, you can just simply tick the relevant category boxes. If you need to create a new category, click ‘Add New Category’. If you want to create a sub-category, simply select the ‘Parent’ category you want the sub-category to fall under.
If you’re website includes a search bar anywhere across your website, tags play an important role in helping users to quickly find what they are searching for. When adding a blog post, look to add keywords related to your blog post and not your website, otherwise users will have to search through every page and blog post.
SEO TIP: Categories can be included in your website sitemap so when your website is registered and submitted on Search Console, search engines will start to include your category listings which will appear as search results, so make sure they are named to match your products and services.
Cheshire Web Agency: Final Thoughts
Okay, so you have created your title, added your content, uploaded some images and assigned your tags and categories, now you are ready to post your WordPress blog post.
If you have images feeding through to your blog page, make sure you upload a ‘featured image’ then hit the ‘Publish’ button and you’re blog post is live!
I hope you enjoyed our WordPress tutorial and if you have any other questions or want your Cheshire web agency to create a tutorial on a different subject, simply get in touch!