To display a custom header image

Go to your Dashboard, and unfold the Appearance pane. You will see a Header menu – click on it.

The Custom Header screen will open. Use the buttons to select a file and upload it:

If the image file that you choose is the exact required size of 960 x 121 pixels, then it will be used as-is. If, however, you upload an image of a different size, then you will be able to select part of the image that will display in the image header. You’ll get a screen that perhaps looks like this:

Finally, click to save the new header image:

Then go back to your blog to see the result!

Here are a couple of points to review concerning the header image:

• As noted above, an image of exactly 960 x 121 pixels will be used as-is. This can be used to place imagery whereever you like in the header.
• If you like, a PNG image with a transparent background can be used to have the background color show through.This works well for logo graphics and the like.
• If not using an exactly-sized image, then it should be larger than the 960 x 121 pixels in size.
• The various text elements in the header will overlay the uploaded image. There is currently no way to turn off the header text (so that it an be provided in the image).

To set header and link colors

There are a number of colors that can be set in your dashboard. To do so, open the Appearance pane and click on Theme Options:

You will see a page with a great many options. Scroll down to the “Blog Global Links Settings,” which is the start of the color settings. From here on are a number of color settings. To set a color, click in the entry box:

The color selector looks like this (when done, click on the background to dismiss the color selector):

Here is the list of colors, which a brief explanation of each. Unfortunately, you need to select the color and save it before you can see what exactl effect it will have. So if you choose to change the colors, be prepared to spend some time on it!

• “blog global links color” – changes the color of most links on the page (except header)
• “blog global links hover color” – same, but when th mouse is moved over the link
• “header background color” – that’s the color of the main header bar at the top
• “header text color” – that’s actually the subtitle color
• “header text link color” – that would be the main title text
• “header text link hover color” – as above, when the mouse is over it
• “blog dropdown navigation background color” – that’s the color of the menu background when not selected
• “blog dropdown navigation background hover color” – the color of the menu background when selected
• “blog dropdown navigation link color” – the color of menu text when not selected
• “blog dropdown navigation background hover link color” – the color of menu text when selected
• “blog dropdown navigation border color” – doesn’t do anything

Finally, make sure that you save your changes!

Enabling the Featured Posts listing

To create the featured posts listing, first go to your Dashboard (when viewing your blog, there is a link to your Dashboard on the right, near the bottom). Then:

1. Click on the arrow next to Appearance
2. Click on the Theme Options link:
   
   
   
3. Scroll down until you get to the “Homepage Featured Block CSS Settings” section. There the two settings you need to set are as shown in this diagram:
   
   
   
4. Scroll down to the bottom and press Save Options

Making a post featured

Now that you have enabled the featured posts listing, you have to tell it which posts should be featured! This is done by making those posts Sticky. This is a standard WordPress feature, but on a blog with the Featured Posts listing enabled, a sticky post is treated as a “featured” post. There are two ways to make a post sticky (and thus featured). The first is when you are editing a post. This is not actually the easiest way, but here it is. When you are editing a post, show the option to make a post sticky, like this:

Then you will see this: click on the checkbox and then press “OK”:

The second way is a bit easier, and it’s also an easier way of reviewing and unstickying posts as well. After publishing a post, go to the list of posts – it should look something like this. Click on the Quick Edit link for the post that you want to make sticky:

Then you will see something that looks like this. Click on the checkbox labeled Make this post sticky, and then click on Update:

There are a number of things that you may wish to change. Some are easy, and some are a little more involved. Please remember: your blog is a very flexible tool, and over time you will “settle in” to the best way to use it. In this tutorial, I will cover a few of the options that you may wish to change right away. Feel free to try a few things and see how it goes. If you have any issues, please post any questions or problems in the Blogging Support Group.

By default, your blog will come up with both left and right sidebars. If you don’t like having the left sidebar, you can turn it off as follows. First, go to your Dashboard (when viewing your blog, there is a link to your Dashboard on the right, near the bottom). Then:

1. Click on the arrow next to Appearance
2. Click on the Theme Options link:
   
   
   
3. You will get a fairly long set of options that you can set. Your blog is highly-configurable. For now, just change the “Blog Layout Settings” as shown in this diagram:
   
4. Then scroll down and save these changes:
   
   

That’s it! Have a look at your blog to see if that it more how you wanted it.

First, your blog needs to be set up for the slideshow. If you’re not sure if it is, you may wish to check with me before trying this and having to do it twice. You also need to prepare your images for display in your slideshow. Since many people still use 1024×768 screens, I recommend that you resize your images to no more than 960 pixels wide and 720 pixels high. You can make them larger if you like – just bear in mind that not everybody will be able to see the whole image at once.

Next, you need to be in the Add New Post or Edit New Post screen. Click on the Add an Image button:

Then click on Select Files:

If you are using the Flash uploader (the default), you can select as many images as you like for upload at the same time. Then click on Open and the images will upload:

Now, alhough it’s optional, you should set a meaningful title for each of the images. To do this, click on the Show link next to each image, and enter text into the Title and Alt Text fields. as shown here:

Once you’ve done that for all images, scroll to the bottom and you will see the Gallery options section:

That’s it! Preview your post to see how it turns out!

First, I recommend that you size the images to the size you want them to appear. While it is possible to resize images using WordPress, the colour profile is not preserved and so the image typically won’t look as good as if you resize it first on your desktop before uploading. For images embedded in a blog post, I recommend no more than 800 pixels wide and 700 pixels high.

Next, you need to be in the Add New Post screen, creating a new post. Alternatively, if you are adding an image to a post that you have already created, then you would need to be in the Edit Post screen. I’ll assume you know how to do that from earlier tutorials, but if not, see How to: create a new post in your blog.

Firstly, position the cursor in the text editing window where you want the image to appear. Now, click on the Add an Image icon, above the text editing window:

You will see the image upload window:

Click on the Select Files button, select the image you wish to upload, and then click Open. The image will upload, and you will then get the screen below. If you continue to get an “HTTP Error” when you do this, click on the Browser Uploaderlink instead and try that. (Older versions of Flash can give this error.)

Here is the screen after the image is uploaded. Follow the steps marked 3 through 7, to insert the image.

Note that WordPress offers a couple of additional image sizes for you. You can use these if image quality is non-critical. Always use Full size if image quality is important.

That’s it! Click on Preview to view the post as it will appear, or if you are done, simply press Publish.

• WordPress application for iPhone

The link should open up your iTunes, and you can then download the app and sync your phone as you normally do.

Before you can use the app, you will need to enable your blog to accept remote authoring. It’s probably best that I do that, so just let me know if you want it enabled.

You will then need to add your blog to the application and enter your Pittwater Spirit username and password. It’s fairly self-explanatory, but give me a shout if you get stuck.

Wordpress for iPhone Sample Screenshot

Write relevant content

• Use wording within your blog posts that includes terms that people are likely to use in searches. For example, if you think that “Avalon” might be used in some searches that you would want your blog to show up in, then put the word “Avalon” in some of your posts. Don’t overdo it, but do remember that search engines will only find words that you put there.
• Use a relevant title. The title of each blog post is weighted more heavily by search engines, so write a title that accurately reflects the content of each post.

Write for readability

• Do take the time to proof-read and correct your posts before publishing them. Simple things like capitalization and correct grammar do make a big difference to the readability of your posts. (Feel free to ask if you would like me to do an editor’s markup of one or two of your blog posts.)
• Length is important. A few paragraphs is more readable on a web page than a long article. Again, it’s up to you, but as a general rule, shorter posts are more likely to be read to the end, and are more likely to have comments made on them.

More thoughts about writing

• Be specific—people reading your blog are more likely to be interested in what you have to say than in obtaining reference material. (Google or Wikipedia is where to go for the latter.) Write your own thoughts, ideas, experiences, advice, suggestions. And don’t be afraid to let yourself shine through.
• Write more often, but with shorter posts—this is likely to be a much better use of the same amount of time spent writing fewer long articles. (Within reason, of course.)
• Don’t get “analysis paralysis.” A blog is a relatively informal means of communication, so just write; then, if you’re really not happy you can save the post as a draft and come back to it later. Or you can just publish it and edit it any time later.

Do your own publicity

• Tell people—your friends, colleagues, contacts—about your blog. But don’t just tell them, ask them to register on the site and comment on your blog posts, or to subscribe to your email list (see below).
• Add the link to your blog to other sites e.g. places where you might have paid for an advertisement, contacts who have their own sites, etc.
• Enable the mailing list subscription option on your blog and encourage people to join it. (Ask me for help on this one.)

Don’t be an island

I heard someone use the term “ecosystem” to refer to the web recently. It is like that – spread the links around, and ye shall receive more

• When you make a blog post, put in a link to posts on other blogs (preferable), or to other websites.
• Find some other blogs that are related to yours, and comment on those posts. Usually, you get a place to add a web address—put the link to your own blog in there. You can also add a link to that blog to your “blogroll” (ask me how).
• If someone makes a comment on your blog, respond to it! People like to know they’ve been heard, and are more likely to revisit.

Customize and optimize

• Ask people that you know that have visited your blog for feedback. Not just “oh it’s nice” but try to ascertain more specifically what they liked or what would make them more likely to return.
• Talk to me about what you are trying to accomplish with your blog, as you learn how to use it and get feedback from people who read it. There’s a reasonably good chance I can help you do it.

Well, hope that helps Please ask me (below in the comment box ) if you have questions or more suggestions. While this site is still very young, these ideas above will help both your blog and the site to grow.

1. The first is an image/media gallery. This would be useful for displaying a series or set of images within one blog post. It could also be used as a way to organize your images, and perhaps potentially be used as a visual index into your blog posts.
2. The second is the ability to have people subscribe to your blog, so that they get an email notification when you make a new post. One question here is whether the subscribers would need to be registered members on Pittwater Spirit to subscribe to your blog, or whether any email address can be entered, so people can subscribe to your blog without having to become a member.

Please make a comment below if you have any thoughts on either of the above.

First, start writing a new post (see How to: Create a new post in your blog). When you are ready to insert a file, place the cursor at the location where you would like the file. Then, click on the “Add media” icon above the row of icons B, I, etc. It looks like this:

You will get an overlay dialog box that you can use to select a file to upload; click on the Select Files button:

You will get your regular file selection dialog box—select the file to be uploaded. You will see a progress bar and then a screen where you can fill in information about the file. Important point: please make sure that you click on the “File URL” button. This is how my screen looks after I have filled it in:

You will see a link has been inserted into your post. Like this:

A Sample PDF File

And that’s it! Complete writing your post and then press the “Publish” button over on the right.