Managing Your Site

After you have created your site, you may go to yoursiteurl.tamu.edu/wp-admin/ (where yoursiteurl.tamu.edu is the url of the site you created) to begin editing and customizing your site.

Platform

Before you can really get started with customizing your site, it is a good idea to become familiar with the layout and functionality of the WordPress Dashboard, which allows you to control the details and manage your site.

Content

Posts vs. Pages

To begin with, your site will need some content. Static pages or blog posts are common types that can be used. The link above explains the differences between the two and when it is best to use each one.

Pages

The above link demonstrates how to create a static page in WordPress. A page is essentially any web page that has static content or information that will remain mostly the same. An About Me or Contact Us page are examples of some pages. Pages are also not listed by date and are not categorized like posts are.

Posts

The above link demonstrates how to create WordPress posts. Commonly, posts are used for things like news or updates, they can be tagged and categorized, and they are typically listed in chronological order.

Widgets

Widgets can be used within your site to add additional content and features. Such features include search bars, custom menus, recent blog posts, featured page excerpts, and calendars, to name a few. Widgets may be edited by going to Appearance -> Customize -> Widgets , where you may see how the widgets will appear in the page, or by going to Appearance -> Widgets , where you can view all available or inactive widgets and change widget settings and placement.

Themes

To customize your site, you may pick a theme to use in order to format and display your content. Themes may be customized further through the addition of different widgets. An example tutorial of how to set up one of the provided themes with the suggested widgets may be seen here. Keep in mind that many of the widgets suggested in the setup tutorial may be replaced with other widgets and retain a similar look as the demo theme. Feel free to play around with the widgets you use and try rearranging them to determine which configuration works best for you.

A number of themes have been provided and may be viewed by going to Appearance -> Themes. The theme can be customized further after activation by going to Appearance -> Customize.