Frequency
It is important to blog every month or as often as possible. Once a week is the ideal frequency. Read why blogging is important in my blog “Design Musings” under the topic “blogs” and for tips on what to write, the best post titles, etc. WordPress is blogging software. Every site has a blog page. Whether you use it or not is up to you, but for the reasons I’ve written about, it is a good idea to do it. Many topics that people may think are good for a “page” actually make for ideal posts.
Writing
Here is how you do it: Never go to the blog page and start writing. Posts are automatically sent to the blog page after you publish them. Instead, go to “Add New Post”. There will be an area for a title and and area for the writing. The editor should be very familial to anyone who uses Microsoft Word. You can add bold, italic, create links, and add images. Don’t forget to create “categories” for your post. These will create an index for readers to select in subjects they are interested. in. For this post, I will be selecting, “blogging” or “blogs”.
Add an Image
To an image, make sure that it is optimized, that is, not too large. Images should probably be no larger than 600 pixels wide and less than 200k in size. Find the “Add Featured Image” link in the bottom right of your post page and upload or drag the image from your desktop when prompted. Once you add the image, save or update the post. If your blog is featured o your home page, the latest post will show up automatically there, as well as on your blog page. The image size will adjust itself. Also, keep in mind, the image will be placed in your media library, available for future use. No need to upload it more than once.
Add a Link
I’m sure I’ve written about this before, but it’s always a good idea t refresh your blog with content that new client’s will find easily. To link a word or words, first select them with your cursor. Then, go up to the tool bar in your editor and select the chain link icon. A box will pop up and you paste the link into the area and click the arrow that says “apply”. Save. Now, to keep your link from driving visitors away form your site you must edit the link. Select the words again and click the gear icon in the box. This will edit your link. A box will pop up and you should check the box that says “open link in a new tab”. Then save again. Always test your link. (I just discovered that instead of the arrow, you can open the gear and do both jobs at once, the link and the open in new tab…)
Publishing
After you are satisfied with your text, you can save it as a draft to publish later or publish it right away. People who are subscribed to your blog will receive email notification that you have a new post. An email opt-in, or sign up form can be placed on your website, to attract new subscribers.