So, your WordPress installation is all set up, and you’re excited about creating your first post. That’s great, let’s go through the process together, step by step, and develop good habits from the start.

The way you create your posts will impact your website’s visibility on the search engines later, so let’s learn to do it effectively.

The Step By Step Instructions

(see the picture below if you’re having trouble finding something)

1. Take a moment to think about who you are writing for. Who is your audience? What do they care about?
2. What do you plan to write about? List 2-3 points you want to discuss.
3. Log into your WordPress dashboard and choose Posts, Add New.
4. If there’s only one line of icons above the post window, hit the last icon, Show/Hide Kitchen Sink. Then you’ll have more buttons to play with.
5. Choose a Category for your post. Just hit +Add New Category if you haven’t set up the one you want yet.
6. Drag the bottom right corner of the posts window to make it bigger, if you like.
7. Create a Post Title that clearly describes what you’re writing about. Having keywords in it is great, but not necessary. It’s more important to make it descriptive and interesting.
8. Break up your post with subheadings. Highlight them and use the Format drop-down on the second line of posting icons to apply the Header 2 or Header 3 style. Using styles for headings will help search engines understand your site better later, and that makes for better page ranking.
9. Check for sentences and paragraphs that are too long. Break ‘em up!
10. Check spelling… little red dots under what you typed may mean you made a mistake. Fix those.
11. Add Post Tags. These are usually 1-2 word descriptions of what you wrote about. You can change them or add more later, but put on at least a couple. We’re creating good habits here!
12. Add at least one image. You can get it from Flickr, if it’s licensed correctly for your use, or use a picture or image you create yourself. Right above the icons at the top of your post window, you’ll see the words Upload/Insert followed by four buttons. The first button allows you to Add An Image. Be sure to give the creator of the image credit.
13. Tweak the look… add any bold or italic or colors needed, but don’t get carried away.
14. Hit Save Draft if you want to put the post up later, or Publish to put it live on your website right now!

The Numbers On The Picture Match The Steps Above

Do NOTS For Creating Posts In WordPress

Avoid copying and pasting content from Microsoft Word or similar programs. If you must paste from Word, use the Paste from Word button with the “W” on it, on the second icon bar.

Of course, don’t take content from any site without permission. That’s not a reputation you want to build for your business.

Image Credit: Karilee Orchard

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