WordPress

Learn about WordPress and creating websites, webpages, and posts on the MLML WordPress platform.

General Information

An introduction to WordPress and the resources available to help you build your website.

General Information

WordPress Website Support Guidelines

The purpose of this page is to guide you through the process of getting help with your WordPress website.

  1. Check out the WordPress FAQ's
  2. Use resources from our Getting Started with WordPress page
  3. Learn how to become a WordPress Admin
  4. Browse our WordPress Resource Website
  5. Put in a Help Desk ticket
    • If you did not find an answer using the available resources then put in an Help Desk ticket.
      • Include in the ticket, a description of what you are trying to do and where in wordpress you are trying to do this. Also be sure to include the URL of the specific wordpress page on which you are working.
General Information

WordPress Tutorial & Support Information

To access WordPress tutorials and resources, visit our Getting Started with WordPress page on the WordPress Resources website.

General Information

WordPress FAQs

For WordPress FAQs, please visit the WordPress FAQs page on the WordPress Resources website.

General Information

WordPress User Roles and Permissions

For more information, please visit out Wordpress User Roles and Permissions page on the IT Services website.

General Information

WordPress Third-Party Plugin Documentation

For more information about Third-Party plugins, please visit our Third-party plugin documentation page on the WordPress resources website.

How-To Guides

Instructions on how to accomplish various tasks in WordPress.

How-To Guides

Content Guidelines for Posts on MLML Website

Goal: To outline desired content and format of different types of posts
Target Audience: Front Desk, Social Media, IT, WAG
Review: No formal review of posts → please proofread carefully

Types of posts covered:

Content Guidelines

All posts must follow these guidelines:
 
Additional guidelines based off type of Post:
Press/Achievement posts:

Example:

Screen-Shot-2019-04-05-at-9.50.38-AM.png

 

Event Posts:

Example:

Screen-Shot-2019-07-02-at-9.26.50-AM.png

Seminar Posts:

Example:

Screen-Shot-2019-04-05-at-9.54.58-AM.png

 

Thesis Defense posts:

Example:

Screen-Shot-2019-04-05-at-9.58.07-AM.png

 

 

 

 

How-To Guides

How to Become a WordPress Admin

 

Submit an IT Helpdesk Ticket

 

Attend a WordPress Training Session

 

How to Login

Now visit our Getting Started with WordPress page for information on how to start creating an awesome website!

How-To Guides

Wordpress Posts and Pages Best Practices and Policies

Summary


Posts

Capturing a point in time - content will not be updated over time

Pages

Content not tied to a specific date - may be updated over time

 

Widget Recommendations:

For more information on the different widgets available: Third-Party Plugins

Page layout:
Text:
Images: (Image Use Guidelines)



How-To Guides

WordPress Menu Best Practices and Policies

Summary

Instructions

Visual Instructions

Appearance > Menus > Mega Menu (Primary Menu)

Screen-Shot-2019-04-05-at-10.17.34-AM.png

Hover over the menu you want to modify and click the blue Mega Menu icon:

Screen-Shot-2019-04-05-at-10.18.28-AM.png

Use Layout Builder. Click the Wrench icon on the right to edit

Screen-Shot-2019-04-05-at-10.19.02-AM.png

Open Builder:

Screen-Shot-2019-04-05-at-10.19.25-AM.png

Here you have the standard Page Builder interface where you can add rows, columns, and widgets to create menu items.

Screen-Shot-2019-04-05-at-10.19.44-AM.png

How-To Guides

5 Tips for Creating WordPress Posts

Posts on the MLML website are meant to be a brief, but intriguing introduction to an event or article affiliated with the labs. It is important that they look nice and give enough information that someone reading can understand the article or event without clicking on further links.


1. Include Pictures and Make Them Interactive

Always include at least one picture when creating a post (the more the better). Make your photos interactive when possible. At the very least, enable Lightbox for the photos you include in your post. Give photos descriptive captions. Templates on different ways to display captions are available under the Media Information section of the WordPress Resources website. You can also have your photo link to another website by assigning it a Destination URL.

When posting a photo always ensure you have permission to use the photo and give credit as best you can. Click here to learn more about MLML's image use guidelines.

2. Format Text for a Clean Appearance

Something as simple as setting a paragraph of text to align center (ctrl+alt+c) or justify (ctrl+alt+j) can greatly improve the aesthetics of your post.

Example:

Default alignment (align left):

Screen-Shot-2019-08-06-at-10.32.16-AM.png

Text Justified:

Screen-Shot-2019-08-06-at-10.35.17-AM.png

3. Incorporate Quotes

When creating a post about an article, include relevant quotes directly from the article using blockquote in WordPress.

Blockquote is dictated by an open quotation mark in the WordPress Toolbar.

Screen-Shot-2019-08-06-at-10.38.25-AM.png

Blockquote makes quotes stand out from the body of the text. For example:

Screen-Shot-2019-08-06-at-10.38.58-AM.png

This is especially important if a link directs you to an outside website. It allows the viewer to easily navigate back to MLML's website.

Screen-Shot-2019-08-06-at-10.45.59-AM.png

Screen-Shot-2019-08-06-at-10.46.11-AM.png

5. Use a Previous Post as a Template

When in doubt, finding a post that you think looks nice and copying it as a template is a simple way to create a great post. There are also a host of templates on the WordPress Website.


If you want further help creating a post, feel free to drop by the IT Help Desk in the main office or submit an IT Helpdesk Ticket.

Media Use & Policies

Image Management and Usage information

Media Use & Policies

WordPress Media Best Practices and Policies

For more information, please visit out Media Best Practices and Policies page on the IT Services website.

Media Use & Policies

WordPress Image Use Guidelines

Our website is the public face of MLML. We want it to be rich in multimedia and visually appealing. The images we use on our website must be used legally, according to their copyright and licensing. The guidelines below will help to make sure that the image specs are appropriate for use on the web and that we have the right to use a photo. Pay special attention to statements of allowable re-use and how the image owner would like you to give them credit. Please also see our Permitting Guidelines.

 


Image Specifications

Resolution:

File Types:

 


Image Metadata

*indicates required information

Enter the information below for each image you upload to the Media Library:

 


Image Author/Copyright Owner & Licensing Template

Instructions:

Template:

Required Fields:

Important Notes:

 


Image Metadata Example

Title

Young humpback whale with blowholes clearly visible

Caption

By D. Gordon E. Robertson (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Alt Text

Overhead view of a young humpback whale at the ocean's surface with its blowholes clearly visible

Description

Image Title: N/A

Image author/copyright owner: D. Gordon E. Robertson

Image Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Humpback_Whale,_blowholes.jpg

Image license: CC BY-SA 3.0

Image license URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

Image permit information: N/A

Image subjects: Young humpback whale

metadata_example.png

Media Use & Policies

WordPress Image Management, Search, & Usage

Both Apple and Microsoft have various applications that aid in image management which allow you to import/export photos, backup images, create and manage photo albums, and label your images. Use the Management, Search, and Use sections below to learn more.

Image Management


Management Software

Mac OS Software:

1. Photos.app

Photos.app is an application included with macOS that you can use to store, organize, and search photos.

2. Image Capture.app

Image Capture is an application program from Apple that enables users to upload pictures from digital cameras or scanners which are either connected directly to the computer or the network.

 

Windows Software:

1. Microsoft Photos App

The Microsoft Photos app can be used to view, edit, and create albums with your images and videos.



Image Search Engines & Repositories

MLML Digital Repository:

MLML Digital Repository is a storage site where you can find images and videos that can be publicly or internally used. Search through events, local fauna, and field images taken by other MLML staff and faculty.  

 

Lychee:

The MLML Lychee image storage site is where you can access images taken by staff and faculty and use them for your own site.

 

AssetBank:

Asset Bank is an image storage repository site where you can upload your images and share them with staff and faculty.

 

Google Images is an image search engine to find images you might want to use for your own site. There is also a reverse image search function to search high resolution images of photos you are using.

NOTE: When using an image from another site, make sure you are giving proper credit and have permission to use that image (See MLML Image Use Guidelines). Also check out our G Suite Page to learn more about Google Suite.

How to reverse image search:
  1. Go onto Google Images and click on the camera icon in the search bar.
  2. Upload or enter the image URL and click Search by Image.

 

Tineye:

Tineye is a reverse image search engine and is a great way to find the source and high resolutions of an image you wish to use, or use it to keep track of where your own personal images that are being posted online.

  1. Upload or enter the image URL and click on the search icon.

Google Image Search also now has reverse image search functionality: “search by image”.

 


Image Use


MLML Image Use Guidelines

Please see our Image Use Guidelines for more information on using and uploading images. Images must be used legally, according to their copyright and licensing.

Permit Guidelines:

  • Before adding any media from work completed under a permit, make sure there are no limitations to posting media within your permit agreement.
  • If there are no limitations to the media you want to post then do the following:
    • Display the permit number on the media where it is visible to viewers - using a textbox works well in photo editing applications
    • Add the permit number in the “Description” section when uploading media into WordPress
    • NOTE: It is important to determine if the media is appropriate for a public audience, or if it may be misinterpreted.
  • Examples:
Media Use & Policies

WordPress Image Storage and Backup: Drop Box, Google Photos, iCloud

Image Storage Strategies and Backup Best Practices

Backup Options and Locations

1. Dropbox

Dropbox is a storage site for all kinds of files, including images. You can create folders and upload your images to them. There is no tagging options for Dropbox currently. We recommend changing the name of your images to search for them easily.

 

2. Google Photos

Google Photos is an online service that is similar to Google Drive. You can upload your photos, videos, animations, and movies onto Google Photos and store them into albums. You are also capable of adding a single image to multiple albums for organizational purposes (See our How to add a single image to multiple albums section below). Google will auto-tag your images which you can use to find specific images (Also see our How to add your own tags section below). MLML students, staff, and faculty have unlimited storage space with Google (See G Suite for more information).

Example:

 

3. iCloud

iCloud is an iOS based cloud storage system that lets you store your photos, videos, documents, notes, contacts, and more. You can sync multiple Apple products together for easy access and automatic backup.

 

4. Other Options

For more options, please see our OneDrive and Flickr KB Posts.

 

Backing Up Photos On Your Phone

For computer backup, see our Computer Backup & Storage Page.

1. iOS

 

2. Android
Media Use & Policies

WordPress Embedding Best Practices and Policies

What does embedding mean?

Definitions

Shortcode - Kind of like a widget in text form. Paste these into the Custom HTML widget.
Example: [foogallery id="4772"]

iframe - Raw HTML code that embeds a web page. Commonly used to embed things like Google Calendar and Google Maps. Submit a Help Desk ticket for assistance.
Example: <iframe src=”https://example.org”></iframe>