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Category WordPress How-To’s
Posts with screenshots illustrating step-by-step instructions for using WordPress.
Leapfrogging multiple versions of WordPress
If it’s been awhile since you last updated WordPress, you may be several versions behind instead of just one. Here’s how to check : Look in the “At a Glance” section of the home page of your WordPress dashboard for…
Protect Yourself from WordPress 5.0
tl;dr: WordPress site owners should install a protection plugin ASAP, and then wait until January 2019 to update WordPress past version 4.9.8. Public service announcement for everyone who has a WordPress site: WP 5.0 is going to be released on…
How to update WordPress
Are you seeing a message at the top of your WordPress dashboard, telling you that a new version of WordPress is available? Complete with a command to “Please update now.”? The “please” softens it a bit, but it’s still a…
Troubleshooting WordPress automatic updates
If your website uses WordPress, you should definitely take advantage of the automatic updater. If your site is set up correctly and using the automatic updater, it’s already updating itself, and sending you a confirmation email each time this happens.…
How to install WordPress
In all my WordPress how-to posts here, I’ve never covered how to actually install WordPress. I haven’t taught any classes that cover WordPress installation, either. Why would I leave out something so obviously needed? Well, partly (only partly!) because you…
Upgrading: The zeroth step
If you haven’t been inside your WordPress dashboard for awhile, you may be confronted with multiple update notices when you log in. You probably have a handful (or more) of plugins that need updating, and perhaps your theme or theme…
How to use Gravatars on your WordPress site
This post was sparked by a question I received from a client who is working his way through Site Setup Kit, my complete guide to building a unique website. Check out Site Setup Kit today. Have you ever wondered why some…
Anchor yourself with easy jump links
I’ve previously explained how WordPress is an internal linking powerhouse, but even the super-easy and super-powerful WordPress link dialog box doesn’t contain a built-in way to add jump links. Jump links, also known as anchor links, are links that take you…
Custom error pages (with bonus server-eating monsters)
As part of all the tweaking I’ve been doing since my website donned its new outfit on Monday, I made myself a custom 404 error page. Usually, that “File Not Found” page generated by a 404 error is pretty boring.…
But what if your WordPress update fails?
Here’s a quick way to fix one of the most common errors when updating WordPress — plus reassurance that it’s not your fault. Let’s say you follow my advice to update to the latest version of WordPress. You log into…
How long should you keep your WordPress backups?
On this very blog, I’ve written up instructions for using WordPress Backup to keep copies of your website files, and also for using WP-DB Backup to back up your database (both types of backup are essential). But what to do…
WordPress Plugin: AWeber Web Form
Last month, AWeber released its official WordPress plugin, so their customers can now install web forms on WordPress websites without copying-and-pasting bits of code. In short, adding a sign-up form to your sidebar just got a lot easier. As a…
What plugins should you be using?
I’ve heard this question a few times recently. Although I do have a list of plugins that I recommend for most new WordPress sites (more on that in the next post), I’d like to go back to first principles and…
Updated version of “How to install a WordPress plugin”
I just updated my original How to install a wordpress plugin post with a couple of new screenshots for newer versions of WordPress. Also, it’s now Part 1 of a series on WordPress plugins. I’m playing around with a blog-post-series…