Tutorial 3: Blog Basics
0. The dashboard. I’ve gone over this in the previous tutorial, but I’m going to put this here too. When you manage your blog’s settings or write posts, you’ll do it in the dashboard. You can get there by clicking the “Dashboard” link in the sidebar of your new blog. On the left hand side of the dashboard are menus that are expanded when you click on them. For example, if you click on the “Posts” menu, it will expand and show links to the “Edit” and “Add New” panels (pages).
1. Posting. One of the most important things you’ll do is post on your blog. To do this, click on the “Posts” link on the left side of the dashboard. With this menu expanded, you’ll see two items under “Posts” (on the left side). One is edit, we’ll get to that in the next step. Go ahead and click on “Add New” in the posts menu to start a new post. Near the top of the new post panel, just under the “Add New Post” heading, you’ll see a field for the title of your post. Just below that, you’ll see the main field where you will write your post. The rest of the things on this page might look a little scary, but you can ignore them for now; they’re mostly for advanced users. If you want to upload an image and use it in your post, you’ll find the add media button between the title and main fields. In the window that opens, you can follow the instructions to upload an image, or you can click on “Media Library” (near the top of the window) to pick an image you’ve uploaded previously. When you’re finished with your post, you can publish it using the “Publish” button on the right. Not done with your post, or don’t want to publish it yet? You can also use the “Save Draft” button and publish your post later.
2. Editing a Post. To change a post you’ve made, or finish a draft you’ve saved, first start at the dashboard. In that Posts menu that I mentioned before, navigate to the Edit panel. By moving your mouse over the title of the post you’d like to edit, you can see a link to edit (or delete, if you’d like) your post. Go ahead and click on that “Edit” link. From here, it’s just as easy as writing a post, so you can refer to the step above.
3. Changing the theme. Want to change the way your blog lools? Click on “Appearance” in the dashboard (the Themes submenu) and pick a new theme for your blog. To pick a theme, click on it’s thumbnail. A window will come up that will show you a preview of your blog with this theme. If you like the new theme, you can click the “Activate” link in the top right. To close the window without applying the new theme, use the X in the top left.
Honestly, this is where the “blog basics” end. These two steps are technically advanced. If you don’t understand one of them, don’t worry.
4. Managing Media. Accidently uploaded too many images or need to cut down on your uploads to stay within the upload limit? That’s what the media panel is for. By clicking on “Media” in the dashboard menu, you can see the your uploads. Similar to editing posts, when you hover over the name of the media you’d like to delete, you’ll see the delete link. Be careful not to delete images you’ve used in posts! If you do need to delete images that are in posts, be sure to edit or delete those posts.
5. Deleting Comments. Because TetherBlog blogs are password protected, none of the comments on your blog should ever be a problem. But if you do need to delete a comment, you can do it by clicking the “Comments” link in the dashboard menu. Hover over the comment you would like to delete, and click the delete link.
Now that you understand the basic blogging functions of a TetherBlog.com blog, you can return to the tutorial index or go to TetherBlog.com.