A Blogger’s Guide: Blogging to Success with Dashboard Settings in WordPress

Greetings, fellow bloggers!

If you’re reading this post chances are you have a website or are in the process of creating one. Perhaps you’re still on the fence. If so, I hope this series – Blogging to Success – encourages you to make the leap. Welcome aboard the grand adventure!

Owning a website is a liberating experience. Our thoughts, our work, our designs have a home and we’re eager to share it with the world. Cheers to that! ♥

Realistically speaking, though, it can feel a little intimidating and sometimes daunting trying to figure out the ins and outs of it all. I hear ya. I’ve been there, too.

Fast forward a few years and now I have the absolute pleasure of helping others create and manage their own websites. Creating a website that we’re proud to own is one thing, managing it to maximize reach and outcomes is just as critical, perhaps more so.

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Managing WordPress like the Pros

Before we jump in …

Whether your website is hosted by WordPress.com or you’re using WordPress.org (self-hosted) with (ie. Bluehost), the process of setting up the design and function of your website is much the same. However, there is a difference as to what you have access to. For more detailed information regarding WordPress.com vs WordPress.org, please visit ~ Essential tips, tools, and resources for bloggers and website owners!

This website is hosted by Bluehost. I also use Jetpack for daily backups, managing spam, and seamless access to additional features. You’ll notice this reference throughout this Blogging to Success series.

WordPress.com Users ~ The versatility of Jetpack is included with your hosting.

WordPress.org Users ~ If you’re self-hosted (ie. Bluehost), you can add the Jetpack Plugin for free. Additional features are available via their paid plans.

♥

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*Disclosure: These are resources I personally use and value highly. So much so, I became an Affiliate member. As an Affiliate, I endorse the products and services I use and love. If you see the value in these products and choose to purchase via my referral links, I may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. ♥

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Settings in WordPress

Chances are you’ve read an article somewhere proclaiming that you can have your website up and running in 30 minutes or less. Essentially, this is true. But if you want to maximize and optimize it for function and design, it’ll take more than 30 minutes. It’s not complicated, though, and this is where you’ll shine!

Ready? Let’s do this.

In this tutorial, we’ll look at our Dashboard Settings:

• General
• Reading
• Discussion
• Permalinks
• Privacy
• Sharing

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Settings > General

Let’s look at Settings > General.

This is where we add our Site Title and Tagline. Our Site Title and Tagline are an extremely important component of website development.

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A Site Title is usually the name of our website, but not always. A Tagline is a short phrase utilizing keywords that capture our message and showcase our style.

Essentially, it’s our way of communicating who we are and what we do ~ an introduction of our content and style. Also, a well-crafted Title and Tagline can help boost our SEO (Search Engine Optimization), as search engines value this information and our use of keywords and phrasing.

TIP: Know your audience, get creative, and think strategically! It’s our billboard on the web’s freeway. Stand out!

Ideally, you’ll have this figured out before you publish and launch your site, but you can always revisit and edit it later. It’s never fixed in stone.

In the image below, you can see a snippet of the page title in the URL address tab. If we hover over the URL tab, we’ll see the full page title. This is what is displayed when readers visit our homepage.

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We can set the Site Language, Timezone, and Date Format.

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We can turn on/off Auto Updates.

When we create a WordPress website with Bluehost, they offer a feature that will display a Coming Soon Page while we’re developing our website. When we’re ready to publish, we can turn it off here.

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Settings > Reading

Under Settings > Reading, we can choose how our Homepage displays. We can choose Your Latest Posts or Static Page. If we choose Your Latest Posts, our homepage will display our blog posts. If we choose to display a Static Page, we can then select which page to display as our home page. For Post Page, we can select our Blog and it will display our Blog Posts.

Depending on your WordPress Theme, this function may vary. For example, my homepage is a Customized Static Page, that enables me to display my Latest Blog Posts, as well. It’s one of the many reasons I love the Refined Theme by Restored 316 Designs.

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We can set the number of Posts to display. I’ve set mine to six. One thing to consider when choosing how many posts to display is loading time. A higher number of posts can slow down the loading time required to display that amount of content.

Next, we can choose how much text to display. We have two options: Full Text and Summary. This is an important feature, not to be overlooked by bloggers.

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If we select Full Text, the entire post content will show in our blog feed AND the entire post will be displayed in the email subscribers receive when we publish a blog post. If our entire post is displayed in the email, there is no incentive to visit our blog.

If Full Text is selected, we’re missing out on the essential component of blogging ~ engagement. When subscribers visit our website to read the full post, they can like the post, share it via social media, and engage by commenting. We want this! ♥

Another important factor to keep in mind is the effect this setting will have on our website stats. In order to receive and increase website views, subscribers need to actually visit and view the content from our website. Numbers are important to measure and gauge what’s working and what’s not.

It’s ideal to select Summary Text. In a nutshell, we want subscribers to be enticed by the post title and a brief summary/introduction of the content. We want them to click through to our website and read the full post.

In the image below, you can see how a Summary looks. Notice the Read more of this post as a blue link located below the paragraph. With one click, subscribers are able to read the full post via our blog.

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When subscribers click the Read more of this post, they’ll see the complete post via our website.

Another benefit of using Summary Text is how the post is displayed on our blog feed page. Using Summary Text helps to keep a clutter-free, easy-to-read layout. It will look differently depending on our WordPress Theme. In the image below, this is how it looks using my theme ~ Refined Theme by Restored 316 Designs.

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When visitors decide to Subscribe/Follow our Blog, they’ll receive an email message to confirm their subscription. Under Settings > Reading, we can customize the message that new followers will receive when they choose to follow our blog or follow comments.

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*We’ll look at adding a Blog Follow Widget in part two of this series. Adding this widget enables visitors to follow our blog and receive an email notification when we publish blog posts.

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Settings > Discussion

Under Settings > Discussion, we can customize how we manage comments, pingbacks, etc. and notifications of such. We can also personalize the experience, interface, and interaction with our readers.

Much of this will depend on personal preference, but it’s important to understand how these settings work. We have this golden opportunity to create a welcoming, engaging experience for our visitors.

Things to consider:

• Allowing links to content (pingbacks and trackbacks) and how/when we receive notifications
• Allowing and managing comments
• How comments will be displayed
• Creating an ease-of-use experience for visitors to comment
• How to moderate comments
• Displaying Avatars
• Adding follow options (comments and blog)
• Customizing the greeting for comments

In the image below, you can see I allow pingbacks and trackbacks (I moderate trackbacks manually).

A pingback is when another blogger links to our content or vice versa. When we have pingbacks enabled, we will receive a notification of the pingback (link) and can approve it. We’ll cover notifications later in this post.

When reputable, credible sources link to our content, it can boost our SEO (Search Engine Optimization). It’s ideal to be aware of the link (thus enabling pingbacks) so we can approve it.

Trackbacks are done manually.

For more detailed information on pingbacks and trackbacks, please visit WordPress ~ Trackbacks and Pingbacks.

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We can select how and when we’d like to be notified of likes and comments on posts and pages. We can receive an email notification for all scenarios, but this isn’t necessarily ideal or efficient. This is all about personal preference, of course. When I first started blogging, I set email notifications for all. However, this became overwhelming to manage. I now have my notifications set to:

• When a comment is held in moderation

As a blogger, I love comments from readers and encourage them. I am also cognizant of making it easy for them to do so. Again, this is personal preference.

We can choose how we moderate comments.

In regards to moderating comments, I found approving every comment to be difficult to keep up with. In the image below, you’ll see that I have checked the option:

• Comment author must have a previously approved comment

This format is working just fine for me. Basically, the first comment entered by a new reader is always held for moderation. Once approved, any future comments by that individual will be automatically posted. I also appreciate this format when commenting on a fellow blogger’s content.

This easy-to-use format for readers and efficient moderation process for me is working great. AND I have safeguards in place with the moderation of the first comment. I’m also using Jetpack and Askimet Anti-Spam. It’s a win-win! Ultimately, you’ll find a process that works for you.

TIP: You’ll want to be cautious of spam and bots. There are Plugins like Jetpack or Askimet Anti-Spam that help with this. I also encourage you to be fully aware of the scope of coverage you’re receiving from your web host. These details matter.

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Blogging = Connecting = Community

Avatars are fantastic for blogging and building connections. Once you’ve been blogging for a while you’ll appreciate the friendly faces you’ll see and the connections you’ll make. WordPress users can easily create a Gravatar (Globally Recognized Avatar) via WordPress ~ Gravatar.

I selected to Show Avatars and View Gravatar Hovercards, as I see this as a fabulous way to build connections with readers and readers building connections with each other, thus forging an engaging community! Our Gravatar displays next to our name whenever we post a comment in WordPress.

Gravatar Rating for a suitable audience is another useful feature. You can see that I set my rating to G – Suitable for all audiences. This means that my website will only display a Gravatar with this rating. Again, personal preference.

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This is how our WordPress Gravatar appears when we comment on a post or page.

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As shown in the image below, if we enable Gravatar Hovercards (self-hosted requires the Jetpack Plugin), this is what readers will see when they hover over a Gravatar profile picture. I love this feature, as it’s a fantastic way of connecting within the blogging community.

For more details on creating a Gravatar, WordPress has a great tutorial ~ How to Use Gravatars.

Feel free to stop by my blog post, as well ~ How to build a blogging community with Gravatar Hovercards ~ a win-win strategy for bloggers! ♥

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Next, we can check the subscribe/follow options. Subscribers will receive an email notification pertaining to their subscription and subsequent emails pertaining to blog content.

*We can customize the initial subscribe email message, as demonstrated earlier in this post under Settings > Reading.

We can also customize our Greeting Text for comments. Personalizing our Greeting Text is a fabulous opportunity to invite readers to leave a comment. It’s an invitation to engage; make it personal and inviting.

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In the images above and below, you can see my customized greeting along with the follow/notifications options. This feature requires the Jetpack Plugin.

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WordPress.com Users ~ The versatility of the Jetpack Plugin is included with your package.

WordPress.org Users ~ If you’re self-hosted (ie. Bluehost), you can add the Jetpack Plugin for free. Additional features are available via their paid plans.

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Settings > Permalinks

Under Settings > Permalinks, we can choose how our website URL addresses will display. This pertains to every post. The permalink will default when we begin to build our website. If you would like to change the format, please do so before you begin publishing content.

The essential piece of advice I’d like to share is: not to change this setting after you’ve published content. Changing this setting after you published content will affect the URL address of the published, existing posts. This will lead to broken links and a 404 Not Found error for the previously published content. We don’t want this!

It’s best to decide on the URL format that works best for you and your site’s goals. Then let it be.

I should note that if this Oops!! does happen, there’s a workaround with redirecting your URLs but spare yourself the agony.

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Settings > Privacy

If you’re a blogger or website owner that collects any form of information from visitors, you should be aware of the importance of having a Privacy Policy page on your website. This privacy policy is a document required by law that discloses how/when we collect information about visitors on our website.

Creating and adding a Private Policy to our website is not a daunting task, and WordPress makes this process a little easier. You can find the details under Settings > Privacy Settings.

As shown in the image below, Jetpack offers a Privacy Policy Helper.

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Setting > Sharing

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Adding social media sharing icons is a quick and simple means to increase blog traffic and circulate content. A couple of steps and a few clicks is all that’s required. Let’s get social!

If you’re using WordPress.com or WordPress.org and self-hosted with Bluehost, you can easily set up this sharing capability using Jetpack. It’s included with WordPress.com hosting and can be easily added to self-hosted sites using the free Plugin ~ Jetpack.

There are multiple ways to access the Sharing tools.

We can click on Jetpack > Sharing > Configure your Sharing Buttons located at the far bottom of the screen.

For this tutorial, we’ll access the Sharing Options via Settings > Sharing.

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In the sharing settings, we can also connect our social media accounts via Publicize Settings to automatically share a post via each platform.

Under Settings > Sharing, we can:

• Edit the sharing label text
• Add or remove sharing buttons
• Choose the button style
• Turn on/off the like button
• Add our custom @TwitterHandle to pages and posts

Let’s add our Social Sharing Icons.

To add or remove an icon, we just click and drag each icon in place. We can also reorder the icons in the same manner.

We can add social share icons to display under the More button. This is an ideal way to keep a clutter-free look while ensuring access and ability to share via these other platforms.

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To edit the Share Label text, we just edit Sharing Label Text with our custom greeting. By default, it’s set to Share This. We don’t necessarily have to change it, but having the option of personalizing it is much appreciated. In the image below, you can see I edited my text to Thanks for Sharing!

We can choose and change the Button Style. I’ve selected Icon and Text.

We can also choose where to display the Share Buttons. I selected Posts and Pages.

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The last step is adding our Twitter handle in the Twitter Site Tag. We can also set up the Like Button. We can set it to On for all posts or Turn on per post.

Adding our Twitter Handle is an awesome feature because we’ll know if someone shares our content on Twitter. It’s not necessary, but always nice, to recognize the gesture. I like to personally thank him/her in a tweet. I love this aspect of social media.

When visitors share a blog post via Twitter, it will look similar to the image below. The post title, link, and Twitter handle are all there and ready to tweet.

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And that’s a wrap! We covered the Dashboard Settings:

• General
• Reading
• Discussion
• Permalinks
• Privacy
• Sharing

We have much more to do, but we’ll get there.

If you’ve made it this far, you’re on your way to Blogging Success. Cheers to that!

We’ll look at other essential Dashboard features next and then we’re on to theme customization. Let the fun begin! I hope that you’ll join me. Feel free to subscribe via email and never miss a post.

Until next time … happy connecting, my friends!

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