Step 1

Navigate from the Dashboard to Media portion of WordPress.

Step 2

Select Add New after you have arrived at the Media page. Upload the media by simply dropping and dragging and dropping the file or browsing and selecting one.

Step 3

Navigate back to Media and find the file you just uploaded (it should be the first one listed). Select edit from the options below the image. Once the page loads when you select edit the media URL will be to the right in a text box (see image below) that you can copy and paste!

Tip: You can use the “add media” button to insert the media file on any blog post or site page!

More Free Tutorials by Shauna:

• How to add a Favicon to WordPress
• How to make WordPress blog posts appear with partial content {Free Tutorial}
• How to add a text link in your sidebar {Free Tutorial}

Step 1: Create the Favicon

• Create a Favicon  image that is 16 x 16 pixels.
• Save the file as favicon.ico

Note:  You must use a software that will  allow saving of .ico graphic files. Or convert your .png image to a .ico file with a service like ConvertICO.com

Step 2: Install the Favicon

• Use your FTP client to access your theme’s main folder
• Upload the favicon.ico file to the theme folder

In order for your favicon to show up in some older browsers, you will need to edit your page header.

• Navigate from you Dashboard to Theme Settings
• Scroll down to the text box titled “Header and Footer Scripts”
• Add the code below into the text box and save the changes

<link rel="shortcut icon" href="<?php echo get_stylesheet_directory_uri(); ?>/favicon.ico" />

You should now see a custom Favicon on your WordPress blog or site! Be aware that it sometimes takes 2-3 days for Favicons to appear. Please leave a comment if you have any questions or need assistance!

More Free Tutorials by Shauna:

• How to make WordPress blog posts appear with partial content {Free Tutorial}
• How to add a text link in your sidebar {Free Tutorial}
• How to Add Google Analytics in WordPress {Free Tutorial}

Step 1: WordPress Plug-In

There are countless Plug-Ins available to create partial content, but for this tutorial we will be working with Evermore.

• Navigate from your WordPress Dashboard to Plugins>>Add New
• Search for Evermore, Install, and Activate

Step 2: Configure Settings

• Navigate to Settings>>Evermore
• You’re now able to customize how you’d like your partial content to appear. I recommend configuring the settings as shown:

Once saved, your Blog posts will show with partial content!

If you have any questions please leave a comment!!

More Free Tutorials by Shauna:

• How to add a text link in your sidebar {Free Tutorial}
• Basic HTML Code for Beginners
• How to Add Google Analytics in WordPress {Free Tutorial}

Step 1: Text Widget

• Log-in to your WordPress dashboard
• Navigate to Appearances >> Widgets

You should now be in your widgets menu page! To the left will be all of your available widgets, to the right will be the customization of those widgets that appear live on your site. Click and drag the Text widget into the sidebar of your choice.

Step 2: HTML Code

The trick to the text link is the HTML code within the text widget. Copy and paste the code below in the widget created in Step 1 and customize it to your needs!

<a href=”http://www.INSERT-SITE-URL-HERE.com” target=”_blank”>INSERT TEXT TO BE DISPLAYED HERE</a>

Once you enter the customized HTML code, be sure to save the widget. You can now navigate to the front end of your site and see your new text link!

If you have any questions please leave a comment!!

More Free Tutorials by Shauna:

• Basic HTML Code for Beginners
• How to Add Google Analytics in WordPress {Free Tutorial}
• Adding Menus in WordPress {Free Tutorial}

“Is your family getting the BEST of your time and creativity…or the REST of your time and creativity?” – Jon Acuff, Start.

I mean…convicting much?  I am so honored to be able to share my gifts with my clients , but today, I am convicted to share the BEST that God gave me with my family!  Signing off until tomorrow morning!

Basic HTML Code Structure

<HTML>

<HEAD> Include important document information such as frames, scripts, styles, tracking codes, special instructions, and more here.

<TITLE> Enter the title of your post/page here. </TITLE>

</HEAD>

<BODY> Enter content, pictures, links, and anything else you want to include here.

<H1>Heading of your paragraph. Note: It’s good to include keywords in your header tags! </H1>

<P> Enter text of the document here.</P>

</BODY>

</HTML>

HTML Code Cheat sheet:

HTML: <HTML> </HTML>

HEAD: <HEAD> </HEAD>

TITLE: <TITLE> </TITLE>

BODY: <BODY> </BODY>

HEADER: <H1> </H1>

PARAGRAPH: <P> </P>

More Posts by Shauna:

• How to add Google Analytics in WordPress {Free Tutorial}
• Adding Menus in WordPress {Free Tutorial}
• WordPress.com vs self-hosted WordPress site

Create a Google Analystics Account

• Sign up for free if you don’t already have an account
• From the Dashboard select the Admin tab
• Select “+ New Account”, add your site info/URL, and select “Get Tracking Key”.
• Copy the tracking key

Link your website to the Google Analytics Account

• Log-in to your WordPress site
• Navigate to Theme Settings and paste the tracking code into the Header or Footer field
• Save

Note: You can also download the wpAnalytics plug-in if you have trouble finding the Header/Footer fields and insert your tracker code that way.

Google Analystics will now start tracking all of your website data! If you have any questions about how to link your Google Analytics account to WordPress please leave your question(s) in the comments!

More Free Tutorials from Shauna:

• Adding Menus on WordPress
• New Google Plus Cover Dimensions
• How to Create a Facebook Cover Image

How to Get to the Menus Settings

• Start at the dashboard directly after logging in
• Scroll down to Appearances on the left column and select menus

Step 1: Name your menu

• You can create multiple menu’s, but I suggest naming the first one “Main Menu”
• Click Create Menu

Step 2: Select content for your Menu

• Check the box{s} next to the pages you would like in the menu (see image above as a reference)
• Continue down the left column for any other content you would like added (ex: categories)
• Click Add to Menu
• The pages/content will now appear in the Menu on the right

Step 3: Format the Menu

• All of the content you’ve selected for the Menu is now appearing on the right of the Menus page.
• Drag and drop any of the content to customize the structure of your Menu.
• Save Menu

You will now have a beautiful menu on the front end of your website!

If you have additional questions about adding a Menu to your WordPress site please leave a comment!

More Free Tutorials by Shauna:

• WordPress.com vs Self-hosted WordPress Site
• Google Plus Cover Image Dimensions {Free Tutorial}
• How to create a Facebook Cover Image {Free Tutorial}

What’s the difference?

There are a number of differences between WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress.  Many of them really come down to preferences and I would never try to convince you one way or another.   Except for when I kind of do (just ahead)…

Let’s think about it in terms of renting an apartment (for free…well, that would be nice, wouldn’t it??) vs. buying a house.

When you are renting an apartment, it is not yours.  Very rarely can you paint the walls, tear down walls (if you’re me), and make it “home”.   With a WordPress.com site, you are very limited in the customizations that can be done to your home site.  But it’s FREE, so yay!

With a self-hosted WordPress site, the site is all yours! The sky is the limit when it comes to customizations–you can add to it yourself or pay someone to make customizations for you.   Plugins, themes, coding graphics & fun galore!  An average hosting package can range from $4-$10 a month but it’s a small price to pay for all of the great features that become available to you.

Why choose WordPress.com?

• Free hosting (WordPress Premium upgrades are available)
• Very limited platform for customizations
• WordPress.com is a great option for those who are new to web publishing or have a very casual approach to blogging/their website.

Why choose a self-hosted WordPress website?

• Able to apply custom themes and plug-ins – these are some of my favorite themes ever: Studiopress!
• Access to PHP/CSS coding and customizations
• Ability to track and capture website data
• Monetization of your site
• Ability to use your domain as www.yoursite.com versus www.wordpress.yoursite.com for no additional cost
• A self-hosted WordPress website is great for bloggers and businesses who intend to be very involved with their sites and are looking for user friendly with full customization options.

What is the downside to a self-hosted WordPress website?

If you choose a self-hosted WordPress website you must purchase a domain and pay to have it hosted on a server. Two notes about this:

1. Average cost of domain name AND hosting is around $50-$120 a year
2. You could easily pay that much (or more) for WordPress.com upgrades
3. For your convenience See My Designs by Shauna offers great, affordable hosting options! Ask about promotions for new SMD clients!

If you have additional questions in regard to WordPress.com vs a self-hosted WordPress website please comment!

More Tips from Shauna:

• Shauna’s Blogpreneur Interview
• New Google Plus Cover Dimensions {Free Tutorial}
• How to Create a Facebook Cover Image {Free Tutorial}

Google Plus announced the new dimensions for the Google+ cover images! See My Designs by Shauna is happy to provide you the new dimensions and a free tutorial on how to create your Google+ cover image.

How to Create a Google+ Cover Image with the New Dimensions

1. The new dimension sizes:

• 480 X 270 pixels is the SMALLEST size for the new Google+ cover

• 2120 X 1192 pixels is the LARGEST size for the new Google+ cover

2. Once your image is re-sized, have some fun with it! If you don’t have Photoshop, you can use one of these free photo editing software sites: Pixlr.com or Picmonkey.com. Once you’re done don’t forget to save your image to a folder where you can easily locate it (preferably in JPEG or PNG format!).

3. It’s time to head over to Google+ to upload your image!

• 3.A Once you’re at the Google+ homepage be sure to select the “Profile” tab on the left!
• 3.B Click the “Change Cover” option to the right

4. Once you’ve selected “Change Cover”, select the “Upload” tab on the left,  then upload the image you saved in step 2!

You should now have a new, beautiful Google+ cover image! Thank you for reading this free tutorial from See My Designs by Shauna!

If you need any additional help, please feel free to comment!

More Free Tutorials by Shauna:

• How to Create a Facebook Cover Image {Free Tutorial}
• Advertising Plug-in for WordPress
• Multiple Image Insert with WordPress