WordPress Edublog Frequently Asked Questions


Table of contents

What is WordPress Blog?

UMD Blog is built on WordPress MultiUser platform, a free, open-source package hosted by Edublogs. It is available to all students, faculty, and staff for personal journals, departmental information websites, or student organization sites, to name a few potential uses.

How can I request a blog?

  1. Go to the IT Service Catalog blog entry.
  2. Click on the WordPress Blog Request link.
    NOTE: Students need to be added with their @umd.edu email addresses; not "@terpmail.

Who can I contact with questions?

Contact itsupport@umd.edu or the IT Service Desk at 301-405-1500 for support.

What is the URL for my blog?

When you request a blog, you will identify a name that will constitute a portion of the URL.  A WordPress URL will look something like:  blog.umd.edu/YourBlogName  (e.g., blog.umd.edu/UNIV200spring18).

How do I access the WordPress "dashboard"?

The control panel of your WordPress blog is called the "admin dashboard".  From the dashboard you can change the theme, manage users, view statistics, and more.  To gain access to the dashboard:
  1. Go to http://blog.umd.edu/YourBLogName/wp-admin
  2. Login with your university Directory ID and password.
  3. From your profile page, click on the My Sites link. Click on the link to get a drop-down menu that lists all of the sites to which you are permitted access.
  4. Hover your mouse over the site name you wish to access to reveal a drop-down list of selectable features.
  5. Select Dashboard.  This action yields the Dashboard page with a navigation bar.

How do I edit the title or tagline of my blog?

See Change Blog Title and Tagline for details.

How do I change the blog theme?

There are 20 themes available for you to use.  You can change a theme at any time.  It is recommended that you use "Live Preview" before making any theme change permanent.
  1. Go to the admin dashboard.
  2. Select the Appearance link.
  3. Choose Themes.
  4. Preview a theme by selecting Live Preview.
  5. Click the Activate link to select a theme.
If you develop your own theme, contact itsupport@umd.edu with a request that it be evaluated for use.

How do I enable/disable comments?

Comments can be enabled or disabled at any time.  Comments allow persons viewing your blog to leave a note about something you have posted.
See Enable and Disable Comments on Published Posts and Pages and Enable and Disable Comments on Future Posts and Pages for details.

How do I moderate comments before they are seen publicly?

You may wish to approve comments before they appear to other in your blog. This can be useful if your blog topic is controversial, for instance. You can screen commenters the first time they post, or you can approve all comments. See Moderating Comments for more information.

How can I delete/disable my blog?

Requests to delete or disable a blog should be sent to itsupport@umd.edu with a Subject line: Disable "blogname". Once a blog is deleted, it cannot be retrieved. Back up blog content before deleting it.

How can I add users as editors, authors or contributors?

When you request a blog, you are enrolled with the role of Administrator. As an administrator you can add and remove users and assign them any one of the following roles:  editor, author, contributor or subscriber.  See User Role Overview for definitions of the five user roles in a WordPress blog.
  1. From the admin dashboard navigation menu, select Users.
  2. Select Blog & User Creator from the drop-down menu.
  3. Select Add Existing Users from the top tab; individuals must be identified using their university Directory ID.
  4. Enter the university email address of a new user. University users need to be added with @umd.edu email addresses; not "@terpmail.
  5. Assign the user a role by selecting the role type from the drop-down menu under their email address.
  6. Repeat these steps until you have added all users to the blog by clicking on the add more button.
  7. Click on the Submit button to finalize the user enrollments.
  8. Note: if a message stating 'user does not exist' appears when attempting to add a user, ask the user in question to log into the main blog site.  This will import their user profile into the blog site system and allow them to be added.

How do I increase my blog quota?

Each new blog is allotted 500mb of blog server space.  To increase thequota for your blog, contact itsupport@umd.edu with a Subject line: Increase WordPress blog quota.

How can I create and publish a page or post?

Blogs are composed of two main content structures—pages and posts. Pages comprise the information that does not change frequently and that does not generally elicit comments. Pages typically have content themes such as "About", "Contact", "Guidelines for Posting".  
Posts are content pieces that change frequently and to which visitors may provide comments. See Publishing a Page and Publishing a Post for details.

How do I insert images in a blog page?

There are three ways to insert an image into a blog page:

The media library is a repository within the blog where you can upload images, video, audio, and more. It is the best option for linking digital media content to multiple areas of the blog. See Media for information about numerous options for integrating media in pages and posts.

What are "categories" and "tags" and how do I create each one?

Categories are used to classify subjects or to organize blog content. Tags are used to identify keywords throughout the blog (for searching purposes). Categories are usually defined by students' names (e.g., John Smith, Joy Hardy) or names of group projects, or research interests or topics to which students can be assigned.  See Categories and Tags on Posts for detailed information.

How do I import content from another blog?

If you have a WordPerss blog hosted somewhere else, you can migrate the content to your UMD blog space by importing content that was exported as an XML file from the remote host. See Edublog's detailed instructions for assistance.

How do I password-protect a blog page?

By default, anyone can view posts and pages in your blog. This may be problematic if you have content that should remain private, such as student essays, photos or drafts. To restrict who can view the content of a blog page you can create a password for a post or page (not that there is no way to password protect an entire blog). See Password Protecting Posts and Pages for details.
 
More help for your use and customization of the Edublog WordPress blog can be found by visiting the Edublog User Guide.

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