Overview To begin editing content, first you must log in to the admin area of the website. You can do this by going to history.msu.edu/wp-admin or by clicking on the Login link on the main page of the History Department website. After you enter your username and password you will be taken to the dashboard page. This offers a quick glimpse of everything going on in your wordpress site. On the left there are a few menu items that you will need to become familiar with. 1) POSTS These appear on the front page of the History Department website. Posts are for recent news information on conferences, department announcements, etc. and you have access to this feature. 2) PEOPLE This is where you manage your personal biography (your online profile) that appears on the website s directory. Chances are, it will be the most visited portion of the site for you. 3) COURSES Add your courses for current and up-coming semesters with a description, room number and so on. 4) PROFILE Change your password here. NB: Any biography information you leave here will not appear on the website directory.
Posts Posts are intended to be frequent and used for recent news updates. How to Create a Post 1. Click on Posts. You are only able to edit posts you have created. 2. Click on Add New 3. Fill in a title for your post in the top text field. 4. In the content box, type in the news you wish to post. 5. Click on the featured category to place the post on the home page. 6. Preview changes with the Preview button; click Save to edit later; click Submit for Review to place the post on the website. People How to Update Your Online Profile FACULTY: 1. Click on People, then Manage 2. A list of names will appear, alphabetized by first name. Scroll through and find your name. It will be blue.
3. Below your name is the content box. As with the posts, the content box is where you will write in any necessary information about yourself and your research. 4. Below the content box are a number of different fields you may fill out: a. Profile picture: Upload a picture of yourself here. If the picture is very large, you may want to email it to me (olearyoo@msu.edu) to resize in photoshop or, if you have the software, resize it on your own computer. The cropping tool in wordpress will do that: crop it but not necessarily shrink it. b. First/Last Name: These will already be filled in for you and are necessary for displaying and sorting the online directory. c. Position: Click on your faculty position. d. Other Positions: If you hold a title other than the ones listed in the Position list, such as Director of Undergrad Studies. It will be displayed underneath your original professorial position. e. Office/Office Hours/Email/Phone/Fax/Website: Some of this has been filled out for you. Information entered here will be displayed in a Contact Info box beside the information you have written about yourself. It is highly advised you add and update your office hours in this section. f. Research Area, and Region: Check all that apply.
g. Curriculum Vitae: Upload your CV. It is strongly encouraged that you use a.pdf copy although a.doc file will work as well. 5. When you have finished, click Update. If you wish to save your information and finish working on it another day, you may do so by changing the status from Published to Draft and clicking Update and Save Draft. However, this will remove you entirely from the online roster until you finish and click Publish. GRADUATE STUDENTS/STAFF: 1. Click on People, then New. 2. Write your name in the title box as you would like it to appear online. 3. Below your name is the content box. As with the posts, the content box is where you will write in any necessary information about yourself and your research. 4. Below the content box are a number of different fields you may fill out: a. Profile picture: Upload a picture of yourself here. If the picture is very large, you may want to email it to me (olearyoo@msu.edu) to resize in photoshop or, if you have the software, resize it on your own computer. The cropping tool in wordpress will do that: crop it but not necessarily shrink it. b. First/Last Name: Self explanatory. c. Position: Scroll down to find Graduate Student. d. Office/Office Hours/Email/Phone/Fax/Website: This information will go in a box labeled Contact Info on the website. e. Research Area, and Region: Check all that apply. f. Curriculum Vitae: Upload your CV. It is strongly encouraged that you use a.pdf copy although a.doc file will work as well. 5. Before you click Publish, you will need to change the Parent setting from Main Page (no parent) to Graduate Students. Look under Attributes, on the right hand side. Click on Main Page (no parent) and scroll down, past a long list of History faculty members, until you see Graduate Students (or Staff). Click on that. Do not look for your name. You need only do this once. 6. When you have finished, click Publish. If you wish to save your information and finish working on it another day, you may click Save Draft and your information will not appear online. When you go back to update your page, follow the FACULTY directions.
Courses How to Add a Course 1. Click on Courses. You are only able to edit courses you have created. 2. Click on Add New 3. Write the name of the course in the title box. 4. In the content box just below the title, add a description of the course. 5. Below the description are four extra fields to help organize the courses: a. Instructor: Add the name of the instructor b. Semester: Select the semester the course is offered c. Time: What day of the week and what time the class takes place d. Course number: Add the course number; include the section to avoid confusion. 6. Before you click Submit for Review, you will need to change the Parent setting from Main Page (no parent) to the appropriate semester under Courses. Look under Attributes, on the right hand side. Click on Main Page (no parent) and scroll down until you see Courses. Under that will be the semesters, although you may need to scroll past previous classes. Keep going until you find the right
semester. You need only do this once. PROFILE Again, this will only be used for changing your password: 1. Click on Profile 2. Scroll down to the bottom where it says New Password. 3. Enter your new password and click on Update Profile. ** Anything you add in the Biographical Info section will not appear on the website s roster.**