JSMT Media

Web Design & Digital Marketing

WordPress Access & Edits

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Here are instructions for logging into your WordPress website, editing or adding new content, and more.

Logging into Your Website

  1. Add /wp-admin/ to the end of your website and go to that page (example: jsmtmedia.staging.wpengine.com/wp-admin/)
  2. You will be prompted for a username and password, which will be provided to you by JSMT Media
  3. After successfully entering the username and password, you will be on the back end, or ‘dashboard’ of your website, and be able to add or edit content and adjust settings

WordPress Dashboard

Once you are on the back end of the website, you will see some information on the dashboard, including contact form submissions. You can go back and forth from the front end to the back end of the site by clicking your website’s name in the top left corner. Along the left side of the screen, you will see a vertical black bar. This is where you will be able to access and edit any content or settings on the website.

Adding / Editing Content

Along the black bar on the left side of your screen, you will be able to access all of your content, add new content, or make edits. First, it’s important to understand the different types of content to understand how it is organized:

  • Pages – These are general pages including Home, About, Contact, etc.
  • Posts – These are your blog posts. There will be a ‘Posts’ page set to act as your blog where all of the posts will appear.
  • Custom Posts – Any other types of content unique to your site, including but not limited to Team Members, Location Pages, Services, etc.

Editing Content. For this example, let’s say you want to edit your About Us page.

  • On the left-hand side, select Pages. You will see a list of all the pages on the website.
  • Find the About page on the list, hover over it, and select Edit.
  • You will see the back end of the About page, which is essentially a Word document that you can edit as you would any other document. If it is helpful, you can switch between the visual tab, which is how the content will look on the front end, and the text tab, which is the raw code.
  • When you are done making edits to the page, click the blue Update button on the right to make the changes live.
  • Be sure to check the front end of the website after you make changes to ensure that everything looks good and there are no formatting issues.

Adding New Content. For this example, let’s say you want to add a new Blog post.

  • On the left-hand side, select Posts. You will see a list of all the pages on the website.
  • On the top left, next to Posts, click the Add New button.
  • Give your post a Title in the Add Title field (the URL will generate automaticallyso make sure to do this first).
  • Create your content in the main text editor field, as you would in a Word document. Switch between Visual and Text tabs if this is helpful for you.
  • Give your content an SEO Title and Meta Description in the Yoast SEO box. This is how your post will appear in Google Search results, so make this text clear and concise with your topic and/or focus keyword.
  • For posts and custom posts, select a category from the right-hand side.
  • Select a Featured Image for your post on the right-hand side.
  • When you are done, click the blue Publish button on the right side to make your post live.
  • Be sure to check the front end of the website after you post new content to ensure that everything looks OK and there are no formatting issues.

Company Information

Company Information. The company information displayed on your site utilizes a shortcode, meaning the information is updated in one spot and reflects wherever the shortcode is used throughout the site. You can edit this information by clicking the Company Info tab on the backend of the site.

Settings

Users. If you want to add a new user or update the settings for a user, this can be done under Users on the black bar on the left side of the dashboard. From here, you can change user roles, settings, and more.

Updating plugins. When you first log into the dashboard, you may see a circular arrow with a number next to it along the black bar on the top of the screen. This indicates that there are updates available for WordPress, the website theme, or plugins. These updates are important for making sure the site runs properly. Click the arrow with the number next to it, select the available updates, and click ‘Update’ for all of them.

Forms. Your website contact forms are accessible from Forms on the black bar on the left side. From here, you can see the active contact forms, update notification settings, edit the forms themselves, see entries, and check the spam filter.