Category: Plugins

Plugins add functionality to your website. Let’s say you want a short bio about yourself at the bottom of all your blog posts (see the gray box that says “Highmark Designs” below).

First, you need to find a plugin that does what you want.

Go to “Plugins —> Add New”

In the window, write a few words describing the function you like to add:

Click “Search Plugins” and browse the results that come up. Is this what you had in mind? If not, change your search term(s) and try again.

These are the results our search gave:

You can get an idea of the plugin’s functions by clicking “Details” and view the information about it and screen shots showing what it looks like.

When you have found the plugin you would like to install, simply click the “Install Now” link below it’s name or in the “Details” box.

Follow the prompts you get during the installation. Last step is to “Activate” the plugin.

After activation, you can go to the plugin’s homepage for information and instructions how to set up the plugin. It isn’t always easy so only install plugins that give you good installation and setup instructions (you can see these while you view the Details about the plugin before installing).

If a plugin doesn’t work as you expect, it’s easy to click “Deactivate” and then “Delete” the plugin so it doesn’t interfere with other plugins you might want to install instead. Just go to “Plugins —> Installed Plugins” and find your plugin in the list.

Deactivate:

Delete:

Please contact us if you want help with finding and install a plugin to add functionality to your website.

Please note that we do not provide support on  plugins that you install yourself. It is up to you to setup and manage your plugins.

Certain areas on your web page are using “Widgets” to automatically display dynamic (not static) content.

In order to get to the Widgets control panel, you need to log in to your WordPress site using the Admin access. Please contact your web developer if you don’t have this login info.

Most commonly widget areas are used on the Home page, Sidebars and Footer areas.

Widgets are independent sections of content that can be placed into any widgetized area provided by your theme (commonly called sidebars). To populate your sidebars/widget areas with individual widgets, drag and drop the title bars into the desired area. By default, only the first widget area is expanded. To populate additional widget areas, click on their title bars to expand them.

The Available Widgets section contains all the widgets you can choose from. Once you drag a widget into a sidebar, it will open to allow you to configure its settings. When you are happy with the widget settings, click the Save button and the widget will go live on your site. If you click Delete, it will remove the widget.

If you wish to manage your widgets, please follow these steps:

1. Go to “Appearance —> Widgets”
   
2. In the Widgets panel, find the Widgets area you want do edit and expand it.
   
3. When you have expanded your Widget area, find the Widget you want to edit anc expand it:
   
4. Do the edits you wish and click “Save” — this will update immediately on the website.

Widgets have a lot of functions and options, for more in-depth info, please read more here.

If you need to add something custom to your sidebar or another widget area (something that doesn’t come with a plugin), this is one way of doing this.

In this case, we are adding a button with a link to the Primary Sidebar.

1. Open a new post.
2. Add your button as an image placed into the post then link that image to the link you want it to go to.
   
3. Click the “Text” tab in the editor and copy all the code.
   
4. Go to “Appearance —> Widgets” and place an empty “Text Widget” into the area where you want your button. Paste the code copied above into that Text Widget and click “Save.” — You have now added your button with a link into your sidebar.
   
   

If your website has the All-In-One Calendar Plugin, here’s how you manage it.

You can find the plugin developer’s full tutorials and help here —>

Add an event

Go to “Events —> Add New”

Add event information

Click on the green tabs to enter the information requested. Use the content area at the bottom for any additional descriptive text for your event including images — this area is just like the content area on a page or post.

If you have Event Categories, don’t forget to select or add your event category:

If you want a specific image used as the Featured Image for your event post, use the “Featured Image” upload:

When you are done adding your event’s info, click “Publish”

If you are utilizing the Blog on your website, you might want a short “bio” to appear at the bottom of all your posts so people know a little about who’s writing and also have your social media links available.

1. Install an Author Bio Box Plugin. Instructions on how to install plugins here.
2. When the Author Bio Box Plugin is installed, go to “Settings —> Author Bio Box”
   
3. Set your desired Author Bio Box settings or leave as is.
4. Click “Save Changes”
5. Go to “Users —> Your Profile”
   
6. Fill out as much of the information as possible to have populate the Author Bio Box.
   
7. Click “Update Profile”
8. In order for your picture to appear in the Author Bio Box, you need to have your “Avatar” uploaded to your account at Gravatar.com. The Gravatar account need to use the same email address as you are using on Your Profile information.
9. Your Author Bio Box will now appear with the above information on your posts.