If you found WordPress, you in all probability thought it was simply a humdrum running a blog platform. However when you begin to uncover all of the highly effective built-in WordPress choices and options you’re certain to be intrigued. In the event you’re nonetheless new to WordPress, you’ll develop to find it irresistible increasingly as you get pleasure from studying this submit. You simply would possibly really feel inclined to fall head-over-heels in love with WordPress. As standard, this submit shall be loads of enjoyable however your individual restricted information of WordPress would possibly shock you. Haha ?
That apart… At this time’s submit will quench the thirst – that sturdy craving you must find out about WordPress (and its choices). The submit will reveal numerous nice WordPress choices that you just ought to find out about in 2014. Allow us to begin with the commonest, simply to construct momentum.
WordPress Again-Finish Choices
AKISMET
“Isn’t Akismet (A.kis.met) a WordPress plugin?” “Sure it’s a plugin.”
“How then are you going to show round and name it a built-in WordPress possibility?”
Effectively, for starters, it’s built-in. You don’t set up Akismet – you simply activate it with an API key that’s simple to amass however that’s not the purpose. Akismet is likely one of the greatest spam plugins on the web. It beats the competitors ten factors to zilch. Constructed by Automattic, Akismet is a celebrity spam answer cherished by some twenty (20) million WordPress customers.
Earlier than you do something along with your WordPress weblog, activate Akismet to your personal good. And between you and me, you should utilize the identical API key to activate Akismet on a number of web sites. Maybe they constructed it like that, or it’s a flaw. Who is aware of? All in all, Akismet performs its function excellently as a built-in WordPress possibility.
JETPACK
Then there’s Jetpack, which provides you a complete lot of thrilling options. When you join Jetpack to your WordPress.com account, you’ll have have entry to choices reminiscent of:
- Improved stats courtesy of WordPress.com
- Notifications as a result of, properly, notifications are good
- Publicize characteristic that shares your posts routinely
- Jetpack feedback
- Jetpack subscriptions
- Likes
- Carousel so as to add oomph to your picture gallery
- Put up by E-mail
- VaultPress
- WP.me shortlinks
- Google+ Profile Integration
- Selective widget visibility
- The listing is nearly infinite
In easy phrases, Jetpack provides you loads of WordPress choices to supercharge your self-hosted WordPress weblog.
PERMALINKS
Many instances, you will note individuals utilizing URLs with query marks and loads of numbers. It’s simple to see one thing like: http://www.instance.com/?p=123. That may’t be good to your WordPress web optimization contemplating WordPress provides you loads of permalink choices together with:
- Day and identify – http://www.instance.com/2014/05/07/sample-post
- Month and identify – http://www.instance.com/2014/05/sample-post
- Numeric – http://www.instance.com/archives/123
- Put up identify – http://www.instance.com/sample-post (Good for web optimization)
- Customized construction (Good for web optimization too)
You will discover Permalink Settings underneath Settings in your WordPress Admin.
SEARCH ENGINE VISIBILITY
Let’s say you simply put in WordPress. You don’t have any content material in your web site, so it’s pointless to ask search engine spiders. It’s best to maintain them ready. When you pool sufficient content material, you possibly can encourage the spiders to index your web site.
Phrase of Warning: Disabling search engine visibility on a dwell web site will take away your web site from search engine indices for a number of days, which is one thing you don’t need. One other factor, “…it’s as much as search engines like google to honor…” your request to go incognito, based on WordPress. To allow/disable this WordPress possibility, navigate to Settings -> Studying and you will note “Search Engine Visibility.”
Phrase of Recommendation: Don’t fiddle with this selection in case you have no thought what you’re doing.
POST VIA E-MAIL
Wouldn’t it not be enjoyable and handy to submit from wherever through e-mail? Because you don’t must login into WordPress, you would submit from any machine. This could give you the results you want when you lack the time to login into your web site maybe since you journey lots or one thing of the like.
In one other submit, you’ll discover ways to publish WordPress weblog posts through e mail, so I gained’t go into that at this time. However supplied you understand your method round mail servers, you possibly can take full benefit of this WordPress possibility by going to Settings -> Writing and continuing to Put up through e mail. It is possible for you to to configure your settings right here. There are additionally directions on utilizing Jetpack, Postie or the Put up by E-mail plugin within the WordPress Codex.
WORDPRESS FEEDS
In accordance with WordPress Codex, “…a feed is a operate of particular software program that permits feedreaders to entry a web site, routinely searching for new content material after which posting the details about new content material and updates to a different web site.”
In different phrases, WordPress feeds enable your internet guests to maintain up along with your weblog. WordPress comes with as much as 5 (5) kinds of feeds specifically:
- Atom feed
- RDF/RSS 1.Zero feed
- RSS 2.Zero feed
- RSS 0.92 feed
- RSS 2.Zero feedback feed
You’ll be able to simply add feeds to your WordPress web site (to your readers) through the Widgets Display. All you want is your feed URLs. By conference, your submit feed URL is http://www.yourdomain.com/feed/ and the feedback feed URL is http://www.yourdomain.com/feedback/feed/.
In the event you open these feed URLs in your browser, you’ll simply see a doc tree missing in fashion. To view RSS feed objects, use a feedreader reminiscent of Feedly or the simply out there RSS widget in your Widgets Display. Please don’t confuse the RSS widget with the RSS Hyperlinks widget; the previous shows feed objects and the latter shows hyperlinks to your feeds.
To be taught extra about WordPress feeds, please go to WordPress Feeds on Codex.
LIVE THEME PREVIEW
This WordPress possibility has been round since WordPress 3.4. You’ve used it at the least as soon as to alter themes. No doubt, the Dwell Theme Preview possibility is nice because it fastens resolution making the place themes are involved. You get to see the total view of how the theme will appear like after activation. Simply go to Look -> Themes and hover over your selection theme (should be inactive). Click on the Dwell Preview button that seems.
WORDPRESS THEME CUSTOMIZER
Earlier than bidding the Theme Preview characteristic goodbye, allow us to say just a few issues in regards to the WordPress Theme Customizer, which is an integral a part of the Dwell Preview possibility. Within the picture above, the Theme Customizer would be the nav bar to the left (all of the choices listed under the identify of the theme you’re previewing).
The theme customizer possibility permits you to customise your web site title and tagline, colours, header picture, navigation, static entrance web page, footer and a lot extra relying on the choices out there in your theme. It has by no means been simpler to customise your WordPress web site look. Simply click on just a few issues, see your modifications dwell, hit the Save & Activate button and your work is completed. Many premium theme shops are switching over to utilizing the WordPress theme customizer of their themes due to how simple it’s to make use of.
WordPress Running a blog Choices
WordPress is a superior running a blog platform however up thus far we’ve been speaking about WordPress choices that don’t have anything to do with precise running a blog. Within the upcoming part, we are going to speak about WordPress choices that revolve across the submit editor the place a lot of the motion goes down anyway.
MULTIPLE SCREEN OPTIONS
Display Choices is additionally out there in your WordPress Dwelling Dashboard (the place you’ve options and widgets reminiscent of At a Look, Fast Draft, Exercise, Web site Stats and WordPress Information amongst others. It is usually out there in Pages, Feedback, Suggestions and several other different locations (together with some plugins) however let’s return to the submit editor.
When creating a brand new weblog submit, you’ll find Display Choices drop down menu on the top-right hand nook of your display. This selection permits you to add any variety of parts to your Edit Put up display. You’ll be able to select to indicate sharing choices, classes, tags, dialogue, excerpt and writer amongst different issues.
Aside from that, you possibly can change the display structure by selecting the variety of columns to show (both one or two). If you need to see how your photographs slot in your textual content content material, you possibly can select the single-column structure that comes with an enlarged submit editor. Alternatively, if you want a compact view and don’t have an issue along with your photographs (maybe you don’t thoughts previewing your submit earlier than publishing), you possibly can select the double-column structure. On the finish of the day, no matter you select relies upon by yourself private preferences.
EASY AUDIO PLAYLIS
WordPress is a wondrous platform. As an illustration, do you know you don’t want a plugin to create an expert wanting audio participant to your WordPress web site? This matter is of nice curiosity to individuals reminiscent of musicians and deejays who wish to host mp3 (and different audio) information on their web sites. If you need your internet guests to get pleasure from some music in your web site, including an audio participant is kind of simple.
So as to add your audio participant to a submit, open the submit within the editor and click on on the Add Media button. On the ensuing web page, choose Create Audio Playlist. You’ll be able to select your beforehand uploaded audio information from the Media Library or add them proper there after which. Choose your playlist by clicking on the information after which hit the Create a brand new playlist button on the bottom-right hand nook of your display.
This can take you to a brand new web page the place you possibly can edit your playlist previous to publishing. Edit your playlist if want be and click on on the Insert audio playlist button. This can take you again to the submit editor the place it is possible for you to to see your audio participant. Publish or replace your submit to see the participant in motion!
ASIDE: You should utilize the identical technique so as to add audio gamers to your pages and widget areas on the sidebar (or anyplace else).
SIMPLIFIED TWEET EMBEDDING
It is best to know embedding tweets is likely one of the easiest WordPress choices you’re sadly not benefiting from. Why is that this a fantastic WordPress possibility:
- It appears to be like cool (It says you’ve mad WordPress expertise)
- It will probably assist you enhance consumer engagement in your web site and Twitter account
Find out how to do it:
Simply go to Twitter, copy the tweet URL and paste it in your submit editor like this:
See the highlighted URL? You don’t must toggle over to the HTML editor. Simply paste the URL and save your submit. Simple work.
YOUTUBE VIDEO EMBEDDING
Nonetheless on this embedding enterprise, it’s equally simple to embed your YouTube movies. Simply paste the YouTube video hyperlink in your submit and save your modifications. The next video by AJ Clarke is a step-by-step information that exhibits you learn how to use the superb Whole Drag & Drop WordPress Theme.
To embed the above video, I simply pasted the YouTube hyperlink from my browser…
…into this submit ?
Certainly, it is a very simple method of embedding YouTube movies (and for extra strategies, checkout Tom’s submit on learn how to add movies to your WordPress web site). The one draw back is you can’t management the scale of the video with this technique. If you understand of a method, please share with us within the feedback ? I attempted placing the hyperlink in a div ingredient (which meant toggling over to the HTML editor) however it didn’t work.
LINKS IN IMAGE CAPTIONS
For a very long time, it was unimaginable any HTML to picture captions. As such, you would not add hyperlinks to captions to credit score the picture sources. Furthermore, you would not Italicize, daring or underline your captions.
These days, you possibly can add hyperlinks to picture captions simply. Simply click on in your picture and choose the 
icon that seems to entry your Picture Choices display. Right here you possibly can add HTML to the Caption field as you deem match.
Could 9, 2014 – Astronomy Image of the Day by Mike Taylor. Courtesy of apod.nasa.gov
DISABLING COMMENTS
Would you prefer to disable feedback in your complete weblog or per particular person submit? If that’s the case, you possibly can disable feedback throughout your complete WordPress web site by navigating to Settings -> Dialogue and deselect “Enable individuals to submit feedback on new articles.” This can disable feedback for all new posts.
Alternatively, you should utilize Dialogue in the Display Choices when creating a brand new submit. The dialogue widget provides you choices to permit or disallow feedback, trackbacks and pingbacks for that specific submit.
TOGGLE BETWEEN VISUAL AND HTML (TEXT) EDITOR
By default, WordPress exhibits you the Visible (WYSIWYG) submit editor. By the way in which, WYSIWYG is simply quick for “What you see is what you get.” The Visible editor is simple to make use of because it requires no information of programming. Moreover, it appears to be like like the everyday phrase processor you might be used to.
Then now we have the HTML (Textual content) editor which provides you additional flexibility to customise your posts. You want at the least fundamental HTML expertise to make use of this editor, however it may turn out to be useful while you wish to throw just a few codes into your posts.
READ MORE OPTION
For many individuals, this WordPress possibility simply sits of their submit editor. Both they don’t find out about it or learn how to use it. You should utilize the learn extra choice to create excerpts to your entrance web page.
In case your theme doesn’t have an excerpt characteristic, your entrance web page will show your posts of their entirety, which is unattractive. To benefit from the learn extra possibility, open your submit and simply place your cursor the place you need the excerpt to finish. Click on on the learn extra icon 
on the menu. You don’t must toggle over to the HTML editor and you’ll create customized intros (excerpts) to your posts.
PAGE BREAK OPTION
You don’t want a plugin to separate lengthy posts into a number of pages. No, you don’t. The WordPress submit editor is provided with its personal web page break possibility. What, are you shocked? To finish one web page and ship your readers to the following, toggle over to the HTML editor and add the next code:
This can create a brand new web page similar to this (within the editor after all – when you publish the submit, customers will see web page numbers)…
REVISIONS
Each time you revise your submit, WordPress saves a duplicate. This is likely one of the best WordPress choices since it may imply the distinction between a whole submit and a really dangerous, dangerous day. This characteristic can prevent loads of time and frustration in case you lose your submit attributable to one cause or one other.
The revision widget is positioned two, three scrolls under your submit editor. In the event you can’t see it, you in all probability haven’t checked Revisions within the Display Choices. It appears to be like like this:
To revive an earlier model (or copy one thing from it) simply click on the blue hyperlink.
The Ball is now in Your Courtroom…
These WordPress choices will certainly make your life a little bit higher as a WordPress consumer. We’ll maintain updating this submit with extra WordPress choices, so verify in with us as soon as some time.
