WordPress Blog

Overview

I established a WordPress blog for William D. Adams, a former college president and former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. A relatively new user of WordPress, Dr. Adams requested guidance on how to add content and maintain the blog; he also sought advice on design.

I performed the following:

  • Preselected WordPress themes for Dr. Adams’ review.
  • Created the structure of the blog and set up the basic pages.
  • Indicated the photo most suitable for the main image.
  • Cropped the chosen photo for use as the hero, featured, and social media images.
  • Wrote custom CSS; coded selected text in HTML.
  • Prepared graphics in Illustrator.
  • Added and modified widgets.
  • Provided WordPress training via email, video call, and written tutorial.

Selected Work

Theme and Hero Image

I simplified the process of selecting a WordPress theme, narrowing down the choices to five.

After Dr. Adams chose a theme, I tested several of his photos for application as the hero image. I recommended the first shown here, as it has strong lines and suggests academia; he agreed.

Hero image for WordPress blog, a close-up of an ancient marble building, showing arches and columns. The author's name and sample tagline are in a black frame in the center. The nav, which is white and light-grey text against a black background, is below. Possible hero image for WordPress blog, an abstract painting in white, blues, greens, reds, and browns. The author's name and sample tagline are in a black frame in the center. The nav, which is white and light-grey text against a black background, is below. Possible hero image for WordPress blog, an ancient wall made of irregular grey and brown stones. The author's name and sample tagline are in a black frame in the center. The nav, which is white and light-grey text against a black background, is below. Possible hero image, a calm, blue sea looking out towards the horizon and a light-blue sky. The author's name and sample tagline are in a black frame in the center. The nav, which is white and light-grey text against a black background, is below. Possible hero image, a landscape, with trees and fields in the foreground and mountains and clouds in the background. The author's name and sample tagline are in a black frame in the center. The nav, which is white and light-grey text against a black background, is below. Possible hero image, an abstract impasto painting in browns, reds, yellows, and greys. The author's name and sample tagline are in a black frame in the center. The nav, which is white and light-grey text against a black background, is below. Possible hero image, a landscape, with trees, a rock wall, and an ancient Roman aqueduct in the foreground and mountains in the background, against a deep blue sky. The author's name and sample tagline are in a black frame in the center. The nav, which is white and light-grey text against a black background, is below. Possible hero image, an abstract painting in black, white, greys, and browns. The author's name and sample tagline are in a black frame in the center. The nav, which is white and light-grey text against a black background, is below.

Customization

I wrote CSS and HTML and created graphics for specific instances in which the WordPress theme did not provide the desired look or functionality. For example, I supplied code for the hanging indent on the text in Dr. Adams’ curriculum vitae. On the contact page, I generated code to display the social media icons side by side and prepared the icons in Illustrator.

Snippet from curriculum vitae showing education and military service. Snippet from contact page showing social media icons in white within colored circles, as well as other contact information.

Tutorial

I authored a tutorial that outlined several processes for maintaining a WordPress blog, including

  • creating pages;
  • assigning parent pages;
  • setting featured images;
  • establishing internal links; and
  • adding pages to the nav.

Since the document is in Microsoft Word, Dr. Adams can update it at his convenience.

I also provided training via email and video call on

  • inserting widgets;
  • using the code editor; and
  • adding images for social media for specific pages.
Tutorial showing how to create a new page in WordPress. Includes screenshots of the functions for adding pages and featured images. Tutorial showing how to create a new page in WordPress and how to add that page as a link on another page. Includes screenshots of the functions for selecting parent pages and for navigating to pages. Tutorial showing how to add a page as a link on another page and how to add headings in WordPress. Includes screenshots of the functions for adding links and paragraphs. Tutorial showing how to add a page to a site's navigation in WordPress. Includes screenshots of the nav structure and the function for adding menu items. Tutorial showing how to add a page to a site's navigation in WordPress. Includes screenshots of the nav structure and the function for adding menu items.