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Using UMW Blogs
Creating a blog at UMW Blogs
To create your own blog on UMW Blogs, go to the sign-up page and enter a username and e-mail address (you must use your UMW email). Once you have done this, you should receive two e-mails: the first will confirm your account and the second will include your login and password.
Creating more than one blog at UMW Blogs
Keep in mind that you can create as many blogs as you desire on UMW Blogs. However, you can only do so when you are logged on to UMW Blogs with your original login name and password. You do not need to create a new username and password each time you want a new blog.
Where is my blog? And how do I login?
First things first, where is your blog? Your individual blogs should be located at the address you specified when signing up for a UMW Blog. Your initial blog address is determined by the domain you chose when you created your blog, which, by default, is the same as your username unless you specified something else. For example, if the domain you specified is "myblog" your blog address will be the following:
http://myblog.umwblogs.org
If you didn't specify a domain, and your username was janedoe, then your blog address is probably as follows:
http://janedoe.umwblogs.org
To access the administrative back-end of your blog you should see a log in link on the main page. If you do not see this link, for whatever reason, enter the following at the end of your url address "/wp-admin" (no quotes)- the address should look something like this:
http://myblog.umwblogs.org/wp-admin
Once you've done this, you will see two fields asking for your login and password, as pictured below.
Login and you should be taken directly to your administrative back-end.
Changing your password
If you need to change your password, you can do this from the Users → Your Profile subtab.
An overview of the back-end tabs
The Dashboard
Once you click the “log in” button, you will be brought to the Dashboard. This is the default starting page of the administrative back-end. From here, you can click on several different tabs that will bring you to various pages wherein you can post new articles, edit your own posts or comments, update your user profile, and view your blog, etc. This tab allows you an overview of the recent postings and comment activity, as well as providing several links to recent news about WordPress (often containing useful info about updates, features, and more general information about this open source community).
Write Tab
The Post, Page, and Link subtabs (which are the three subtabs of the Write tab) allow you, as you might expect, to write a post, create a static page (which is distinct from blog posts because pages remain outside of the blog's reverse chronology), and create a link which can be then categorized and included on your sidebar. The Post and Page tabs have almost the same exact layout and provide you with similar (but not identical) options on the right-hand sidebar. The Links subtab has three fields: link name, link address and link description (the last of which is optional).
Manage Tab
This is where you can edit your posts, pages, and links; manage your uploads (keep in mind you can't upload from the Upload subtab- uploads can only be accomplished from the write post/page subtab); create and manage your categories and tags; import content from a variety of different blogging platforms; and export your blog content to an XML file than can be uploaded to another free hosted blog service or one that you host yourself.
Also, the most recent version of WordPress incorporates a Media Gallery which allows you to search media you have uploaded, such as images, music, videos, etc. Keep in mind, however, that your storage space on this system is quite limited (75mb), so you may want to use external services for media such as Flickr, YouTube, or Google Docs.
Design Tab
The Design tab is where you control the overall look and feel of your blog/website. If you go to the presentations tab you will see a number of images that highlight different themes you can use for your blog. Double click on any of the over 90 themes available for a preview of what your site will look like with this theme. If you like it, click "activate" in the upper right-hand corner, or close the preview by clicking the "X" in the left-hand corner and preview another. Once you've selected the new theme, click on "view your site" to see how you like the new digs.
The Design tab is also where you can enable widgets for your blog. WordPress widgets are content elements that can be added to the sidebar of your blog or website. For example there are widgets that include del.icio.us bookmarks, Flickr photos, etc. Read more here about available widgets for UMW Blogs and what they do.
Depending on the theme, you can also further customize the look and feel of your blog/website. Go here for an in-depth look at a few recommended themes that enable you to add a custom image header and other features. Read more about the Design tab here.
Comments Tab
Also, Spam Karma is a plugin UMW Blogs offers each and every user to control spam. If you realize that your site is getting spammed, be sure to activate Spam Karma using the Plugins tab. Once activated, you will need to configure Spam Karma. To do this, go to the Settings tab and look for the Spam Karma subtab.
Plugins Tab
For more information about the plugins currently available and what they do, read more here.
Users Tab
The Users → Your Profile subtab is where you edit your personal profile, such as changing your nickname, changing your password, adding your IM address, and various other personalized options. Read more about the details of this page here.
Settings Tab
Additionally, if you are adding plugin functionality, often times you control the settings for plugins within this tab (the plugin will frequently have an associated subtab on the Settings page). There are many, many options housed within this tab, and it may be useful to read through this space in more detail here.
