Although there are many website hosting platforms out there, we use WordPress for many of our sites both professionally and personally, and even use it for this site! You can use WordPress for free (!), or buy your own domain and host your website with WordPress.
“It’s probably the easiest and most powerful blogging and website content management system (or CMS) in existence today.” – iThemes.com
The visual composer, or WYSIWYG editor found on the pages and posts on WordPress resembles that of a word processor. Similarly to writing on Microsoft Word or Google Docs, any formatting that is done on screen will be the same as when the document is printed or published online. You can see what the finished post will look like, while you are editing it, which can make it easier and more convenient to work on. Most of the formatting can be completed by simply highlighting the text you wish to format and clicking the relevant button in the menu, which makes it perfect for beginners to blogging or WordPress.
WHY SHOULD I USE THE WORDPRESS WYSIWYG EDITOR?
HollieIf you’re new to WordPress, using the WYSIWYG editor is the easiest way to create new pages or blog posts for your website. Following these simple steps can really help turn your valuable content into reader friendly blog posts.
NoraIt doesn’t matter how good your content is, if it’s not formatted correctly, your readers may be turned off and not return to your site. Spending some extra time to create an aesthetically pleasing and logical format for your content is really important to get your readers to stick around (and keep coming back).
FORMATTING YOUR BLOG POST USING THE WYSIWYG EDITOR
HollieOne of the first steps in our SOP, is to make sure you add headers. These are a practical addition to the format of your blog, in order to separate your content into logical sections, create digestible chunks for the reader and also make it more visually appealing.
NoraVery few people enjoying reading large chunks of text, and it’s possible that long prose will scare off your readers. If you think about a newspaper, the columns are often long and narrow so that the reader’s eyes can easily jump from one part of the text to another without losing their place. They’re also peppered with images or videos. Since blog posts are generally scanned and sometimes not read in details, having headers to separate your content will make it easier for the readers to move through your blog post with ease.
HollieIncluding headers in your blog posts are also good for SEO, but that’s another SOP Template!
Another great way to make it easier for your readers to view your blog post is to use bullet points or numbered points to break up chunks of text.
NoraYes, that’s another great way to split up your text. We all know how much people like lists. Let’s be honest, we’ve all had a guilty peek at those “10 reasons to leave your boyfriend” list-type posts that are plastered all over your social media news feeds!
HollieAs an alternative to spammy titles to attract the attention of your readers, you can use bold text. Use it sparingly however, as too much bold text is like shouting “Hey! Hey! Read my blog post!” at your readers and can look a little desperate.
Another great way to make it easier for your readers to view your blog post is to use bullet points or numbered points to break up chunks of text.
NoraOn the WordPress WYSIWYG editor dashboard, there’s a button called the ‘toolbar toggle’. Clicking this button will open up another row of buttons and functions that you might not have seen previously, such as adding colour to your text, or entering a special character.
HollieOne of the default features of the visual editor is ‘Add Media’. All you need to do is click the ‘Add Media’ button and import your own photos, documents and GIFs. You can also see a gallery of images you’ve already imported into WordPress. It’s a good idea to give your images clearly defined names before you upload them so that you can easily find them using the search bar.
NoraWhen it comes to video, you should never directly add them into WordPress, as the file will be too large. You’re better off using a video hosting platform such as YouTube or Vimeo to upload your video first, and then paste the video link into your WordPress blog post or page. If you have lots of videos on a YouTube channel, there are plugins available that will automatically pull any existing and newly uploaded videos from YouTube and add them to a ‘library’ on your website or blog.
HollieYou will instantly see your video once you’ve pasted the video link onto your post using the visual editor.
NoraOne thing to remember with your images is to make sure you get lots of space around them to keep your blog posts looking clean. Bear a similar thing in mind with your text content, and create spaces between paragraphs or sections of text to make it easy-to-read. White spaces will prevent your reader from being bombarded with huge blocks of text and inevitably leaving your blog post unread.
HollieAlthough many of you will be using your blog to promote products and paid features, it’s best not to use too many links within your blog posts. Try to only link relevant words, and keep the linked text short. Lots of links within your blog will begin to make it look ugly and too much like a bad advertisement!
NoraWhile you may want to format your blog post really beautifully to match your personal style, it’s best to keep your format consistent across your website, making sure that aspects such as hyperlinks are a standard colour and font types compliment each other. Choosing an easy to read font type, will ultimately give your reader a more comfortable reading experience and allow your content to come through without distractions.
HollieAlso consider using a size 12 or 14 font to make sure that your readers don’t need to squint to read your article. Before you publish your post make sure you do a thorough grammar and spell check of your article. Luckily, WordPress has a built in spellcheck.
NoraTo make sure the grammar and structure of your article is acceptable, you can outsource this to a freelancer with editorial skills. Alternatively, you can use a great tool, Grammarly. You can download the desktop app and the chrome extension, that will automatically check your blog posts for grammatically errors.
HollieDon’t forget to save your blog post as a draft, and click view post to see what your blog post will look like before you publish it to your site. If you see a mistake, just go back to the post and make the changes. You need to save again to see any changes. When you’re happy with your post, hit the publish button and your blog will appear in your blog feed on your website.
NoraYou can use this SOP Template to format your own blog posts using the WordPress WYSIWYG editor, or pass it on to your freelancer if you outsource your blog posts.