Usually in WordPress, we embed media (an image, audio file, video, PDF or Microsoft Office document) direct into the post or page we have created using the Upload/Insert tab.

However, WordPress gives us another option of uploading media files – the Media Library.

If you visit Media > Library, you will see the list of images or media files that you have already uploaded.

To add a new media file, go to Add New and upload the file exactly how we uploaded images in Lesson 5 of Module 3. You can upload more than one file at a time so this might be useful if you want to bulk upload images for a number of posts or pages which can then be easily attached.

For example, to insert a media file into a post, go to Post > Add New > Upload/Insert and choose Media Library. All your uploaded files will be here.

Another use for the Media Library is where we need to get the URL of an image to link to, for example, to use as a header/logo for our website. Upload the image using the Media Library and copy and paste the URL of the image as required.

Assignment:

1. Let’s try adding a file to the website. Go grab any file format (Allowed file types: jpg, jpeg, png, gif, pdf, doc, ppt, odt, pptx, docx, pps, ppsx, xls, xlsx.) Add your chosen file to the Media Library of your website.

(Note: You can only upload mp3, m4a, wav, ogg audio files and increase your available space with a Space Upgrade. You can upload videos and embed them directly on your blog with a Video Upgrade. With WordPress.org you can upload any file type.)

2. Next, create a new post with the name of the file and add this line of text: Click here to view or right-click and save as to download. Using the Insert Link button, make this text into a downloadable link for the file.

Sometimes we may want to make some quick changes to a Page or a Post, e.g. changing the URL of a page, or perhaps changing the date of a Post. Instead of opening up the Page or Post to make these changes, we can use the Quick Edit feature to save time.

Let’s try this on a Post. Click on Posts to display your list of current Posts. Hover your cursor over the title of the Post and you will see the following options – Edit | Quick Edit | Trash | View.

In the Quick Edit dialogue box, you can edit the Post title, date, URL (slug), status (draft or published), as well as adding Categories and Tags. In Pages, you can change the Page Order and make Parent and sub-Pages.

Using the Quick Edit feature can be a useful way of making small changes to your content quickly.

Assignment:

Practice making some changes to your Pages and Posts today with the Quick Edit button. For example, use it to re-order your Pages or re-date your Posts so they appear in a different order.

First, find a video you want to embed on YouTube or Vimeo or other video sharing sites. I am going to use a video from my YouTube channel to illustrate the process: http://www.youtube.com/sineadmacmanus

Next, we need to grab the embed code. I am going to embed the video entitled Veronika: feedback @ Enterprising Women. Under the video play area, click on Share. There are two ways to embed a video. The easiest way to copy the video link (http://youtu.be/OxYWmvvhIeo) and paste this into the Post or Page where you want it to appear. WordPress automatically makes this link into a video.

The second option gives more control. Click on Share > Embed and you have options to customise the YouTube video in terms of size and other parameters. To embed this video into your site, copy the embed code and paste it into the HTML tab at the top of the Page or Post dialogue box. (until now we have been adding and editing our Pages and Posts in the Visual tab. The HTML tab beside is the one we use to add HTML code.

These are the Share options you will see.

In Vimeo, the embed button is at the top right-hand corner of the video screen. Cope and paste this code into the HTML tab as before.

Assignment:

1. Find a video on YouTube or Vimeo and practice embedding it into a Post or Page on your website. Make sure ‘Show suggested videos when the video finishes’ is unchecked.

2. Add a Text widget to your sidebar. Copy and paste the HTML of a video into this widget. Use the embed options to play with the dimensions of the video to make it fit.

3. Come share the URL of the post or page in the Facebook Group.

You can see this in action in the sidebar of my website here: http://www.eightfold.org/

Watch this quick video:

Sign Up Forms & Response Emails [ 2:16 ]

Assignment

1. Design a sign up form in the Form Builder that captures First Name and Email Address.

2. Copy and paste the HTML code for Sign Up Form Link Code (don’t try the Embed Code as it will not work with WordPress.com).

3. Log into your WordPress site. Go to Appearance > Widgets. Create a new Text widget by dragging the widget to your sidebar. Paste the HTML here. Save. Go have a look!

4. Share when you have done this on the Facebook group.

Next, you are ready to start your first campaign. Onward chimps!