Entering News Stories

THE TASK: You have a new news story that you want to put on the website and make it ready for the Arts District News newsletter.

Access the District Website

https://northeastminneapolisartsdistrict.org/wp-admin

To access the admin website:

  1. Click the URL above.
  2. Enter your username and password and click the Log In button.
  3. You can check the Remember Me option (your choice).
  4. Once in, you will be at the WordPress Dashboard.
  5. Mouse-over Posts and choose Add New.
You should now be in the post editor.

Note: Bookmark the URL above.

IMPORTANT: do not Edit with Elementor, unless you have been trained to do so. Elementor is not necessary for Post or Event editing.  

To edit an existing post:

  1.  Mouse-over Posts and choose All Posts
  2. Select the appropriate folder.
  3. Mouse-over the post and choose Edit.

Enter Basics & Settings - Save Draft

Before you start writing you story it’s wise to set a few things and save the draft.

  1. Enter a Title
    You can change it later.
  2. Put anything in body text field
    If you have copy, paste it here…you will come back to it after you save the draft.
  3. Under Category select the appropriate month (right column).
    Note: this tells the program where to display the News Story.
  4. Under Post Folder choose which folder to use (right column).
  5. Pick your best image and set it as your Featured Image (right column).
    You can do this later if you do not have an image yet.
  6. Save Draft.

Don’t publish prematurely!
It will appear on the home page and in other areas of the website. Instead, use the Save Draft and Preview buttons (top right) until the story is ready to publish.

If you do so accidentally, you can change the status from Published to Draft or Pending Review.

 

IGNORE the OceanWP Settings

NOTE: the featured image is used on the home page and in the News systems. There must be a Featured Image set.

Write the Story (Tips & Tricks)

Once the draft is saved, you can concentrate on the story. 

You can add images by clicking the Add Media button. (See more instructions on Uploading Image in the next section.)

If you need additional headings, select from the Paragraph dropdown menu.

When finished, save the draft and check it with the Preview button.

When you are ready to let the public view your post, then you can click the Publish button.

 

IMPORTANT: If you are copy/pasting from another program use the Paste as Text function. Do not rely on the formatting to carry through. Use the editor’s format button and don’t try to get too fancy. Let the program do the work.

 

Controlling When & Where to Go Live

When you publish a News Story it automatically goes to:

  • The Home Page (live)
  • The News Systems (live)
  • The Newsletter Builder (available for selecting)

You may (or may not) want to make a story live on the website prior to newsletter publishing. It’s up to you. 

Some Controls

To prevent a News Story from being live, just keep it in Draft or Pending Review status.

It will still be available to the MailPoet Newsletter builder.

 

Preparing Images

Normally an image or two will be part of your News Story. 

If it is under 300kb in size all you need to do is download it to your desktop and upload it to WordPress (see next instruction). The ideal file size is between 10 and 20kb. PNG, JPEG, GIF are recommended file types.

If the image is too large:

  1. Download it to your desktop.
  2. Open it in Photoshop or an image editor of your choosing.
  3. Resize it to approximately 500px x 400px, resolution 72px.
  4. Save it to your desktop with a new name.

Uploading Images to WordPress

When the News Story is as you like it, it’s time to get and insert images:

  1. Place your cursor where you want your image. 
  2. Click the Add Media button.
  3. Choose the Upload Files tab.
  4. Click the Select Files button.
  5. Locate the image that you downloaded to your desktop and select it.
  6. Click Open.
  7. Make sure it is selected, then click the Insert Into Post button.

Note: when you select the image, you can choose Justify settings.

Note: This may seem like a long process and it is. However, you will be doing this many times so it will become second nature to you.

Also, you may choose to do things in a different order than described here. 

For instance, you may choose to unload your images all at once, even before you get to the Post Editor.