Technology

Dear Ministry Leads,

The new BACC website is intended to allow Ministry leaders to control their own content. There are a lot of features in this WordPress site – I’ve done my best to simplify as much as possible. This is a tool for you to use – please do not feel burdened. Add as much (or as little) content as you are comfortable. If you need help – just ask me or Gary!

This may seem like a long procedure – but it’s really not bad once you get the hang of it. Most content you add is referred to as a ‘post’ (think of a post as just an online article). A new post can usually be created in 10-15 minutes once you’ve done a couple. I do this every week to add sermons to the new website (yes – sermons are considered ‘posts’, and this ‘How To’ procedure is also a post!!!)

Let’s get started…

Step 1 – Login to https://brooksave.org/login

You must have a login & password with ‘contributor’ permissions. If you do not have a login reach out to Gary or someone in the technology ministry.

Note: Eventually we will point the old website domain (brooks.org) to our new site – this will come a little later once we’re happy with the new site.

Step 2 – Click on ‘All Posts’ in the WordPress Dashboard

After you login, you need to find where ‘posts’ are located. Find the word ‘Posts’ on the far left, hover the mouse over it, then click ‘All Posts’…

Step 3 – Filter Posts by Ministry

I’ve created one sample post for each ministry to try to make things simpler for you. Now it’s time to find that sample…

Step 4 – Duplicate the Sample Post

You should now see the sample post and we’re going to clone it. You don’t have to use the sample post – but it’s easier if you do. Once you get more advanced – feel free to create posts from scratch. For now, let’s duplicate the sample I created for you (that copy will become your new post)…

Step 5 – Click ‘Quick Edit’ on Sample Post Copy

You should now have 2 sample posts, the original I created and the copy you just made. We’re going to work with the copy… hover over it and click ‘Quick Edit’…

Step 6 – Change Title & Options

Now you should see a bunch of stuff to change. I recommend changing the Title, slug, date and author. I wouldn’t mess with a password on your first try. The categories should not need to be changed (but can if you want to).

We can also skip the tags field for now – but come back to those at a later time. They allow your posts to be searched for and found quickly. Reach out to Gary or me if you want more information about tagging.

The check boxes on the right are important. I recommend allowing people to search and find your post (so let’s uncheck the ‘exclude from search’ box). As far as the ‘add comments’ option goes – well that’s entirely up to you (do you want people to be able to give feedback online??).

Now would be a good time to click the ‘Update’ button (so you don’t lose any changes).

Step 7 – Change Headings and Paragraphs

Okay we’re almost done… hang in there 🙂

Now to change the main headings and text for the new post, I think it’s best to go into full edit mode. So cancel out of ‘quick edit’, go back and hover over your post again, and this time you’re going to click ‘edit’. You should see something like this…

Now you’re going to see an image at the top of your post, followed by three headings and paragraphs. You’re not locked into this format – it’s just intended to make it easy for you.

Helpful Hint: Each section in a post is called a ‘block’. If you hover over any block (e.g. Title, Image, Header) – you will see a blue box appear. You will also see a menu with more options appearing above the block. Once you get the hang of ‘blocks’ – creating & editing posts is very easy and there is a LOT you can do (audio clips, image galleries, video, etc., etc.). Let’s not get ahead of ourselves…

Let’s click and change the first heading. Simply click on it, backspace – then type over. Repeat this for all the headings you want to keep, and the paragraphs too!

You might have some leftover headings/paragraphs you want to get rid of. Now, if you want to delete headings and paragraphs – you have to perform a ‘remove block’ function. Click on the heading or paragraph, then click the small ellipsis at the top (3 dots). Now select ‘Remove Block’

Once you’ve made all your changes – don’t forget to click ‘Update’!!!

Step 8 – Change/Delete Image (optional)

This last step is optional (if you’re tired and wish we never built this new website – well the good news is you can quit now!!). Your post will have the original image I created in the sample – no worries!!.

If you’ve got some energy left and want to tweak the image on your post – that’s not hard at all…

If you want to change the image to something else… then click the edit image icon (looks like a pencil).

After you click edit image, you’ll be able to either 1) pick any image from the media library (i.e. ones that are already uploaded to the website -or- 2) Upload an image from your local hard drive (probably more useful). To do the second item you’ll see an upload Files button. That will take you to a ‘select files’ button – which will let you upload your local image 🙂

Once again….

Instead of changing the image, you may want to just remove it altogether. You do this the same way you removed a heading or a paragraph – click the image and then click the ellipsis that appears above, then click ‘Remove Block’.

Okay so maybe that wasn’t all that easy – I guess it depends on how comfortable you are with WordPress and such. Regardless, Gary and I really, really appreciate your help! The more interesting and useful content is on the website – the more people will want to use it. If you only publish 1 post for your ministry – well that’s fine too!!! This is a tool intended to help the ministry leaders do their jobs (not make things harder). As always – we’re here to help – many blessings for all you do, and thank you!!!