Publishing Your First WordPress Post

While hitting the Publish button seems a simple task, there are a few options you might like to know about.

In the Publish box at the top right of the page you’ll find:

• Status:
• Visibility:
• Publish:

Each of these will show the current status of the post, with an Edit link beside them. Most often, you don’t need to mess with the Status. It changes automatically when you publish or schedule a post.

Moving right along…

Visibility:

When you click Edit you are given the option to make the page either Public (default,) Password Protected, or Private. If you’re posting for the world to see, of course Public is the way to go. However, there are times when we wish to publish posts only certain people can see. In this case you could choose Password Protected and set a password you’ll remember. You can then send a link to the post and the password to close friends or relatives you wish to share the page with. a Private Page is often used to create a hidden post that only administrators of the blog can see.

Publish:

In WordPress you have the option of posting immediately, or scheduling a post for future release. This is very helpful for people who like to set aside a few hours a week to write, but wish to have content added throughout the week. It’s also great for those headed out on a vacation! Schedule posts before you leave and enjoy your time away.

So, are you ready to hit Publish?

This concludes a 4-week series.