
YOUR GUIDE TO:
BASIC WEBSITE EDITING
Congratulations, you launched your brand-new website for your business!
Now, it’s time to learn how to make updates and add to it for best digital marketing practices. Want to learn more?
GLOSSARY
WEBSITE ACCESS
Logging In
To access the backend of your website, go to your browser and type in your domain, followed by, “wp-admin”
Example: yourwebsitename.com/wp-admin
🛈 Bookmark this link for easy access!
Once the login screen loads, enter your credentials and select, “Log In“

To reset your password, select “Lost your password?“
Users
Any person(s) who has access to your website can be found under, “Users” in the black charcoal bar on the left side of your dashboard.

To add a New User, simply click “Add New.“

To edit a User, click “Edit.” To send a password reset, click “Send password reset.“

DASHBOARD
Your WordPress Dashboard
The dashboard is the first place you are brought to when you log in. This is the main screen of your admin area. Feel free to explore the shortcut opportunities here, but any changes you need to make will live under the black, charcoal bar on the left.

Contact Info
Editing Your Site's Contact Info
In recent developments (2023), contact info lives under Website Settings → Basic Site Info
Once you updated the contact information here, the contact info is dynamically changed throughout the site.
🛈 Sometimes contact info on a page is set up in a content block. If contact info is not changing after following the steps above, you can change the information this way.

Blog
Blog Entries
To add a new blog post, navigate to Posts → Add New
Then, fill out the fields from top to bottom making sure to include the Name, Body text, Category, and Featured image!

To edit an existing blog post, navigate to Posts → All Posts
Then, hover over the post title you would like to edit, and click “Edit.“

Once you’ve made your edit, make sure to hit “Update” in the Publish box.

To manage your Blog categories, navigate to Posts → Categories
Here you can add a new category, or edit a current one.
🛈 Adding Categories to your posts make it easy for users to find similar posts!

Media Library
Adding Media To Your Library
Your Media Library is where all media that lives on your website is stored. (Images, videos, PDFs, etc!)
You can either drag and drop new files into the library, or you can upload using the “Add New” button.

Pages
Your Website's Pages
Pages is a collection of all the “pages” that make up your website.
Navigate to Pages → All Pages
🛈 From here, you can also see the Status of your pages

Page Status
To change the status of a page, hover over the page title and click Quick Edit. Choose a page status, then Update.


🛈 Changing the Status is useful if you want to temporarily hide a page from your website. For example, you can create a page for a special event and keep it as a draft. When the event is live, change it to published to make it visible. After the event, you can change it back to draft instead of deleting it.
Creating A New Page
To create a new page, click New Page in the Pages menu

Adding A New Page To The Main Menu
In the charcoal sidebar menu, hover over Appearance and click on Menus.

In the Select a menu to edit dropdown, select Main and click Select

Find and select the page you want to add to the Main Menu. Then click Add To Menu.
🛈 You can view all pages or search by selecting the tabs near the top

Your selection will be at the bottom of the list of pages. Drag and drop the gray tile to the position you want. When you’re done, click Save Menu near the bottom of the page.

🛈 You can also “nest” your page within another menu item. While dragging, move the tile slightly to the right. It will snap into place and nest under the tile above it
Editing a Current Page
To edit a current Page on your website, navigate to Pages and select the Page that you would like to edit from the list. (Either click on the page name, or select Edit while hovering over the Page title).
This will open WP Bakery, your page editing tool! In the example below, we are editing the page titled, “WordPress Editing Page Example“

Rows, Columns, & Content Blocks
The Rows, columns, and content blocks in WP Bakery make up everything that is being displayed on your website.
Rows
Rows are the main content element of your site. Rows house columns, and the columns house your content (company verbiage, images, etc.) in content blocks.
You can identify a section as a row when there is a drag handler attached to the row settings (the pencil icon). In the image below we have a standard row, and also an “inner row” shown in red.

Columns
Columns are part of the rows, and they hold all your content blocks.
In the image below we have a standard row, and also an “inner row” shown in red. The columns are circled in green.Â

Content Blocks
Content Blocks are how we show off text, images, and the rest of your content within the columns.
In the image below the content blocks are X’d in pink.

All content blocks have the same hover options. (Edit, Clone, & Delete)
Pencil Icon = Edit
Clone Icon = Duplicate the content/Make a copy
X Icon = Delete
The drag handler circled in green allows you to move the content block to any column you want.

Publish Box
The publish box is going to be your best friend when it comes to making edits to your website.

All content blocks have the same hover options. (Edit, Clone, & Delete)
Pencil Icon = Edit
Clone Icon = Duplicate the content/Make a copy
X Icon = Delete
The drag handler circled in green allows you to move the content block to any column you want.

Headers
When you are ready to edit a header, simply hover over the element and click on the pencil icon.

Enter the new Header under, “Title” and click Save changes. This is not a live save! you must Update the Page after Save Changes in order for the change to be live.Â

Textblocks
First, find a textbox you want to edit. If you hover over the section, a green box will appear with Text Box on it. Click the Pencil icon to edit the text.

Edit the text the way you like. When you are done, be sure to click Save Changes.
🛈 I see text on the front end of my website, but the text block is blank! Sometimes the text is colored white. In the backend, you won’t be able to see it. Simply click into the text editing window and press CTRL+A. This highlights any text so you can see it.
Editing a ``Single Image``
Find the image block you would like to change, hover over it, and click the pencil icon.

You can see a preview of the image in the window. Click the red X to remove it. Click the green + to add a new one from the media library.
You can also change the size of the image in the Image size field. You can type dimensions the word full to adjust the size. (See the note below the Image size box for details)

🛈 You also might find it useful to turn your image into a button. To add a link, go to the On click action dropdown and select the Open custom link option. You can then add any url link you like.

FORMS
Forms
You can see all the forms on your website by navigating to Forms on the left side menu.

Hover over any form title to Edit, review Entries, or adjust the form’s Settings.Â

To edit a form, click on a current field and adjust the settings on the right. Make sure to click, Save Form when you are happy with the changes. You can also Preview the form, first.

To edit where the form is SENT (aka who on your team will receive the contact form submissions), go to Settings → Notifications.

To view form submissions, click on Entries.Â

Reusables
Using Reusables On Your Website
You can turn any individual or group of blocks into reusable blocks. For example, let’s say you have a Paragraph block and button that you often place at the end of your pages. To avoid remaking the same content each time, you can make this content into a reusable block.
Creating a Reusable
In the charcoal sidebar menu, hover over Reusables and click on Add New.

Use Rows, Columns, and Content Blocks to create your design.
🛈 Be sure to Publish/Update your reusable after finishing.

Navigate to the page you want the Reusable on. On the left side menu, scroll down to the Reusables section. Set Reusables to Enabled.Â
If you want your Reusable at the top of the page, enable Reusables Before. If you want them on the bottom of your page, select Reusables After.

🛈 In this example, we are adding a reusable to the bottom of this page.
Click into the text box under the section you are adding to (Before or After). A list of your reusables will appear. Click the one you want to add.

The order the gray tiles are in is the order they will be on your page. Click and drag the tiles to the order you want.
When you are done, be sure to update your page by clicking the Update button near the top.

🛈 Here is what the reusables look like on the website.

Footer
Your Website Footer
The Footer is the information that lives on the bottom of your website. It contains important information like contact info, hours, and your mission statement.
Editing The Footer
In the charcoal sidebar menu, hover over Appearance and click on Widgets.
🛈 Why is it called Widgets? Widgets are small apps that are used as shortcuts on your website. A collection of Widgets is what makes up your Footer.

The gray tiles on the left are Widgets and the white blocks on the left is the structure that holds them (Footer).

Swivel open the white blocks by clicking the gray triangle. Now you can see what kind of information lives in each section of the footer.

Swivel open the gray tiles blocks by clicking the gray triangle. This shows what content is in that section. From here, you can delete or change the content. When you are done making your edits, be sure to click Save in the section you are working in.

🛈 What is [Basic Site Info]? Where can I change my business information? Basic Site Info is a shortcut that pulls information from the Basic Site Info section of your website automatically. To change this information, follow the steps here.
Adding a Widget
In the charcoal sidebar menu, hover over Appearance and click on Widgets.

The gray tiles on the left are Widgets you can add to your Footer.

Swivel open the gray block you want to add by clicking the gray triangle. Select the location you would like to place it from the dropdown. Click Add Widget.

The Widget will now appear under the section you selected. You can then add your content. Click save to finish.

Social Media
Social Media Shortcodes
A Shortcode is a small piece of code that pulls information from another part of the website. In this case, we use the shortcode [site_socials]. This pulls the information from Basic Site Info and inserts it already formatted correctly.
Adding Social Media To The Footer
In the charcoal sidebar menu, hover over Website Settings and click on Basic Site Info.

From here, you can view and edit your basic site info, including your Social media info in the Socials tab

Click on the Shortcodes tab to view the available shortcodes for your website. We’ll be using [site_socials]. Highlight and copy this text.

In the charcoal sidebar menu, hover over Appearance and click on Widgets.

The gray tiles on the left are Widgets you can add to your Footer.

Swivel open Custom HTML. Select the location you would like to place it from the dropdown. Click Add Widget.

Paste your shortcode into the box, and click Save. Now your site’s social media info will be automatically inserted and formatted in your footer.

Adding Social Media To Pages Using HTML Content Block
Click the gray plus mark to add a content block to a row or column.
🛈 See Rows, Columns, & Content Blocks for more info.

In the Add Element window, search for Raw HTML. Click it to add to your page.

Type in or paste the shortcode [site_socials] into this box. Click Save Changes.

Click Update to save your page. Now your site’s social media info will be automatically inserted and formatted on your page.
Main Menu
Your Website Menu
The Main Menu bar is the way visitors navigate your website. It usually lives at the top of the screen but might be on the left or right depending on your design. It houses the main pages of your site, and can also be nested for better organization.
Editing The Main Menu
In the charcoal sidebar menu, hover over Appearance and click on Menus.

In the Select a menu to edit dropdown, select Main and click Select

The gray tiles are the page links that are in your menu. You can drag and drop them to the position you want. When you’re done, click Save Menu near the bottom of the page.

🛈 You can also “nest” your page within another menu item. While dragging, move the tile slightly to the right. It will snap into place and nest under the tile above it

Adding A New Page To The Main Menu
In the charcoal sidebar menu, hover over Appearance and click on Menus.

In the Select a menu to edit dropdown, select Main and click Select

Find and select the page you want to add to the Main Menu. Then click Add To Menu.
🛈 You can view all pages or search by selecting the tabs near the top

Your selection will be at the bottom of the list of pages. Drag and drop the gray tile to the position you want. When you’re done, click Save Menu near the bottom of the page.

Deleting A Page From The Main Menu
In the charcoal sidebar menu, hover over Appearance and click on Menus.

In the Select a menu to edit dropdown, select Main and click Select

Find the gray tile with the page you want to delete
🛈 This only deletes the page from the menu. The page will still live under the Pages section
Click the black arrow to swivel open more settings. Here, you can click the Remove button. When you’re done, click Save Menu near the bottom of the page.
