The Blog of Lisa Morosky

WordPress is a novelty because it’s both simple and difficult to use. What I mean is that out of the box, WordPress is easy to use. But if you really want to customize the look and feel of your blog, you’re going to have to learn more advanced coding and programming, which can be difficult.

So how do you learn how to do things in WordPress? How and where do you acquire the more advanced WordPress knowledge, if you want to do things yourself? Let me tell you how I learned all I’ve learned.

Get in there and get your hands dirty.
If I had a nickel for every time I caused a blog to go down with a fatal error, I’d be rich. Sometimes what you need to do is just get in there and dissect code in order to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Obviously, you don’t want to do this on a live blog, but rather on a test blog. I don’t know about you, but I learn by doing. And what’s the worst that could happen? You have to reinstall WordPress and start from scratch. Not a problem, if it’s a test blog.

Visit Forums.
Visit the WordPress Forums, or the forums for your particular theme (if it’s a premium theme that offers support). Chances are the question you have is the same question a bunch of other people have, or have had in the past. This is a quick and easy way to get help.

Do a Google Search.
When I’m having trouble with something WordPress related, I’ll do a Google search for “wordpress ”. 75% of the time, a helpful result turns up. That’s the thing about open source programs – millions of people use it and work with it and write about it.

Ask for help on your social networks.
I’ve tweeted out problems and questions, and within minutes someone has replied to me with an answer or a resource to check out. Tap your social network for all they’re worth. People are usually pretty willing to help.

View Source, and Firebug, are your friends.
If I visit a blog that has an element that I like, I immediately view source and/or open up Firebug to check out their coding. It’s so cool that you can see something you like, see how they did it, then do it yourself. If you aren’t using Firebug in Firefox yet, seriously save yourself the headaches and grab the browser add-on.

If you have the opportunity, go to a WordCamp.
If you’re a WordPress fan, there’s nothing cooler than being in a room full of other WordPress fans bouncing ideas off of eachother. WordCamps are usually pretty inexpensive, a great networking event, and full of WordPress tips and tricks given by industry experts.

When you hit a bump in the WordPress road, try out the above mentioned methods. The information is out there and is easily accessible. It’s possible to become a self-taught WordPress rockstar.

I just found out how to do this the other day. It was bugging me that I couldn’t have the “Hire Me” link in my navigation bar link straight to VAforBloggers.com, which is the website for my virtual assistant services. I’d seen it done on several other blogs and I finally took the time to search around and find a way to do it.

Option #1: Do what it says to do here.

Essentially, all you do is create a custom page template that redirects that page link to the website you choose.

Option #2: Grab this plugin.

There really is a plugin for absolutely everything.

• Install the plugin.
• Create a new post or page.
• Find the “Page Links To” settings in your post or page.
• Enter the URL to redirect to.
• If you want the link to open in a new window, check that box.
• Also, if you want this to be a temporary redirect, check that box. (If this is permanent, you don’t need to do anything).
• Save. You’re done!

It’s a really easy way to make your navigation links link to an external website. In my case, I didn’t want to repeat all of the information that’s already on VAforBloggers.com. I also wanted to make it as easy as possible for people to find the information they’re looking for when it comes to my services.