How to register for and start your own blog
Posted by admin in starting a blog
I got a question today asking me how to start the blogging process. So, I figured I’d post it here because others may have the same questions. Without further ado:
The first thing you will need to do is click the register and comment link on the right sidebar of http://onhutchinsonisland.com This will take you to the sign up page - http://onhutchinsonisland.com/wp-signup.php
(click on the photos to increase the size)
Once you click signup, you will be sent an activation email. You must activate to start using the blog or post comments. After you activate, you will receive a login and password email. Click the login link and sign in. The first page you will see will be your administrative dashboard.
Click on the “View site>>” link at the far left of the site. This is the default, barebones of your new blog.
To get back to the administrative dashboard, click on “site admin” under the Meta grouping on the bottom right.
Let’s customize the look of your blog -
Click on the Presentation link. This will take you to “Themes”.
Scroll down and look at the many options. Click on one that you like, and then at the top of the page, “view site”
(remember to get back to the dashboard, click “site admin”)
Okay, so, now you have a nice page to look at, but you have a ridiculous “hello world” post that comes as part of the default, and of course, you want to get rid of it.
On your dashboard, you will see a “Manage” link.
When you click on it, you will see you have several options. It will automatically default to “manage posts”. You’ll see the “hello world” post, click edit. Change the title and type something that you’d like say. You can tell people about your intentions with this blog or whatever. Remember as your site begins to develop, you can delete this entirely. Click save and view it if you want.
Look at “Manage Pages” - you will have an “About” page, use this to tell people a little about yourself. Again, click edit and then save. Then go view your site. Click on the about link, see how it looks.
Okay, so you’ve managed the default post and you managed your “about” page. How do you start writing a blog?
On your dashboard, you will see a “Write” link before “Manage”. Make sure the “write post” is highlighted and
begin writing. There’s a couple of things here to remember:
Add categories, this will help people find what they want to find.
If you are making a real estate blog, use categories that define locations or price ranges or first time home buyers, renters, buyers, sellers…. etc.
On this page, you can upload pictures into your blog and format the placement of them. For more on how to do this click:
Okay, this is enough to get you started. Inevitably, you will have questions as you begin to realize the potential of this self publishing tool.
Feel free to email support@onhutchinsonisland with your questions and I’ll be happy to walk you through it. Or you can leave a comment here (remember you have to register to leave comments).
How to request a specific theme
Posted by admin in Uncategorized
We’ve preloaded a bunch of different WordPress “Themes” and “Plug-Ins” to choose from so you can get a better variety of “looks” and functionality for you Blog. If you want something unique to you there are a bunch of free templates and plug-ins you can choose from here:
We offer free ad supported Blogs to everyone. We also create custom designs and applications. Our mission is empower you to use the Internet better. Contact OHI if you’d like a customized setup, different Blog platform, a no-ad solution, etc. Tech Support is available for all users by email at support@onhutchinsonisland.com
Post Format - Pictures
Posted by admin in Descriptions, Insert Image, Tips
If you are adding a picture to your post you will want to first upload the image at the bottom of the “write post” page. Its a pretty easy process, and once you have it uploaded then you have the ability to just “send to editor” into the post with a click of the mouse.
A few tips: 
- Make sure your cursor is positioned where you actually want the image in the post.
- After your image has been added to the post, click on the picture of the tree in the editing toolbar
- In the pop up box - you will want to change your alignment to suit your needs with the picture and the text. I wish I could tell you directly which to choose, but you will have aesthetic desires different than mine - I use right and left and normally nothing else.
- Add a 10 to both the vertical and horizontal space - this will add space between your text and your picture once its in the spot you want it.
Plugins - FUN STUFF!
Posted by admin in Descriptions, Plugins
PodPress: The podPress pluggin gives you everything you need in one easy plugin to use WordPress for Podcasting.
wordTube: Show us your videos! This plugin creates your personal YouTube plugin for wordpress.
New Plugins - User Experience
Posted by admin in Descriptions, Plugins
We’ve added a bunch of plugins to get you started with user navigation and statistics. When you go to your admin menu, you will be able to pick and choose which ones you’d like to have activated (click on the word ‘activate’ to get started with the plugin). Here’s a list of what we’ve got so far:
Blogroll Autolinker: Automatically turns names from your blogroll into links in your posts.
Search Unleashed: Advanced search engine that provides full text searching across posts, pages, comments, titles, and URLs. Searches take into account any data added by other plugins, and all search results are contextually highlighted. You can also highlight incoming searches from popular search engines.
StatPress: Simple stats for your blog.
WordPress.com Stats: Tracks views, post/page views, referrers, and clicks. Requires a WordPress.com API key. (the API key is located on your profile and its like a password)
WP-Sticky: Adds a sticky post feature to your WordPress’s blog.
New Themes
Posted by admin in Descriptions, Themes
We added a ton of new ad-supported Blog Themes today, including many in the color/schemes that would be suited to business locales and island activities; e.g., Hotels, Restaurants, Bars, Ecological Awareness, and just plain island fun.
We now offer almost 3 dozen preloaded “looks”. Remember you can pick a WordPress theme from anywhere and email us and will upload it to the server.