CREATING A BLOG WITH TYPEPAD
If you choose TypePad as your blogging application, you can follow the instructions included in this section to create your new blog and join the blogosphere. The details included in this section, refers to the Basic TypePad account, so the features available to you might be different depending on the package you choose.
Follow these steps to start your new Basic TypePad blog:
1. Visit the TypePad home page. Enter the URL www.typepad.com into your browser, and the TypePad home page opens.
2. Click the Free Trial. Get a Blog Now button or the Start Your Free Trial Now button. Both buttons take you to the Create Your Blog in Minutes page.
3. Select the Radio button for the package you want to sign up for. In this chapter, the Basic package is selected.
4. Click the Continue button. The Get Started with a TypePad Account page opens.
5. Enter the information requested in the text boxes. Take some time to choose a blog URL that you like and don’t be surprised if the first one you
choose is unavailable.
6. Click the Create Account button. The Billing Information page opens.
7. Enter your billing information into the text boxes. Be sure to select the payment plan that works best for you.
8. Click the Continue button. The Confirm Your Information page opens.
9. Review the information for your new account, and make any necessary changes. Then click the Continue button. The Congratulations, You Have a TypePad
blog! page opens.
10. Enter a title for your blog and make sure the check box next to Publicize The Blog on Search Engines and My TypePad Profile is selected.
If you don’t want search engines to index your blog, and you don’t want your blog to appear in your TypePad profile, deselect this check box. However, this isn’t recommended if you want your blog to grow and attract search traffic.
11. Click the Skip this and Head to the Dashboard link beneath the Design Your Blog Image on the right side of your screen.
This step takes you to your main TypePad dashboard page. Where you can configure the settings for your blog to ensure it works the way you want it to, including personalizing the design and publishing posts.
REVIEWING THE TYPEPAD DASHBOARD
The TypePad dashboard is where you can access all the tools and features available to you to publish content and enhance your blog. To get started, just select your blog from the Blog drop-down list in the top navigation bar or from the sidebar on the right of your main dashboard page. This action brings you to your dashboard for the specific blog you chose from your account.
The first thing you notice on your TypePad dashboard for your blog is recent activity, which displays in the largest area in the center of your screen. Beneath your recent activity, you can see recent sites that referred traffic to your blog, and across the top of your screen are the navigation bars that allow you to access all the parts of your blog.
Take some time to review the information included on each tab. Following is an overview of the features accessible from each of the tabs on the navigation bar:
. Posts : From the Posts tab, you can write new posts and pages, and edit existing posts and pages.
. Comments : From the Comments tab, you can manage the comments left on your blog posts as well as your trackbacks. You can also create and manage
a Block List of visitors whose comments you want automatically rejected using their IP addresses or by adding keywords that should trigger comments to
be rejected.
. Design : From the Design tab, you can choose a design for your blog, organize your content, and adjust your blog’s layout.
. Settings : From the Settings tab, you can modify most of the broad settings that affect your blog to ensure it works exactly the way you want it to.
Across the very top of your dashboard is the primary navigation bar. From here, you can access your main dashboard, your blogs, your image library, and your account, where you can modify your profile, email, password, billing information, and more. In other words, every feature you can possibly modify is accessible from the tabs and links on your blog’s dashboard, so poke around and get an understanding of the capabilities available to you before you dive in and publish your first post.
CONFIGURING SETTINGS
After you create your new TypePad blog, be sure to take some time to configure several settings that can greatly impact your blog, especially if you have goals to grow your blog’s traffic over time. The following sections show you suggested ways to configure the most important settings for your blog, but remember, they are just suggestions. It’s your blog, and you can configure it to work exactly the way you want it to. Also, these are just the most important settings but do take the time to review all configuration options.
Only the most important configuration settings are discussed here with suggested settings that most bloggers use:
PROFILE
Your blog’s profile is where you can provide visitors an overview about your blog. Follow these steps to create your profile for your TypePad blog:
1. On your blog’s dashboard, click the Edit Your Profile link in the right sidebar. The Profile link in the right sidebar.
2. Enter a word or phrase in the Profile URL text box provided. The lengthy default URL for your blog’s profile is cumbersome and useless for search
engine optimization. Change it to something that’s easier to understand and better describes your profile.
3. Enter a brief bio in the One-Line Bio text box provided. Keep it short and simple.
4. Click the Browse button to locate an image on your computer’s hard drive to attach to your profile. Follow the instructions provided to attach the image.
5. Click the Save Changes button. A message in a yellow box appears at the top of your screen saying Your Changes Have Been Saved along with a View
Your Profile link. Click the link to view your profile and make sure it looks the way you want it to.
ABOUT ME PAGE
You can add an About Me page to your blog. Your About Me page is where you tell visitors why you’re qualified to write your blog and what they can expect to find on your blog. It’s your first step in building a relationship with your blog readers, so put some thought into crafting and interesting and informative profile. Follow these instructions to create your blog’s About Me Page:
1. Click the Account link on the top navigation bar on your blog’s dashboard. The Summary Page for your account opens.
2. Click the About Me Page tab on the left navigation bar. The About Me Page opens.
3. Enter additional information about you to create a complete profile and click the Save and Publish button when you’re done. Your new About Me
page is immediately visible on your blog.
NOTIFICATIONS
You can set up your blog email notifications from the Account link in the top navigation bar on your blog’s dashboard as follows:
1. Click the Account link on the top navigation bar on your blog’s dashboard. The Summary Page for your account opens.
2. Select the Notifications tab from the left navigation bar. The Notifications page opens.
3. Make any changes to your notifications that you want. Note that the default notifications setting are the most commonly used, but if you want to
reduce the number of emails you receive, you can deselect one or both of the check boxes under the Activity Heading.
BASIC SETTINGS
The Basic settings for your blog can be modified at any time. The first thing you should do is add a description of your blog as follows:
1. Click the Settings tab on the navigation bar on your blog’s dashboard. The Basics page opens.
2. Change your blog name and enter your blog description in the text boxes provided. Put some though into what you want your blog name and description
to say, and enter it here.
3. Enter the text you want to appear at the end of the URL for your blog folder in the Blog Folder Text box.
Note that after you decide on the URL for your blog folder, you should not change it, or links will be lost.
4. If you want your blog to be private, select the Password check box.
Do not select this check box unless you want only people with your blog’s password to see it. This is uncommon because most bloggers want their blogs to grow and therefore need their blogs to be visible to everyone.
5. Click the Save Settings button. A Your Configurations Have Been Saved message appears in a yellow box at the top of your screen.
SEO SETTINGS
Your blog’s SEO settings affect the search engine traffic that comes to your blog. Follow these steps to configure the SEO settings for your TypePad blog:
1. Click the Settings tab on the navigation bar on your blog’s dashboard. The Basics page opens.
2. Click the SEO tab on the left navigation bar. The SEO page opens.
3. Select the Yes, Publicize This Blog check box. This option makes your blog visible to search engines and allows them to index your content in order to
send search traffic to your blog.
4. Enter keywords that describe your blog into the Meta Keywords text box.
Metadata is extra information about a web page that does not display on screen but can be viewed or read within the HTML coding of the page. Although metadata is not as important to SEO as it once was, it takes only a few seconds to type in some meta keywords, and it certainly can’t hurt your blog to do so.
5. Enter a description of your blog in the Meta Description text box. Keep your description short-one or two sentences.
6. Click the Save Changes button. Your changes affect your blog immediately.
POSTS AND PAGE SETTINGS
Most of the default configurations in the Posts & Pages settings are the ones that are most commonly used by bloggers. However, you should take a few minutes and follow these steps to review them to ensure they work exactly the way that you want them to on your blog.
1. Click the Settings tab on the navigation bar on your blog’s dashboard. The Basics page opens.
2. Click the Posts & Pages tab on the left navigation bar. The Posts & Pages page opens.
3. Select the Radio button next to Draft under the Default Publishing seeing heading. By Changing this setting to Draft, you can save unfinished posts in
draft form and return to publish them later. You can also save posts as you’re writing them and publish them only when you’re 100% certain they’re final.
4. Under the Posts to Display heading, select the number of posts you want to display on your blog’s home page and archive pages.
Most bloggers display five to seven posts on the home pages of their blogs to reduce the need for excessive scrolling.
5. Under the Navigation Links, Post Date Format, and Post Time Format Headings, make any changes you want. These modifications are strictly based
on your personal preferences.
6. Under the Front Page heading, you can choose to show your most recent posts on your blog’s home page so it looks like a traditional blog, or you
can show a static page as your blog’s home page so it looks more like a traditional web site. This setting is up to you and depends on how you want
your blog to look and function.
7. Using the drop down list, select the way you want your blog’s list of Recent Posts to display. This setting depends on what posts you want to
display in your recent posts list and is entirely up to you.
8. Click the Save Changes button. Your changes immediately affect your blog.
CATEGORIES SETTINGS
Your blog post categories are important because they make it easy for your blog’s visitors to find content related to topics they’re interested in. It’s particularly important to modify these settings before you start publishing content on your blog because many of the default categories won’t apply to your blog. The following steps walk you through modifying your blog’s categories settings:
1. Click the Settings tab on the navigation bar on your blog’s dashboard. The Basics page opens:
2. Click the Categories tab on the left navigation bar. The categories page opens.
3. Review the list of default categories and use the Edit and Delete links to the right of each category to modify the list. Make sure the categories you
choose are relevant to the type of content you plan to write on your blog.
4. Enter descriptions of new categories in the Add a New Category box and select the Add button to add it to your list of categories.
You can also add categories as you write new posts, so don’t worry too much about adding categories now. You can add them later as needed.
COMMENTS SETTINGS
In the Comments Settings page of your TypePad blog, you can configure who can leave comments on your posts, whether you want to moderate posts before they’re published on your blog, and more, as follows:
1. Click the Settings tab on the navigation bar on your blog’s dashboard. The Basics page opens.
2. Select the Comments tab from the left navigation bar. The Comments page opens.
3. Under the TypePad Authentication heading, select the Radio button next to No – Commenter’s Don’t Need to Have a Account. Changing this setting
opens your blog up to conversation between all visitors without barriers. This is the best setting to use if you want to grow your blog.
4. Under the Unauthenticated Comments heading, deselect the check box next to Require an Email Address and select the check box next to Require
Readers to Enter a Randomly Generated Verification code.
Of the two options, this one will reduce more spam comments from publishing on your blog or making it to your moderation queue.
5. Under the Comment Moderation heading, select the Yes, Hold Comments for My Approval check box. By moderating comments, you can delete
spam and irrelevant or inappropriate comments before they’re published on your blog and negatively affect the user experience.
6. Under the Comment Formatting heading, select the Yes, Allow Limited HTML check box. This setting gives more flexibility to people who leave comments
on your blog.
7. Scroll down to the By Default, Accept Trackbacks Heading and select the On New Posts check box. Accepting trackbacks on posts is a great way to grow
your blog by sending reciprocal traffic to a bog that links to your post and starting a relationship with the other blogger.
8. Click the Save Changes button. Your changes are applied to your blog.
PERSONALIZING YOUR BLOG
TypePad offers numerous personalization options, even if you’re just using the Basic account package. Unfortunately, you can’t use themes created by third-party designers unless you upgrade your account and get access to advance templates options. However, enough themes and design options are offered with the Basic TypePad account to satisfy most beginner bloggers and some advanced bloggers, too.
CHOOSING A THEME
The first step to customize your blog’s design is to choose a theme, as follows:
1. Click the Design tab on the navigation bar on your blog’s dashboard. The Design Your Blog page opens.
2. Click the Choose a Theme button. The Themes page opens.
3. Click the links in the right menu and scroll through the theme options available to you until you find one that your like. Then select the Radio button
below the theme you like and click the Save Changes button.
Your new theme is immediately applied to your blog. You can click the Preview button on the Choose a Theme page to see what your blog will look like using different themes before you commit to using one.
SELECTING A LAYOUT
You have two primary options for TypePad blog layouts: Classic and Mixed Media. Classic layouts allow you to choose one-two- or three – column layout for your blog, and mixed media layouts allow you to choose from a variety of layouts to display different media elements such as calendars, images, and more. You can select a layout for your blog as follows:
1. On the Design Your Blog page, click the Select a layout button. The Layouts page opens.
2. Select the Radio button beneath the layout you prefer and then click the Save Changes button. Your new layout is immediately applied to your blog.
Take some time to test the various layout options available to you by selecting the Radio buttons beneath each and then clicking the Preview button to see how your blog looks with each layout option.
ORGANIZING CONTENT
TypePad makes it very easy to move content around in your blog’s layout with a simple menu and drag-and-drop system. Follow these steps to modify the placement of your content on your blog:
1. On the TypePad Design Your Blog Page, click the Organize Content button. The Content page opens.
2. Scroll through the Modules list at the top of the page and click a feature you want to add to your blog. Then click the Add This Module button.
The module appears in the wireframe layout of your blog shown in the lower part of your screen.
3. To move a module within your blog’s layout, just click it and drag it to a new location. Your changes don’t show up on your blog until you click the Save
Changes button. You can use the Preview button to see what your changes will look like on your blog before you commit to saving them.
4. To delete a module from your blog, just click the red X in the upper-right corner of that module or deselect the check box in the left side of the module
as applicable.
The module disappears from your wireframe.
5. Click the Save Changes button when you’re done. Your edits are immediately applied to your blog.
Modules that include a pencil image on the right side can be edited. Click the pencil to open the Edit Window where you can make changes to those modules.
PUBLISHING A POST
TypePad makes it very easy to publish posts on your blog as follows:
1. Click the Posts tab on the navigation bar in your blog’s dashboard. The Posts page opens.
2. Click the New Post link. The New Post page opens.
3. Enter a title and body text for your post in the boxes provided. Take a minute to hover your mouse over the icons above the Post Editor to see what
they are for. Notice they work similarly to icons used in word processing applications.
4. From the Categories Menu on the right side of your screen, select the check box next to the appropriate category for your post. You can add a new
category if an appropriate category is not already in your list, and you can select more than one category for your post as applicable.
5. Scroll down to the comments and trackbacks section under your post editor and click the arrow to expand the section. Make sure the Open Radio
button is selected under both comments and trackbacks.
This setting means visitors can leave comments on your post, and any trackbacks to your post will be displayed on your post.
6. Scroll down to the Keyword and Technorati Tags section and enter relevant keywords and Technorati tags in the boxes provided. Often your keywords
and Technorati tags will be the same, so you can copy and paste them. Take the time to enter both because they help increase search engine traffic.
7. Click the Preview button to view your post before you actually publish it. When you’re satisfied with your post, click the Publish button. Your post is
immediately available on your blog.
USING ADVANCED FEATURES
TypePad offers a variety of advanced features to users with upgraded accounts. Example, you can add functionality with widgets, which are accessible through the Design Your Blog page or at www.sixapart.com/typepad/widgets. You can also access more themes and use third-party themes and designs when you upgrade your account.
Additionally, you can use your own domain name for your blog if you pay for any account above the Basic TypePad package, as follows:
1. Click the Account link on the top navigation bar on your blog’s dashboard. The Summary Page for your account opens.
2. Click the Domain Mapping tab on the left navigation bar. The Domain Mapping page opens.
3. Read through the Important Requirements to ensure you have everything you need to map a new domain to your blog (such as the advanced DNS,
Domain Name System, and settings, which you can get form your new domain registrar). Then click the Begin Here : Map a Domain Name button.
The Domain Mapping Configuration page opens and you can follow the instructions to map your domain to your blog.
GETTING HELP AND FINDING RESOURCES
You can take advantage of a number of excellent resources to get additional help to start and enhance your TypePad blog. Following are some of the most popular TypePad resources:
. TypePad knowledge base : (http://help.sixapart.com/tp/us) this site is where all the documentation on TypePad provided by Six Apart Media can be found.
. TypePad help : click the Help link on the top navigation bar of your TypePad dashboard. A new page opens where you can search the TypePad knowledge
base for help or submit a new ticket for help from the TypePad support staff.
. The Official Everything TypePad blog : (http://everything.typepad.com) this blog offers tips, advice, and help from the TypePad.
. TypePad user forums : (http://getsatisfaction.com/sixapart/products/sixapart_typepad) this is the official TypePad user forum where users can
ask questions and help each other.