Please Help With WP 2.7 Set-up and Configuration

1) links – add to sidebar <?php wp_list_bookmarks(); ?>

2) link to website – can interpret that multiple ways – what are you wanting to do?

6) plugins have to be uploaded yes. either via FTP or now in 2.7 within the plugin page search for plugin and upload can be done completely within WP. Comtact Form 7 is a plugin, thus…
Aweber – if you mean adding form code to a sidebar, no upload, that is cut and paste of code.

3) try All in One SEO plugin

4) Feedburner answer you received, in my opinion, is an opinion. Yes occasional problems can occur configuring FB. However it also resolves other problems (gives you one feed address instead of 3 or 4, serves all feed requestors the specific feed they are looking for) and gives options (subscribe to feed by email) that WP feeds don’t. Also includes subscriber tracking. I have a number of sites on FB and in general once configured works fine. Its really a matter of preference and whether WP or Feedburner is more appropriate for your specific needs.

Thanks. Just some clarification since some of this is beyond my experience:

1. What do I do with the link code you supplied? Will this allow links to be placed in the sidebar? How do I do add links after using that code?

2. Just want to link from WP blog to my website and vice versa (simple matter that is confusing me in the midst of the more sophisticated configuration)..?

3. What’s the reason for All In One SEO Plugin?

So, sounds like all plugins need to be uploaded. Do you have an opinion of whether Contact Form 7 or Aweber is better. Just want a simple contact form with some capture potential.

4. What about the Tags?

Thanks again.

1. What do I do with the link code you supplied? Will this allow links to be placed in the sidebar? How do I do add links after using that code?

see https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Template_Tags/wp_list_bookmarks

wp_list_bookmarks is a configurable function. Adding that one line in your sidebar will display all the links you have defined. And you can direct it to arrange them to your preference. See the examples on the codex page. A brief tutorial https://www.balkhis.com/web-designs-resources/how-to-organize-your-wordpress-blogroll-links/

2. Just want to link from WP blog to my website and vice versa (simple matter that is confusing me in the midst of the more sophisticated configuration)..?

This is as simple as creating a normal link. If your site is https://mydomain.com and wordpress is https://mydomain.com/blog/
then on your site
<a href="https://mydomain.com/blog/">Blog</a>
and on your blog
<a href="https://mydomain.com/">Home</a>

3. What’s the reason for All In One SEO Plugin?

In response to your original question
“3. Can I add meta tags to the blog or only posts? How?”
The plugin is the easiest way to do so. It even creates default meta tags for you, for each post. You can configure the template used to construct the default, and you can override the default on a specific post or page.

So, sounds like all plugins need to be uploaded.

Yes. If your server config allows, you can also install them from within WP on the Plugins page, without needing a separate FTP program.

Do you have an opinion of whether Contact Form 7 or Aweber is better. Just want a simple contact form with some capture potential.

They serve two different purposes. Contact Form 7 sends you an email of info someone has entered on your contact form. It does not record contact info in a list.

Aweber is for building an email list and does not allow someone to email you a request (other than to join your list) from a screen form.
If you want to build a mailing list, there are some WP plugins that allow you to build the list and email from within WP for free. Aweber is excellent but on the expensive side. If you are expecting many subscribers and plan big email campaigns Aweber is a good choice. If you want an external list service and not a WP plugin to maintain your list, and do not expect enough subscribers to warrant Aweber I’ve had excellent results with Vertical Response which has a pay-as-you-email plan rather than a monthly fee plan. It comes down to comparing costs based on what your intended plans are.

4. What about the Tags?

If that refers to meta-tags, again, All in One SEO.

Thank you so much, stvwlf! I’ll get started and let you know how it goes. I really appreciate your time and help. -Steve

Stvwlf: Well, tried to add the code (to add links) you gave me to the sidebar by going to the WP widgets and adding to text. You seemed to be saying that it wss that easy. What am I doing wrong?

Tomorrow at 9am go immediately to the bookstore and by WordPress for Dummies. Read it. Learn.

Go here, https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Main_Page and read everything there.

Be advised, I am not calling you a dummy – I have a copy of the book on my desk and I certainly am not dumb. I am saying if you come here everytime you have a question instead of figuring it out yourself, your experience with WordPress will be very disapointing.

@stephenlove:

That code is intended to be added into your theme’s sidebar.php, not in a widget. If you are using other widgets the code will not run even if you add it in the sidebar file.

kmessinger: Yes, I had already planned to get WP For Dummies. No offense taken. Believe it or not, I am actually normally pretty good at this stuff but am finding WP not all that intuitive. Have spent a lot of time trying to work through it myself when I began to reach out in an effort to get it done so I can spend my time actually blogging instead of setting it up!

Thank you, stvwlf. I’ll try it. I assume running widgets in WP will not interfere with the link code (i.e., only using widgets in the theme will affect it).