To track your site visits using Google Analytics you’ll need to install a plugin. Here’s two that we recommend to connect GA to your WordPress site (you only need one):

• Google Analyticator (offers a handy snapshot of site traffic in your WordPress Dashboard, and connects directly to your Google account)
• Monster Insights

We’ve all written up a full description for how to set up Google Analytics if you’ve never done it before.

Here at DevPress, we think all websites should offer visitors a way to connect. One easy way to let your visitors get in touch is to provide a contact form.

Contact forms are great. You can control the kinds of information you request, and have it sent to any email address you’d like, without anyone actually seeing your email address. This prevents spam and also affords you a certain degree of privacy.

To set up a contact form on your WordPress site, there are a few behind the scenes steps you’ll need to do first.

Continue reading →

Basic Usage

1. Add a new page or Edit an existing page
2. On the right side, there’s a Page Attributes panel. If you do not see it, at the top right corner of the screen, click on the Screen Options button. Afterward, mark the Page Attributes check box.
3. The Page Attributes panel has a Template option. It’s a drop-down list of optional custom page templates.
4. Select the page template you want to use.
5. Click on the Publish page button or Update button.

Your theme typically has information on whether the custom page template needs content filled in as well.

Taking It a Step Further

After you’ve assigned a custom page template to a page, you can tell your site to use this page as the front page and here’s how:

1. On the left side of the WordPress dashboard, go to Settings > Reading.
2. For the Front Page Displays setting, select A Static Page
3. Now, the Front Page drop-down options are available to you.
4. Select the page you want to use as the front page.
5. Click on Save Changes button.

If this is your first time using this option, you more than likely don’t have a page already reserved for the Posts Page option. If you really don’t, create a new blank Page and then come back to Settings > Reading to set your Posts Page.

To create menus:

• Go to `Appearance > Menus`
• Fill out the Menu Name and click Create Menu
• Start adding menu items to your menu.
• To create drop-down menu items, drag an item under and to the right of another item. It might be confusing to do this correctly, but don’t stop dragging the item until it sits under the parent them with a left indentation. If it’s simply sitting under the parent item and evenly aligned then it’s not going to be a drop-down item.
• Click on Save Menu button

If you want to add categories, tags or post types to your menu and don’t see an option for that, click “Screen Options” at the very top of the page and make sure they are displayed on the menu admin page.

After creating your menu, you need to assign it to a theme menu location. On the `Appearance > Menus` page, the Theme Locations box has one or many drop down fields depending on the number of menus the theme offers. Assign a menu to a theme menu location and click on the Save button at the bottom of the Theme Locations box.

You have two options for uploading a WordPress theme. You can either use the built-in WordPress uploader or use FTP.

Installing with the Built-in Uploader

• Download the theme-name.zip file to your computer.
• Go to Appearance > Themes > Install Themes in your WordPress admin.
• Click on the “Add New” link near the top.
• Then click on the “Upload Theme” link.
• You should then see an option to select the theme zip from your computer and upload.
• Once installed, you can activate the theme and use it for your WordPress installation.

Installing the theme via FTP

• Unzip the theme-name.zip file to your computer.
• Upload the theme-name folder to your wp-content/themes directory on your WordPress install using your preferred FTP software.
• Go to Appearance > Themes and activate the theme.