USC Schedule of Classes

Fall 2024

classes begin
registration begins

Help

Table of Contents

 

Logging In

You can access your Dashboard by adding /wp-admin/ to the end of your site URL. Click on the blue “Login with Shibboleth” link using your main USC account and password. This is the same username and password you use for other USC systems like the my.usc.edu portal (see https://www.usc.edu/its/accounts/password).

If you have difficulty logging in, you may need to reset your password. To do so, contact the ITS Customer Support Center at 213-740-5555.

 

Pages and Posts

Differences between Posts and Pages

Pages contain your site’s static content. You can access and edit them from your Dashboard (Pages > All Pages> Edit) or by clicking the “Edit” link at the bottom of any page (remember, in order to see and use the “Edit” link on a page, you must be logged in).
Pages should be used to display the information about your organization or department that rarely changes (think: About or History pages). Once created, it’s unlikely you’ll edit pages often—if ever.

WordPress uses posts to display more dynamic content. Use posts to display information that is time-sensitive or changes frequently. For example, you should use posts to add news articles to your site. You can access and edit your posts via Dashboard > Posts > All Posts > Edit or by clicking the “Edit” link at the end of any post.

Note: In the Gold Template, posts are used to display several types of content—particularly the information that appears on your home page. For more information on these distinctions, see the section “Understanding the Different Post Types.”

 

Editing Options

The processes for editing pages and posts are largely similar. When you edit a page or post, you have two options for how you view content. To toggle between them, use the tabs on the right side of the edit box– Visual and Text.

  • Visual Editor – Gives you an idea of how the content will appear on your live site. Remember, this may not always be accurate.
  • Text Editor– This view includes HTML tags and other markup.

Visual Editor

The Visual Editor works much like MS Word. It allows you to copy, cut, and paste text, bold or italicize information you’d like to emphasize, etc. You are welcome to use the Visual Editor to make changes, but remember that this view is not necessarily accurate.

The only way to confirm the way your page actually appears to visitors is to view the page once you’ve published. At times, you may need to use the Text View to correct certain style issues. If you cannot correct a certain issue in the Visual Editor, try the Text Editor instead.

 

Adding New Pages or Posts

To add a new page, go to Dashboard > Pages > Add New. Enter a title, add and format content, and then hit the blue “Publish” button. Click “View Page” to confirm your page has published and that there are no formatting issues.

If you need to add a new post, go to Dashboard > Posts > Add New. Follow the steps outlined above for adding new pages.

 

Previewing & Publishing

Using the Preview (click the “Preview” button at right) function before publishing will give you an idea of how your page will appear on the site. WordPress’s preview option is helpful, but not 100% accurate. Remember to always check your pages or posts once you’ve published them to confirm they meet your expectations.

Once you finish adding or editing content in either the Visual or Text Editor, hit the blue “Publish” button (appears on new posts) or blue “Update” button (appears on already published posts). Then click “View Page.”
You can find additional information on WordPress Pages and Posts here:

http://codex.wordpress.org/Posts
http://codex.wordpress.org/Pages

 

Formatting Post & Page Content

Styling Text for Usability and Accessibility

It’s important to use logical heading tags and formatting elements as you create or edit content. Logical headings help users quickly scan a page for the information they need, and it also helps make your page accessible to screen readers. Here are some tips:

  • Every page title is styled as a Heading 1 (or <h1>) so begin any text content using Heading 2 and descend from there.
  • Never skip over a heading style (don’t go from <h2> to <h4>).
  • Break up text into sections using headings or lists whenever possible. This makes page content much easier for users

Here’s what your heading styles look like:

  • Heading 2

  • Heading 3

  • Heading 4

  • Heading 5
  • Heading 6

Copying Text from Word into WordPress

MS Word sometimes adds strange formatting to text when you copy it into your site. To ensure that your pages look exactly the way you want, use one of the methods:

  • Option 1: Copy your text from Word into a basic text editor (such as Notepad or Text Edit) before pasting them into your WordPress page.
  • Option 2: From the Visual Editor on WordPress, locate and select the icon that looks like a clipboard with a “W” on it (if you do not see this icon, click the farthest right icon on the toolbar called: “Show/Hide the Kitchen Sink”). Using this option should remove most formatting issues. If you still experience problems, try option 1 instead.

 

Inserting Images into Pages or Posts

  1. In order to add an image to your page or post, you must first insert your cursor in the place in the text where you want the image to appear.
  2. Click the Add Media button.
  3. Upload a new image or select a previously uploaded image from your Media Library.
  4. Edit your image details. Give the image a title, and select whether to align it to the Left or Right. You can also select an Image Size.
  5. Once you’re satisfied, click “Insert” to add the image to your page or post. Hit “Update” and view your page to see the changes.

For more detailed information:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Inserting_Images_into_Posts_and_Pages

 

Adding Links

Find and highlight the word or phrase you’d like to turn into a link. Locate and select the chain link icon in your Visual Editor toolbar (alternately, the link button in Text Editor). Now copy the URL you’d like to use into the pop-up window and add a link title. Click the blue “Add Link” icon.

In the Visual Editor, you will now see your linked selection as underlined text. If you are using the Text Editor, you will see a tag that looks like this:

<a href="“https://www.usc.edu”">USC</a>

Hit “Update”. View your page to confirm that the link functions.

Adding Links to Email Addresses

The process for adding a link to an email address is largely the same as adding a link to a website. The major difference is the format of the <a> tag. To link to an email address, replace “http://” with “mailto:”.  The format should look similar to the following example:

<a href="mailto:tommytrojan@usc.edu">Tommy Trojan</a>.

 

Editing Your Menu

To edit your navigation menu, go to Dashboard > Appearance > Menus. Find the section called “Main Navigation.” You should see your current Menu displayed as a list of page titles.

To Add Menu Items

Locate the “Pages” box on the left side, and select the pages you’d like to include in your menu (you can also hit the blue “Select All” link if applicable). When satisfied with your selection(s), click the “Add to Menu” button.

To Organize (Reorder) Menu Items:

You can drag and drop menu items to specify the order in which you’d like them to appear on your site. You can also create submenus by “nesting” pages under primary menu items. To do this, drag the secondary item under the desired parent link.

To Remove a Menu Item:

Find the page or post you’d like to remove from your menu under Main Navigation. Click the arrow at right of the page (or post) name. Click the red “Remove” link.

Saving your Menu:

Hit the blue “Save Menu” button.

 

Accessibility

We strive to ensure that USC websites are accessible to all users. There are several accessibility best practices that you should use when creating new site content.

Descriptive Links: Avoid using links such as click here. Instead, links should be descriptive and appropriate. Here’s a better example:

Looking for an example of the Gold Template?

Adding Media & Using Alt Text: Always use alt tags when uploading new media (images, PDFs, etc). Because alt tags are used by screen readers, they should:

  • Accurately describe the content they represent within the context
  • Be as succinct as possible. 1-2 words will suffice, and never more than a sentence. Avoid using “photo of” or “image of.”

WordPress automatically defaults alt text to match the title of the file you’re uploading. For example: usc-campus.jpg would be assigned the alt text “usc-campus.” If your media titles accurately describe the content, you may want to leave the WordPress default. You can also manually add alt text from the “Insert Media” window (right side).

 

A List of Helpful Links

Writing posts
Creating pages
Uploading and Inserting Images
Editing Menus
Embedding Videos
About the Visual Editor
Writing for the Web