Resources

Below are a series of resources for developing your online presence. Some of these resources are links to external tutorials and materials, and others were developed specifically for this site.


Choosing a Website Platform

Using WordPress

Recommended WordPress Plugins

All recommendations are for the free versions of plugins. No upgrading/payment is required.

Tutorial on how to add and install plugins (from Reclaim Hosting)

  • Contact Form – Contact Form 7 (plugin page ; tutorial)
  • Managing Image Sizes – Smush (plugin page ; tutorial)
  • Website Backup – Updraft Plus (plugin page ; tutorial)
  • Multilingual Site – Google Language Translator (plugin ; tutorial)
  • Redirecting pages – Redirection (plugin ; documentation)
  • Instagram Feed Embed – Smash Balloon (plugin ; tutorial)
  • Twitter Feed Embed – Custom Twitter Feeds (plugin)
  • Google Analytics – Lara’s Google Analytics (plugin)
  • Embed a PDF (not the best for accessibility, but in case you need to do it) – Wonder PDF Embed (plugin ; tutorial)
  • Put a Password on your Site (not necessary if you just want to password protect individual page(s) – Password Protected (plugin)

Recommended WordPress Themes

Tutorial on how to add and install themes (from Reclaim Hosting)

  • Twenty Fifteen – Simple theme with a left menu (available on the Commons)

Resources about MSU Commons

Getting A Domain Name

Finding Images

Managing Sites in MSU Domains

Writing a Bio page