Information Services > Services > Voice and Digital Communications > DePaul Blogs Instructions

DePaul Blogs Instructions

​Quick Start

  1. Visit https://blogs.depaul.edu/ 
  2. For a Indiviudal Blog, click the Get a Blog button.  Or, for a Departmental Blog, click Apply Now.
  3. Log in with your BlueKey login credentials (username@depaul.edu email address and password, some sites may still just ask for the "username" portion of your email address)​
  4. Pick your Site Title.  Note: The Site Title will typically be displayed in your site’s header as well as serve as the title of your open browser tab.  Your site's title can be changed at any time by going to the Dashboard > Settings > General.
  5. Click the Create Site button.
  6. Click on site URL to see your site.  Note: If your site was not created, it is likely because there is an issue with the URL you are trying to create. An error message will appear below the field that needs to be corrected.

  • Logging In

    To log into DePaul Blogs in the future: Visit https://blogs.depaul.edu/ Click Login Here, and log in using your BlueKey login credentials (username@depaul.edu email address and password, some sites may still just ask for the "username" portion of your email address)

  • Logging Out

    Navigate to the top right hand corner of your blog and move your mouse over your username. Click Log Out.

 

Your site is managed through a “Dashboard.”  When you log in, your dashboard is visible on the left-hand side of the window.

If the dashboard is not visible and you would like to access the dashboard, hover over “My Sites” on the toolbar at the top of your site. It will provide a drop down menu where you can access your Dashboard.

  • DePaul Blogs customization menu

    DePaul Theme

    Your blog will be generated with the DePaul theme. You are unable to change the theme of your blog, but you may customize colors, header image, or background image.  In the dashboard, click Appearance > Customize.

  • DePaul Blogs color customization menu

    Customize Colors

    You can change the background color of your site and the text color of posts.  In the dashboard, click Appearance > Customize > Colors and choose text and background color.

  • DePaul Blogs header image customization menu

    Change the Header Image

    You can change the banner image at the top of the site.  Click Appearance > Customize > Header Image. You can select a different default image, or upload an image of your own.

  • DePaul Blogs customize background menu

    Add an Image to the Background

    To add an image to the background, click Appearance > Customize > Background.  Choose an image.

  • DePaul blogs save customizations button

    Save Customizations

    After making changes, remember to click the Save & Publish button to save your customization settings before you close.

Add New page button in DePaul Blogs  

Pages are typically static content that gives visitors more information on the site. Pages are different from posts in a few ways. Each page created gets a unique place on your site with a unique URL, whereas posts populate the same area of the site. Posts will only be visible on the Home page.  An About page is an example of a common static page on many sites.

To add a new page, in the dashboard click Pages > Add New. Fill in the Title and body content.

 

You can also add subpages under parent pages. A parent page is a page containing the main theme content. Subpages address specific themes from the larger set addressed from the parent page.

To create a subpage, first create a new page.  Then, under the Page Attributes section, choose a Parent page.  This new page will now be found under the selected parent page.

DePaul Blogs post menu
Blog posts are featured on the homepage of your site.  To add a new post go to Posts > Add New. This will take you to the page where you will create your post. You should select a title, add content in the post field using the rich text editor, add a category and/or tags, and publish.

 

One of the many features of a blog is the ability to categorize your posts based on the concepts of “Categories and Tags.” 

Categories are broad groupings of post types. For example, if you are blogging about your study abroad experience, you might categorize  all of these posts as “study abroad”.

Tags are more specific to the content of the post.  So if you wrote a specific post about trying new foods while studying abroad in Spain, you could tag the post as "Spain", "Europe", and "food".   

Categories are useful on your blog when readers visit and want to view similar posts. Tags are useful to find specific posts and for searching on DePaul Blogs.

You may want to include an image, audio file, or video in your post. If so, there are two ways to add media on your site:

  • Add Media Directly to Post

    You can directly embed the media while creating a new post by clicking the Add Media button when creating a post.  Add New Post>Add Media>Select Files.

  • Add Media to Media Library

    You can also add media to your Media Library for later use. In your dashboard click Media>Library>Add New. Here you can manage your media by changing the title, description, and deleting it.

DePaul Blots editing and deleting a post

To Edit a Post: You may edit your post by going to Dashboard > Posts.  Hover over the name of the post you would like to edit.  Click the  Edit link wich will appear directly underneath the title of the post.

To Delete a Post:  You may delete your post by going to Dashboard > Posts.  To delete a post, hover over the name of the post you would like to delete.  Click the Trash link which will appear directly underneath the title of the post.

To read the DePaul Blogs terms of use, please visit https://blogs.depaul.edu/terms-of-service/

Departments require certain permissions before they are allowed to set up a blog. Please fill out a Departmental Blogs Request Form to begin the application process.

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