Adding Media to Your WordPress Blog

Spicing up your blog with some pictures, videos, music and links to outside sources. (if you just can’t wait, scroll down the music lover’s bonus!)

Yes, you have many options to add media to your blog. You need to familiarize yourself with this portion of your Edit Post screen.

• A. Adding an image (ie. image above)
• B.  Adding video(s)
• C. Adding audio
• D. Adding media (i.e. pdfs)

Selecting any one of these options will pop up the same screen, giving you the option to upload files:

Your screen will look slightly different if you have not already added images to your image gallery. Within this screen, you can upload images from your computer, WordPress gallery, WP library or add a link to a site.

Please note the file types that are allowed and that they are for static images only.

• E. Adding polls

Clicking on this icon will bring up another screen

Adding Polls

You won’t see this list when you click on the icon, because these are polls I created.

You cannot upload video, audio files or music without the space upgrade. If you don’t believe me, click here to get word from the WP powers that be. I’ve tried every which way to fool the system. While I couldn’t I found some interesting resources like free online streaming music (really) as well as audio and video conversion programs you might need.

Your free WordPress blog comes with 3 gigs of space. Space upgrades give you up to 25 gigs more space and allow for adding videos and music.

Here is the information on upgrades. If you’d like to go straight to that page for your upgrade, click here.

Upgrade Pricing

This pricing is accurate as of today, whatever day that is.

Don’t bother trying to get around it. I already tried…Now if I don’t change the subject, I’ll never finish this darn post.

MUSIC LOVER’S BONUS:

Let this page not be a total waste for you.. here for your your listening pleasure are a few links for you.

For the hopeless romantics, this one is merely a link to an outside page:

Thank You Stars by Katie Melua

Now, send this link to someone you love and be on your way spreading joy throughout the land! Stop by tomorrow (or the next) for a follow up post about audio conversion software, something equally as heady or some plain ol’ links to some great tunes! Toodles.

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Count the bytes, not the calories!

tips for reducing the size of files you upload to your site.

When posting images on your blog or your website, keep the file size down. The larger the file size, the longer it will take for your site to upload. People will get frustrated and you might lose a customer. This information is brought you on a NTKB*.

On a very basic level, you need to consider TWO things: file size and image resolution. There are others, but for the purpose of this discussion, you will only need to know these.

File Sizes:

(click below for more info…only if your brain has free storage capacity OR you aren’t looking for an excuse to take a nap, otherwise, don’t bother)

• byte (bytes): unit of storage information
  
• kilobyte (KB or kb): 1,000 bytes
• megabyte (MG or mg): 1,000 kilobytes (i.e. 1,205 kb= 1.2 mg – old math…carry the decimal point)

Here are some other useful terms you need to know if you are going to continue working on the web

Images:

• Vector images (lines, flat solid shapes with no dimension)
  

• Half tone images (photographs or anything that depicts form or suggests dimension with use of light and shadows. Those tones, shadows and gradations of color and light will be transformed into dots, also known as pixels)

Resolution

When someone asks you what the resolution is, they are referring to DPI (Dots Per Inch). You can change the resolution of a photograph in Photoshop a few different ways (see graphics below).

Image Formats:

GIF supports vector based graphics, animated icons as well as transparent backgrounds

JPG (or JPEG) typically used for photographs and supports millions of colors. It maintains the integrity of an image during compression or file size reduction.

PNG (pronounced PING) is widely used online and can often give you more clarity and depth of color than a GIF, but does not support animation.

Here are some examples of how you can change the file size of your image in Photoshop CS3:

Changing the Image size in Photoshop

Selecting this method will give you another menu box. Now remember that the resolution refers to the dots per inch. The best resolution for photograph in print ( is 300, while an online photo (depending on the detail can be 150, but generally speaking you will find graphics on the web to be 72 dpi). Always check the resolution and file size of your images before posting on your site.

If you have a photograph or image that is still several megabytes in size, you can reduce the file size by selecting the Save for the Web & Devices option:

By choosing this option you will be given a new menu box with a default setting showing you 2 optimized versions of  of your image. You can also select whether you would like your new version to be saved as a jpg, gif or png file.

I hope these tips have been useful.

* NOTE: KTKB means Need to Know Basis