How to Modify Online Content in a WordPress Page

While commonly considered relatively easy to do, for many people modifying WordPress content is a new experience requiring some basic orientation.

As these things go, however, the learning curve is relatively short. The interface by which you enter text is very similar to MS Word, allowing for basic functions like bold, italics, fonts, font-size, and insertion of images. That's not to say there aren't bits and pieces that require some finesse, but if you can handle MS Word, the vast majority of what you'll want to do is relatively easy.

With that being said, the hardest part is probably logging in and navigating the WordPress menu system. The login is done like most logins are, by entering your username and password.

Navigate to the login screen

1. Enter the URL of the website, followed by /wp-admin like www.mywebsite.com/wp-admin and hit .
2. If presented with options to utilize Facebook or Google to log in, it is possible to use these logins to administer the site, if you've been set up to do so. Otherwise, click the link to log in using your username and password.
3. Enter your credentials as given by the site administrator.
4. You'll arrive at a dashboard, showing something like this in the upper left corner:
   
   
   
   
5. Most often when updating existing content, you'll modify a page. Click on the Pages menu item to see a list of the existing pages on the site:
   
   
   
   
6. Choose the Edit option for the page you want to modify. Note that in this example, the page we're choosing to edit is called WordPress Content Management. The options to Edit, Quick Edit, Trash, and View appear when you hover below the page name.
   
   
   
   
7. When you click Edit, you'll be taken to the page where you can make changes to the content. Note there are two modes available for editing. You can either edit the page in an editor that works much like MS Word, titled Visual or you can choose the mode that shows the underlying code, titled Text. WordPress intends these modes to be compatible and for you to be able to move between them readily, though many users never leave Visual mode.
   
   
   
   
8. To add a picture you've uploaded to the Media Library, click the Add Media button, and select the image you want to insert. The image will be placed where your cursor is.
9. When your edits seem satisfactory, you can see the how the page will actually look by clicking the Update button, then the View page link. (It takes several seconds for a page to update. Be sure to watch your browser loading indicators to know when the process is done.) Note your changes will be lost if you leave the page without updating it.

These are the basics of editing simple pages. More complex content may involve a variety of activities, including using Plugins, image modifications, and coding.

If you want to work on a page without affecting the live website, you can copy the page to a working copy and make your edits there.