How do I create a new site on wordpress.ncsu.edu?
First, you need to create an account on wordpress.ncsu.edu. To do that, go to the Request Account page and fill in the required information. Once your account has been created you should receive an email with a link to the “Request a Site” page.
How do I log in to my site?
When you request your site it should be created right away, and will be available at the domain you selected, yourdomain.wordpress.ncsu.edu. You will be able to login to the WordPress Admin Panel at the same time. When you come back in the future you can login to your WordPress Admin Panel by going to yourdomain.wordpress.ncsu.edu/wp-admin. This link will ask you to authenticate with your Unity ID and password via the NC State WRAP system or, if you’re already logged in with WRAP, it will redirect you to your Admin Panel Dashboard.
Can I use a domain that I own and put a WordPress site there?
Yup. Our Hosted WordPress solution will allow us to setup a WordPress site quickly and coordinate your domain to resolve to that site. If you’d like to learn more about this service, check out the Hosted WordPress page. You can also go ahead and sign up through the Web Registry Service.
How do I change the theme?
In the WordPress Admin Panel look under Appearance. There you will see a menu for Themes. WordPress.ncsu.edu limits the number of themes you have access to, though many of them can be customized quite extensively. Check out the Appearance menu, and use the Theme Options and Header pages to customize your site to meet your needs.
What are the guidelines for using this service?
Common sense. Oh ok, and University Policy. Also, we reseve the right to deny or remove a domain that is inappropriate, offensive, or conflicts with another unit on campus. Please don’t abuse this service.
Can I embed video and audio files in WordPress?
Yup. WordPress doesn’t even need embed code. Many popular applications only require the URL to the file(s) you want to embed. You can learn more and see a list of the sites that WordPress supports on the WordPress Embeds page.
What is the difference between Posts vs. Pages in WordPress?
Posts are entries listed in reverse chronological order on the blog home page or on the posts page if you have set one in Settings → Reading. If you have created any sticky posts, those will appear before the other posts. Posts can be found in the Archives, Categories, Recent Posts, and other widgets. Posts are also displayed in the RSS feed of the blog. You can control how many posts are displayed at a time in the Reading Settings. If you want your posts to appear on a page other than your home page, set your Home page as static front page in Settings → Reading.
Pages are static and are not listed by date. Pages do not use tags or categories. An About page is the classic example. Pages can be displayed in the sidebar using the Pages widget, and some themes display pages in tabs at the top of the blog. If you have 50 pages and you use the Pages widget, then all pages will be listed all the time.
There is no limit on the number of posts or pages you can have.
What is the difference between user roles in WordPress?
| Role | Capability | Use |
| Administrator | Can edit site appearance, manage users and privacy settings, and write posts and pages | Faculty who create sites automatically become administrators of those sites. Students who create subsites will automatically become administrators of that site. |
| Editors | Can create, edit and publish pages and posts | Students who need to be able to edit WordPress Pages (in addition to Posts) can be made Editors of sites by changing their roles using Toolkits. |
| Authors | Can create and publish posts, but not access or edit pages | Students are automatically added to sites as Authors – allowing them to write and publish posts as well as comment on other posts. They also have access to pages created by the instructor – but cannot edit those pages. |
| Contributors | Can create and edit posts, but not publish them | For those contributing to the site that might need proofreading or approval. Requires an admin or editor to publish. |
| Subscribers | Can access a private blog and write comments | If the site is private, non-Duke guests will need to be subscribers to see any of the content. Also a useful role for commentors and other site guests. |