Normally editing your footer is something you’d handle under Appearance > Customize, but on some S&T Sites templates the footer is in a different location. It’s still easy to edit, but just a little less intuitive to find!

Step 1: Access Your WordPress Dashboard

Start by logging into your WordPress site. You may need to select the site you want to edit in the upper left-hand corner once you’ve logged in. Once login is complete and you’ve selected a site (if applicable) you’ll be on your Dashboard, which is like the control center of your website. The left-hand side will show a variety of options.

Step 2: Navigate to Reusable Blocks

In the left-hand menu, you’ll see an option labeled Reusable Blocks. Click on this, and you’ll be taken to a listing much like your Posts and Pages listing. You can turn any block you work on in your editor into a reusable block, which is then kept here for later editing and will affect everywhere it shows up. Your site’s footer may be one of these reusable blocks. Look for one called Footer.

You may have noticed that your site came with some pre-filled menu options, but it’s not immediately obvious where to edit them since the editor only handles Posts and Pages. Once you know where the option is, it’s actually quite easy!

Step 1: Access Your WordPress Dashboard

Start by logging into your WordPress site. You may need to select the site you want to edit in the upper left-hand corner once you’ve logged in. Once login is complete and you’ve selected a site (if applicable) you’ll be on your Dashboard, which is like the control center of your website. The left-hand side will show a variety of options. For menu modifications, you’ll want to hover over Appearance.

Step 2: Navigate to Menus

Under the Appearance flyout, you’ll see an option labeled Menus. Click on this, and you’ll be taken to the menu editing interface. Here you’ll see a dropdown list with your site’s menus (if any have been created). Select the one you wish to edit, or create a new one by clicking on “create a new menu.”

Step 3: Add or Remove Items

Once you’re in the specific menu you wish to edit, you can easily add or remove items.

• To Add: On the left side of the screen, you’ll see a box labeled “Add menu items.” Here you can choose from pages, posts, custom links, or categories. Select the items you want to add by checking the boxes next to them, then click on “Add to Menu.”
• To Remove: If you need to remove items, simply find them in your menu structure on the right side of the screen. Click the dropdown arrow next to the item name, then select “Remove.”

Step 4: Reorder Menu Items

WordPress also lets you reorder your menu items with a simple drag-and-drop function. Simply click on a menu item and, holding the mouse button down, drag it to its desired location in the menu structure.

Step 5: Save Your Changes

Once you’re satisfied with your edits, remember to click the “Save Menu” button at the top or bottom of the page. This will save your changes and instantly apply them to your live site.

Step 6: Assigning Your Menu

If you’ve created a new menu, don’t forget to assign it to a location on your site. In the “Menu Settings” section, check the location where you want your new menu to appear, such as “Primary Menu.”

And there you have it! By following these steps, you can control the navigation of your WordPress site, tailoring it to your needs and ensuring your visitors can find exactly what they’re looking for.

Who benefits?

The first thing to keep in mind when using the WordPress media library is that almost all online directory structures are totally opaque to the user visiting your site. They’re just clicking a link, and if they’re on a mobile device (and about 60% are), it’s very unlikely they’ll even see the URL structure much less use it for navigation. Your users are expecting to navigate to your files using links, and are far more focused on how those links are organized on the page than the underlying URL structure of where those links go.

That’s certainly not to say file organization isn’t important, though! Having cleanly organized files makes it easier for you as an author to manage your content.

Where WordPress shines

The WordPress media library is great at providing quick and easy storage for assets you’re using inline in your pages, especially images.

When you build any page feature requiring images, the image you choose is automatically stored in the media library. You don’t need to know where it is in a technical sense since it’s just a one-time use, inline piece of media. WordPress removes the decision-making, stores it in an appropriate spot, and links it into the page accordingly.

This is also the case for simple, static documents that aren’t part of a larger series and that you don’t expect to change. WordPress is great at letting you insert media to the page as you edit without breaking your workflow. Just upload as you go and it will place it somewhere functional and handle all the details.

Ideally, you should never need to dive into the media library at all unless you’re collecting images you’ve already used elsewhere for something like a slideshow. But what if your collection of media is extensive and requires more organization?

Why not WordPress?

WordPress doesn’t come with extensive file management capabilities because there are already excellent file management solutions online. Chasing feature parity would dramatically increase WordPress’s scope without offering anything the author didn’t already have access to.

At S&T you have Microsoft OneDrive, for example, which allows you to store terabytes of data, drag and drop folders, set individual folder and file permissions, restrict viewing to specific people or teams within your organization, or share files publicly. It even lets you edit and track versions of a huge range of files in-place after you’ve uploaded them. Even if WordPress’s media library was relatively feature-rich, it still couldn’t compete.

Next, consider that most media is now hosted on an external service and not served directly by small, individual websites. Video creators, for example, would already be hosting their videos on a service like YouTube or Vimeo, and would not duplicate those files to their personal website. They may organize links to those videos or embed them in a page, but the video files themselves would be external. You may have research papers you want on your website; however, those papers likely already exist in Scholars’ Mine and it would be better to link to the canonical source.

Options for higher-powered file management

If you have a large, structured collection of documents, you should likely consider using a service that’s dedicated to hosting those. Instead of uploading the files to WordPress, link to them from WordPress.

At S&T your options are:

• Microsoft OneDrive
• Office365
• Google Drive

You might also have linkable content in one of these services:

• Scholars’ Mine
• GitLab
• Panopto

Making the most of WordPress file management

If you don’t want to use an external service, there are still ways to improve your file management experience within WordPress. Try these tips:

1. Use file naming conventions
   Before uploading files, use clear and descriptive names. This will make it easier to search for specific files in your Media Library. Include keywords that are relevant to the content of the file, so you can find it easily later.
   
   
2. Use image metadata
   When you upload an image to WordPress, you have the option to fill in Title, Caption, Alt Text, and Description fields. This metadata can help you identify the content and context of the image, especially when used in combination with descriptive file names.
   
   
3. Be aware of date-based organization
   By default, WordPress organizes files in the Media Library by year and month of upload. You can use this to your advantage, especially if you regularly upload files.
   
   
4. Use the search feature
   The Media Library includes a search feature. You can find specific files by typing the name of the file or part of the name in the search bar.
   
   
5. Use bulk selection
   You can delete or work with multiple files at the same time using the bulk select feature. This can be handy if you’re decluttering.
   
   
6. Filter by file type
   You can filter your media library to show only images, audio, video, or unattached files. This can help when you’re working with a specific type of file.
   
   
7. Regularly clean your media library
   Regularly review your media library and delete unused or unneeded files. This can keep your library cleaner and make it easier to find what you need.