Don’t you just love WordPress? It’s so easy to use! Just log into your account, type in your blog post, press Publish, and voilà!
In most cases, you probably like to prepare your drafts in Word or another program first, but if you’ve ever copied and pasted your post into WordPress, you might have discovered that your fonts aren’t consistent from one post to another. Some posts may display larger, some smaller, and some in a different type face altogether. As a result, your blog may look untidy or even unprofessional. This problem can be avoided by following one simple step which is not obvious when you first begin using WordPress.
When you press Ctrl-V or right-click on Paste, in addition to your content, you paste the unseen code that controls the font. In other words, if you copy from a Word document which was typed using Arial 12, your blog post will appear in Arial 12, even though your style sheet calls for something else. To maintain any special formatting you’ve used, such as links, bolding, centering, and so on, without bringing over the font style, you should use the Paste from Word button. If you want to scrap all formatting and copy only the text, use the Paste as Text button. Click on the graphic if you need help locating these buttons.
If the second row of buttons doesn’t appear on your screen, you need to click on the Kitchen Sink button which appears at the end of the top row. You’ll see that in addition to Paste from Word and Paste as Text, this feature brings up a number of formatting tools you may find useful, including underlining and indenting.
Even if you don’t use WordPress, you may have a Paste from Word option, so be sure to use it when appropriate.
Having a consistent look throughout your blog gives it a more professional look and makes it easier to read, increasing the likelihood that visitors will want to return and recommend it to others.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS!
I do my blogs/articles in a plain text editor then post them into WP then do the formatting (because I prefer it that way)
I didn’t know WP had a paste from word or paste as text function. Now I can tell all my friends who use Word to read this blog post!
What a very helpful simple tip. I wish I’d know this when I first started using WordPress. I had those very formatting problems from trying to cut and paste text from MSWord. But the solution I eventually found was to download and use the free blog writing software, Windows Live Writer. It also includes other features that I haven’t fully explored yet, but it was worth finding, for the formatting problem alone. Here’s the link for those who may want to download it and give it a try:
http://windowslivewriter.spaces.live.com/
It’s always good to know more than one option.
I find even the Paste As functions don’t work the way I want them to. So I always copy to a text editor, paste it into WP in HTML mode, then format in Visual. It might take longer, but I get exactly what I want.
Jacki, I’m glad this was helpful.
Denise, thanks for sharing the link. I’ve heard of Windows Live Writer but was under the impression it was another blogging platform. It is definitely worth exploring.
Alex, I can see that working for text formatting such as bolding, but what about embedded links? Isn’t it a bother to add them later?
Hmm – I’ve never even considered writing in Word first, rather than writing directly into Blogger (my normal platform) or Wordpress (when using a Wordpress site).
But this is still good information, and I know people it will help!
Jeri, the trouble with drafting posts online is that you may lose your work if your connection drops (unless of course you remember to save often…) But I see that your posts have more pictures than text (which I love, by the way) so it probably wouldn’t make sense to do it the way I describe here.
Adding them is a breeze – because I include the link text in the article then just cut it out once I’ve pasted it in and then do a link.
Not that I’m a promoter for Windows Live Writer, but it does make the handling of photos, hyperlinks, and other features very easy. When you provide the url for your blog, you can preview the text and layout in the theme of your blog. I need to go back and check out its other features (I scanned through them when I checked out the link I provided, and noticed some neat things that I was unaware of). Once you’ve become fairly comfortable with your blog writing method of choice (but before you get into a deep rut), it’s good idea to revisit tutorials or search through menus to find more complex features that you can use. This posting, and its subsequent discussion is a good reminder to keep learning new tricks.
Denise and Alex, this is one of the reasons I love blogging – I can learn so much from my readers!
I love ScribeFire. I can keep notes for future posts, write and format posts, upload pictures, and then post right to my blog – all from within ScribeFire. It’s an online app, but it automatically saves – often
Thanks, Melodee – that sounds like another great resource. I wish I had more time to explore all these tools!
Janet,
You know the agony I went through in posting a recent article to my blog, but your advice then, and this blog post (which I am now only getting a chance to read), saved me.
Thanks very much for your generosity in sharing!
Daisy
Daisy, I’m glad it was helpful, and sorry I didn’t think to mention it to you sooner.