Blog Tool and Features
What is a blog?
A blog is an online forum where individuals or groups can maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. A blog features diary-type commentary and links to articles on other websites, usually presented as a list of entries in reverse chronological order. Blogs range from the personal to the political, and can focus on one narrow subject or a whole range of subjects.
Miami University recommends using WordPress for blogging. WordPress is an open source, web-based system that can be accessed from anywhere. Blogs will only be approved for University related requests. Blog requests of a personal nature or unrelated to the University will be directed to WordPress.com.
Deleting WordPress Blogs
UCM will review, annually during Summer or Winter, blogs that have not been used for the past 12 months. We will then contact the blog owner to determine if each blog is still needed. If the owner says no or if we are unable to contact the owner within 60 days time, UCM will then remove the unused blogs.
WordPress Plug-ins
There are a set number of plug-ins in WordPress that anyone with a WP blog can use without needing any additional approval or review. These can be accessed and turned on through the Plug-ins tab in the left navigation from your dashboard.
Requesting a New Plug-in
Follow the prompts on this page to request a new plug-in. UCM, Miami Online, AccessMU, and others will review and test the new plug-ins for the following criteria:
- Provides new functionality that is not already available
- Does not pose business legal or security risks
- Supported by WordPress and has been maintained by the developer within the past year and is not deprecated.
- Doesn’t have multiple unaddressed errors or a significant number of negative reviews.
- Meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards
Removing Plug-ins
Plug-ins are evaluated annually to see if:
- They are not being used
- They are no longer supported or compatible with WordPress
- There is a new plug-in that can replace an older one
Users will be notified when old plug-ins are scheduled for removal.
WordPress Themes
There are a set number of themes in WordPress that anyone with a WP blog can use without needing any additional approval or review. If you would like to request a new theme, follow the prompts and submit a new theme request with a link to the theme you have in mind. Themes will only be approved if they meet the following criteria:
- Provides new design and layout options that are not already available
- Does not pose business legal or security risks
- Supported by WordPress and is actively being maintained by the creator within the past year and is not deprecated.
- Doesn’t have multiple unaddressed errors or a significant number of negative reviews.
- Themes must be “Gutenberg optimized,” which means they’re compatible with WordPress’s new block editor.
- The theme meets Miami’s WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility requirements.
Blogs for official Miami University offices, departments, divisions, courses, etc. should use the official Miami University WordPress theme or change their chosen theme setting to meet minimal brand standards (Must include the official Miami logo and use official Miami brand colors).
Learn to Use WordPress
Everything you encounter in WordPress, from the documentation to the code itself, was created by and for the community. WordPress is an Open Source project; there are hundreds of people all over the world working on it. As a result, there are several ways to find help and support for WordPress.