Discovering Global and Page/Post Specific Settings

By now, you've discovered that plugins can vary widely in scope, location, and configuration. Some plugins have settings that affect your entire WordPress site; others have settings that apply only to individual blog posts or Web pages.

Here is an example of the steps you would take to modify the settings or configurations using a plugin called Maintenance Mode (http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/maintenance-mode). This plugin gives you the ability to display an “Under Construction” message on your WordPress site, and is a perfect example of using global settings.

Refer to Chapter 2 in this minibook for instructions on how to install a plugin on your WordPress Web site; using those instructions, install and activate the Maintenance Mode plugin. When installed, a Maintenance Mode link appears in the Settings menu on the Dashboard; click that link to load the plugin settings page for the Maintenance Mode plugin, as shown in Figure 3-1. On the Maintenance Mode settings page, you can alter the title and message that displays on your site within the Title and Message text fields.

Figure 3-1: The Maintenance Mode plugin settings page.

When visitors view your WordPress site, they see a customized message letting them know that your site is under construction, an example of plugin settings that apply globally, or to the entire site (rather than just one post or page, in particular).