If you would like to blog about your experiences of buying a new build home, then you can get your own blog here. It will take us a day or so to set it up, so please bear with us.

This is a really cool feature of this site, well I think so anyway. The first thing you need to do is to write a post and it to a category that you may need to add called Featured.

You then need to find a suitable photograph. The photo needs to be cropped to a specific size. It should be no more than 325px wide and exactly 220px tall. If you have problems with this mail it to me and I can crop and resize it for you.

Now upload your picture using the standard WordPress image upload function on the Write Post page; just below your Publish button. Once your photo is uploaded, you’ll need the file path for the photo’s location. This will look something like this:

http://newhomeblogs.co.uk/weblog7/files/2008/03/house.jpg

You can get this by clicking on the Edit link next to the filename after the image is uploaded. This will reveal the URL, which you need to copy. I will add screenshots later, but if you are lost drop me a line and I will do it for you.

You are nearly done, well done if you have made it this far.

Scroll to the bottom of your Write Post page, you’ll see an area near the bottom called “Custom Fields.” (You may have to click on the white + sign to the far right to expand the custom fields area).  In the field marked “Key,” you’ll need to enter: home_feature_photo. In the field marked “Value,” you’ll need to enter the file path for your image. Then just click the “Add Custom Field” button. Finally, continue with your post, and when you’re ready, click the Publish button.

Your image will appear in 2 places. First, it will appear in the Featured Articles box (for that article) on your home page. And it will also appear on the single post page for that article; aligned to the right of the content. See this Redrow Homes post for an example.

If you choose not to enter a photo for one or more of your featured articles, the theme will function properly without it; it just won’t look as nice.

This is a quick start quide for bloggers on New Home Blogs.

1. Visit this link to get a blog. (Choose a blog name carefully as this cannot be changed. It is a good idea to use the name of your housebuilder as this will help your blog rank well in Google and the other search engines. The title can be changed at anytime)

2. Once you have activated your blog and logged in, you will need to write something. Click on “Manage” then click on “Manage Pages” and edit the “About” page. Once you have finished click on publish. You don’t need to worry about pages again unless you really want to get stuck into blogging.

3. Now for your first post, but first you will need to delete the default post first. Click on “Manage” then click on “Manage Posts” and click on the”delete” link. Next you need to go to”Write” on the main menu and click on “Post”. This is where you will spend most of your time. Just give your post a title, write the content, add a tag, choose a category (This is important as the categories are used in the menus on your site) and finally hit the “Publish” button. Well done you have just written your first blog post!

4. More coming soon.