How to Upload and Link to a PDF

Original Title: How to Upload and Link to a PDF, Microsoft Word, Excel or Other Document Using WordPress

Here is how to upload a file like a PDF or Microsoft Word or Excel document to your website using WordPress and then create a link to that file. When you are finished, you will have a link that site visitors can click to download the document.

You may also like the video version of this tutorial on the McBuzz Business Blogging 101 website: How to Upload and Link to a PDF or Other Document Using WordPress.

1. In the WordPress Dashboard, start a new Post or Page or open an existing one. Find the Upload tab. Click on it if it is not selected as shown above.

2. Click on the Browse… button. Find the file you want to upload and select it.

3. The file name and address are now in the File window. Be sure to give your document a descriptive Title. Use an upper case letter for the first letter of each word in the Title. The Title of the PDF document in this example is “Building the Value Driven PMO”, so this should go where it says “Give Your Document a Descriptive Title” above.

The Description is optional. Use this if you have a lot of documents so that you can tell them apart. The document Title will be read by search engines, so it is important to put something in there, preferrably containing keywords.

4. Click Upload.

6. Here is what you will see after clicking Upload. Now click on Edit.

7. Next you need to copy the URL for the document that you just uploaded.

8. Click inside the URL window and drag to select the entire URL. Or, better yet, click inside the URL window and then hold down the CTRL key on your PC keyboard (the “Apple”/Command key on a Mac) and press the “A” key to Select All. This way you will be sure to select the whole URL. Next, hold down the CTRL key (the “Apple”/Command key on a Mac) and press the “C” key to Copy the URL.

9. Click Save.

10. In the Visual Editing window, use your cursor to highlight the text you want to make into a link.

11. Click on the “Chain Link” icon (indicated by the green arrow).

12. Paste the URL that you just copied into the Link URL window.

Select a Target. This works for PDF documents. I usually like to have PDFs open in a different browser window, but there is no rule for this. Microsoft Word documents will always download to your computer rather than open in your web browser.

Add a Title. This can be the same as the Title you entered when you uploaded the document. The link Title text is different from the Title text for the document or for uploaded images. The two titles appear in different places in the HTML code for your web page. Bottom line: it’s important to fill in both Titles.

13. Click Update.

14. Be sure to click Save.

15. The new link is finished. Be sure to test it.