Speakers Bureau

[vangogh]

Frederick read the comment at the end of my post above. I don't think you're going to be able to add the link the way you want using WordPress.com. You're going to need a self hosted WordPress install. What you're trying to do kind of goes against user expectations of what a menu is. It depends on where you're trying to add it, but I think it may not be possible where you're trying.

The http:// addition is necessary for external links so WP adds it. Your email should work with http anyway so I'm not sure why it would be a problem.

[Spider]

The mailto link was accepted into the menu without the http piece being added back but it converted my ascii code into characters thereby destroying my anti-spam device. So, I have removed the contact link from the menu.

See. This is the bit that I find frustrating. They (and others) have this great gizmo, then change what you input. Now that didn't happen by itself - they must have gone to the trouble of adding some code to their app. to do that. Why? What do they gain by preventing us from entering things in a certain way?

And I have just wasted some more time.

Okay. On to the next item

[Harold Mansfield]

The mailto link was accepted into the menu without the http piece being added back but it converted my ascii code into characters thereby destroying my anti-spam device. So, I have removed the contact link from the menu.

See. This is the bit that I find frustrating. They (and others) have this great gizmo, then change what you input. Now that didn't happen by itself - they must have gone to the trouble of adding some code to their app. to do that. Why? What do they gain by preventing us from entering things in a certain way?

And I have just wasted some more time.

Okay. On to the next item

You have to remember that you are not on your own server or on your own computer. You are using a free service and most free hosted platforms have restrictions on adding any code other than links. So any outside code will not be allowed. To have that type of control you would need self hosted Wordpress.

Since Wordpress.com doesn't allow any monetization there is probably a block on anything outside of basic HTML.
I assumed that they free version would be for testing and getting familiar with the system.

I didn't think you would use it for a real website. For that I would have recommended against it and helped you install your own platform.

[billbenson]

Some of those types of things are done for security reasons, Frederick. Security is a downside of using a popular program like this. People will be more likely to try to hack it, so they try to prevent that.

[Spider]

I guess so. Not to worry. Toastmasters is a charity, will not be paying for anything, and as what I'm doing for them is a charitable contribution, the free version serves well. I presume the free version is less complicated than the paid version, so that fits the need, too.

Who knows, maybe I'll go to the self-hosted version later.

[Harold Mansfield]

I guess so. Not to worry. Toastmasters is a charity, will not be paying for anything, and as what I'm doing for them is a charitable contribution, the free version serves well. I presume the free version is less complicated than the paid version, so that fits the need, too.

Who knows, maybe I'll go to the self-hosted version later.

Just to be clear. Self Hosted Wordpress is also free.You just need your own hosting to run it on. You can get hosting at Go daddy as cheap as $7 a month.

[vangogh]

You might also be able to host it under your own site for no additional cost. If your host offers add on domains in your account then you set up the Toastmasters site as an add on domain and not pay anything extra. The add on domain gets created as a directory inside the root directory of your main account (probably a folder named public_html or httdocs, where your current site lives). Through your hosting control panel you set up redirection so the Toastmasters domain points to that new directory and you point the nameservers for the domain to the same nameservers as your current site.

Nothing difficult, though a few tricky steps if you're unfamiliar with the above. The end result s you host both sites under the same hosting account at no additional cost. As long as neither site is too demanding of the server there shouldn't be any issues.

[Spider]

Thank you, guys, for your technological encouragement. Simplicity rules, though, and WP-hosted WP is doing all I need (and probably a lot more than I need) at this time. I can see no advantage in taking on the complexity you propose. I'm sure I could handle it, especially with your guidance, but see no gain in being more advanced in this venture. I can look at self-hosting for the next project.