And find it, I did.  I pointed her to FT Signature Manager.  She thanked me for the link and set off on her merry way to give the installation a go.  She got the plugin installed, but couldn’t figure out how to configure it.  I figured that it was just a case of the WordPress 2.7 branch’s backend being so drastically different than previous iterations.  So, I tried to explain to her where to go to configure the plugin.  After she couldn’t find the options, I decided to install it myself and walk her through it.  (Aren’t I sweet?)

What I found was that it took me a few minutes to figure out how to set this thing up too, but we eventually nailed it down.  I gave Jamie the information, and she added her signature to her blog.  A couple of her readers commented that it was pretty neat and that they would like to do the same.  With that, I decided I would write up a detailed tutorial (complete with screenshots) walking users through installing and configuring this signature plugin.  So, without further adieu, I present to you the tutorial…

Your Golden Ticket

These directions assume that you are using WordPress 2.7.x.  If you are using an earlier version of WordPress, I assume that you know how to manually install plugins for WordPress, and you should start this tutorial at step 3.

1. Getting Started

The first thing you’re going to want to do is install FT Signature Manager, and you might as well take advantage of WordPress’s new built-in, plugin installer.  After you have logged into your WordPress Admin panel, scan the sidebar for “Plugins” and expand it if it already isn’t.  Then click on Add New.

Slick New Plugin Installer Built Into WordPress

2. Find the Plugin

After the Add New plugin page has loaded, you will have the option to search WordPress for plugins.  By default the search criteria is set to “term.”  Leave that as is and type in “ft signature” before clicking on the search button.

Perform a search for: ft signature.

3. Install the Plugin

The search results should find and return the plugin “FT Signature Manager.” Simply click on the text link reading, “Install” to proceed.

With FT Signature Manager in toe, click Install

4. Confirm Plugin is Activated

After confirming that you wish to install the plugin, it should already be activated, but you should confirm this by checking Plugins > Installed to be sure.  If it doesn’t show up in the activated list, you may activate it here the same way you would any other plugin by clicking the “Activate” link.

Plugin activated? Check!

5a. Setup that Signature

Now that the plugin has been installed and activated, we need to let WordPress know whether or not the default behavior is to show the signature every time (When you make a new post, you have the option to turn the signature on or off from within the posting screen.  You will find that option near the bottom of the posting screen labeled Signature Options.) or not. And of course, you get to set your desired signature up (using HTML) complete with text, images, or whatever you want.  Access the signature configurator by clicking on Users > Signature Options in the sidebar.

If you do not see Signature Options, you may need to expand the menu by clicking on the drop-down arrow to the right of Users.

5b. Signature Setup Continued

Determine what you want your signature to read (text) or show (image), and input the HTML into the text box.  Note that if you wish to use a multiple line signature, you will need to manually create the line breaks using the BR tag as shown below.  When you have your signature’s text/image HTML entered, you can click on the Update button to not only activate your signature, but to also gain a preview of what your signature is going to look like on-screen.

Enter Signature HTML and Click Update

6. Post Away

At this point, your signature is setup and ready to roll.  All that’s left now is to test it out by making a post and seeing your signature in action.  Keep in mind that even if you set the default behavior to always on, this plugin will only add your signature to posts made AFTER installation and configuration.  It will NOT automatically append your signature to your prior posts, although you can go back and add it yourself, if you feel so inclined.

Thanks — I hope this helps some of you!

Note: You can actually see the results of this plugin directly below.  Notice how the signature previewed in the image above is now shown below this post.