This guide will take you through all the steps to add a point of interest (POI) to the Visit Mississippi website.
Before you get started, you’ll need to register to be a WordPress user on our website. Once your registration has been approved, you’ll be able to add draft POIs to the website. Click the button below to get started.
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Here’s a short video that takes you through the entire process of adding a POI to the Visit Mississippi website. The blocks below will give you a more detailed explanation of each step.
To enlarge the video, hover over the video player and click the “Fullscreen” button in the lower right corner.
From the WordPress dashboard, click “POIs” in the side menu then select “Add New POI.“
IMPORTANT: Do not add events to the POI listings. Events are handled separately.
IMPORTANT: Check the “Pending Review” box in the top right of the page so your POI can be reviewed by our editors after you publish.
Type your POI’s name in the “title” field in the top left of the page.
Write a short paragraph in the field below that describes the POI. Just the basic facts are all that’s needed. You’ll be adding details like address, phone, and website in the next step, so no need to include that information in the description.
Write the description from a neutral perspective (Visit Mississippi’s perspective, not the POI’s.)
Avoid the following: First person pronouns like “we” and “our.” Exclamation marks! Puffery, subjective claims, and boasts. (Mississippi’s finest pizza. You’ll love our store. Incredible service.)
Start adding your POI details by clicking “Add Row” and choosing a detail such as address, phone, email, website, or hours.
Example formatting for hours:
Monday: Closed
Tuesday–Saturday: 9 AM–5 PM
Sunday: 1–6 PM
Don’t add cost information, as admission prices can change frequently.
Start typing your POI’s address into the search bar and then select your address from the autocomplete suggestions that are provided.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to select a valid map location, or your POI will not show up in the Visit Mississippi mobile app listings.
In the right sidebar labeled “Types,” check the boxes of the categories your POI belongs to. You may choose multiple categories.
Underneath the checkboxes, there’s a “Select Primary POI Type” dropdown menu. Choose a parent category for your listing (if applicable). For example, the primary POI type for an art museum is “Arts & Culture.”
Click the gray box that reads “Set Featured Image.” On the window that pops up, click “Upload Files.”
Be sure to size your image to 1920×1080 pixels for best results. Smaller images will appear fuzzy on screen. Also, keep image file sizes under 500 KB to prevent slow page loading.
Make sure you have rights and/or permission to use the photograph.
Add “Alt Text” about the image (for visually impaired visitors) and a description.
Click the “Mark As Already Compressed” button if your image is a jpeg or png.
Click “Set Featured Image for this POI.”
Set the region for your POI. If you’re unsure, check the Visit Mississippi Regions map.
IMPORTANT: Keep the “Featured” switch set to “No.”
After you have reviewed your webpage for errors and missing information, you can preview it by clicking the “Preview” button. When you’re satisfied with your POI’s listing, click “Publish.”
Your POI will be saved as a draft and, once approved, it will be added to the Visit Mississippi website’s live POI listings. Listings may take 24 hours after approval before appearing on the mobile app.