What is WordPress?
WordPress.com is an online blogging tool that allows you to create a blog website without any technical knowledge. No software needs to be downloaded and you don’t need to arrange servers – WordPress.com handles all the basic hosting and design options for free. It is also possible to pay for premium features, which provide extensive options suitable for more advanced users.
If you’re looking for something simple, the free options on WordPress.com will be all you need. If later you decide to take on more advanced options, you can transfer your blog to a self-hosted WordPress.org, which gives you maximum control over your site.
Why use WordPress in your workplace?
WordPress fosters an interactive, discussion-based community. Reciprocal linking, guest posting and mutually beneficial feedback mean that WordPress users are very likely to promote and encourage each other’s work.
Although it’s often difficult to begin this cycle, the sheer number of immensely successful WordPress blogs proves that it does happen. You can see the old adage “you get out what you put in” yourself by browsing the “freshly pressed” posts on the site. The community aspect of WordPress is further enabled by certain settings and features, such as the ability to have multiple users with degrees of control ranging from fully authorised administrators to editors, contributors and followers.
The features and benefits are not just social in nature, though. WordPress can provide you with a wealth of meaningful data about how your site is viewed. For instance, you can literally get a global sense of your readership by viewing a map of the geographical locations from which your site is accessed. You can identify your most popular posts, the search terms used by visitors to reach you, and a detailed timeline of how many people are visiting and when. All this information helps you capitalise on what’s working best.
WordPress Tips
Now that you know what WordPress is, here are some ways you can get the most out of it:
● Don’t rush into buying premium themes or features. It’s better to learn what your site really needs before committing to investments early on.
● Keep it simple to begin with. It’s possible to look at the advanced features, but if you’re not ready for them, you’ll just scare yourself off. WordPress has a lot of beginner-friendly features and guides, and you can get very far with them.
● Stay connected with other people’s sites. You’ll not only learn about how other people are running their site, but also about the things people are doing and saying about the topics you’re interested in. Down the track, they might end up following and learning from you!
Ready to take the next step and create a WordPress account? Here’s our Getting started with WordPress tutorial to assist you.
Social Media at Work 