Media Temple, a company owned GoDaddy has announced that they are now offering new enterprise-level WordPress hosting plans. On its official website, GoDaddy’s company explained its new business concept with two new plans and services. The base package starts around $2,500.
The enterprise web hosting solutions would be powered by WordPress and Amazon Web Services. The company explained that they hope this new strategy would attract more enterprise businesses. [Read more…]
The owners of WordPress have scored a huge win for their blogging service. WordPress’ parent company, Automattic has acquired the .blog domain. While details are still being finalized, the company explained the deal in a recent post.
“Automattic — the parent company of WordPress.com — secured the rights to oversee and operate the sale and registration of .blog domains, a new and never-before available top-level domain. You’ll be able to purchase a .blog domain at WordPress.com or through our partner domain name registrars. And again, the .blog domain will be available to everyone, regardless of what kind of site you have or who hosts it.” [Read more…]
A popular WordPress theme company is warning customers after several of their files and databases were compromised by a recent hacking. Templatic wrote to customers yesterday that their website was the target of a hacking attack. It appears that whoever is responsible for the hacking is now demanding a ransom from the company’s owner.
The most powerful thing about WordPress is its versatility. You can use it to create just about anything – even a user-driven content site. We’ll explain how.
There’s a reason WordPress is the leading content management system on the web – it’s powerful and versatile enough to do just about anything if you know how to use it. You could even create a site that’s entirely focused on user-driven content, like Reddit. That’s precisely what we’re going to discuss today.
See, even though WordPress can run such a site, it’s not technically designed to. We’re not going to let that stop us, of course. Instead, we’re going to forge ahead to create a user-driven site using WordPress. [Read more…]
As a blogger, social media is probably the most effective channel for reaching a larger audience. Truth be told, optimising for search engine traffic is not the easiest and cheapest thing to do, especially for new blogs. Websites take weeks to be indexed for new search terms – let alone reach page one where all the traffic is. But through social media, you can dramatically increase your blog’s visibility and get significantly quicker results. [Read more…]
Blogging is so easy, a caveman could do it! Okay, that might not be entirely true. There’s a certain amount of talent and drive needed to create a successful blog, and not everyone has it. However, it is true that starting a blog is extremely easy. So much so, that you can do it right from your personal tablet. [Read more…]
In case you missed out previous post, the resurgence of minimalist blogging platforms is a reaction to the decentralization of content as the primary focus of a website or blog.
By using the platforms mentioned in that post, you will easily see their simplistic but sophisticated layout that favors content instead of the bells and whistles featured in other robust platforms.
Of course, when we say “robust platform,” we are referring to WordPress.
An argument can be made that the alternative blogging platforms are a backlash to the bulky CMS that WordPress has become. Originally started out as a publishing platform for writers, WordPress has exploded into popularity due to the flexibility and customization that it offers webmasters, not to mention the host of free plugins and themes you can download, to help boost their site performance.
While these advantages will sway any beginning blogger to build their site using WordPress, there are also a lot of reasons why it’s better to choose another platform to build your site on.
Just to be clear, I love WordPress as the platform to build site and blogs on due to the very same reasons mentioned above. Also, this post is not contrarian just for the sake of being one. There are indeed legitimate arguments as to why WordPress as a blogging platform may not be your cup of tea.
If WordPress was the standard of blogging platform, then blogging as a writing activity is no longer about writing.
Blogging, in the strictest and purest sense, is the process writing and publishing content from your site. The main point of blogging is not to drive more subscribers to your email list, increase your social media followers, or shill for a product or service in the hopes of earning money from it.
Not that there’s anything bad about these things, but there’s a perfectly understandable reason for wanting to separate your professional life from your blogging endeavors. Besides, if you want to write for money, you can just find one from a writers job board for your financial fix.
In other words, blogging is all about communication and sharing of ideas to your audience.
That’s why WordPress is awesome because it does the reasons stated above using different plugins and applying certain marketing tactics to make it work.
Those are also the reasons why WordPress will no longer be a “blogging” platform.
If you want to blog for blogging’s sake, then you may want to try on another platform that puts the writing back in its rightful place online.
It could be difficult to stand out from the pack if you’re using WordPress as your platform.
As of writing, there are 74,652,825 sites (and counting) that run on WordPress. If you use this CMS, you will be one of the millions who will reap the benefits that come along with it.
However, this also means that you will be using the same tools that knowledgeable WordPress users will deploy on their site to achieve the feel and appearance they want.
While the chances are slim, there’s a possibility of a site that looks and feels exactly like yours.
As a blogger, you may want a platform that will let your personality and brand shine brighter. The sheer fact that over 74 million webmasters are using WordPress no longer makes you unique in the first place.
This is where the aforementioned minimalist blogging platforms come in – they allow you to make a more effective online presence through the content you produce, which is the emphasis of these sites. It is true that the design and layout offered in these platforms lend themselves to homogeneity. However, since the content remains the focus, there’s a tendency for the design to become moot at this point.
If you wish for a legitimate WordPress alternative, you can try out Joomla and Drupal, both of which are less popular CMSs capable of providing familiar features offered in WordPress, and then some. For more information on how to build your blog using either platform, check out this resource site.
Final thoughts: Blogging should never be complicated as long as you’re fully aware that the real reason to become a blogger is that you want to write and express your ideas to others. While WordPress as a blogging platform allows you to do this, it’s clear that it’s no longer the publishing tool that it once was. This is not meant to be as a bad thing, but if you want a simple and straightforward blogging platform, then you’re probably better off using other platforms out there.
More on WordPress alternatives:
We hear about cybersecurity all the time, and we know “everything” we need to do in order to make sure that we are safe from unscrupulous individuals who branch out their illegal activities online.
Or do we?
On a personal level, you might have to admit that you do not change your passwords regularly or that you use the same password across several accounts. We know what happens when hackers get into the databases of credit card companies and even gaming entities.
On a larger scale, cybersecurity is even a bigger issue.
[Read more…]
Editor’s note: This post was written by Anna, a freelance writer and researcher from the Olympia, WA area who loves to obsess about weird topics and then write about them. When she isn’t writing, she is outside on her bike and contemplating her eventual trip to graduate school.
The fast answer is no: WordPress is very much still alive and kicking.
However, just like any great leader, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and there are plenty of options giving WP a run for their money. For example, anyone who’s watched CNBC’s Restaurant Startup has probably noticed a strong push for Wix. Clearly, this competitor is dishing out big bucks to be touted on TV as the easiest free way to create a website.
However, don’t fret, hardcore WP lovers. While it’s still arguably the most popular of all blogging platforms, it’s waning. There’s still time for it to recover, but not if the brains behind it don’t tackle some of the biggest drawbacks. Even users who declare their devotion to WP have to admit there are some big bumps on the road to using it.
Here are some of the biggest cons, along with a smattering of favorite pros. [Read more…]
WordPress is not just for blogging but is a powerful platform for achieving any imaginable goal online. The business of blogging is evolving and if you do not yet have a plan of action for monetizing your blog beyond advertising, now is the time to start thinking outside the box. Start running your blog like a business offering real services and products. The accumulated content on your blog is of greater value than you could imagine and brainstorming a little with content you’ve published so far, you’ll find opportunities to create information products or showcase products in your niche of which you could even benefit from affiliate sales. 
Here are examples of 15 e-Commerce WordPress templates to get your creative juices flowing. [Read more…]
