Image by <a href=Jeff Sheldon (CC0)">

Image by Jeff Sheldon (CC0)

Make 2015 a Great Blogging Year

Did better blogging make it into your New Year’s resolutions? We’re here to help!

January 2, 2015

Ben Huberman

The beginning of a new year is an opportunity to start things afresh — why should your blog not benefit as well? Here are six things you can do to start your blogging in 2015 energized, recharged, and focused.

Explore your new dashboard

We introduced several major upgrades to the WordPress.com dashboard right before the end of last year, including updated Stats and navigation and the ability to manage and edit all your content across sites from one central hub.

Now is the perfect time to get familiar with some of these new features for a smoother blogging experience. Whether it’s from your computer, tablet, or smartphone, you can check out which posts generated the most likes and comments (and much more) on your Stats page, browse through all your posts and pages, and easily tweak your account settings, review your billing history, and visit your trophy case from My Profile.

Sign up for a blogging course

Our free Blogging U. courses are a great way to get you closer to meeting your blogging goals — whatever those might be — while being part of a supportive, engaged community.

Our next Blogging 101 course starts January 5, and is geared toward new bloggers (you can read more about it, and sign up for it, here), but throughout the year we’ll be offering courses that target different levels, and focus on topics like writing, photoblogging, and more. Be sure to follow announcements from The Daily Post to stay up to date on upcoming courses.

Spruce up your site

Bloggers who love their site’s design publish more. Make sure your site’s look matches the quality of your posts with a few easy tweaks, like switching themes (there are some gorgeous new ones in our Showcase, from our annual default theme, Twenty Fifteen, to recent favorites Editor and Plane). Or just customize your current theme to meet your needs — a few simple touches, like a custom header image or personalized image widgets, can give your site a distinct look with very little work. (Need inspiration? Check out our customization and Early Theme Adopters posts.)

Join a blogging event

Becoming active in the blogging community (or at least in a blogging community) can make all the difference between posting sporadically on a near-dormant blog and keeping yourself energized and your audience engaged. There’s so much to choose from: browse our searchable event listings to find one that’s up your alley, or share your work on our weekly photo challenges and Community Pool posts.

Feeling more adventurous? Consider attending a blogging confernece or creating your own blogging workshop.

Create an editorial calendar

Whether your vision for your blog is to publish once a month or twice a day, your chances of sticking with a regular publication pace increase if you make concrete, sustainable plans. Devoting a little time every few weeks to sketch out an editorial calendar for your blog will help you allocate time, decide on your priorities, and give you the flexibility you need in case unexpected developments keep you away from your blog for a while.

Download our mobile app

Being on the move should never prevent you from publishing a post, engaging in conversations and moderating comments, or keeping up with the latest from your favorite bloggers. With our mobile apps — available for iOS and Android — you can do all of those things wherever you are. You no longer need to wait to get back home to make your voice heard.

Happy 2015 from the entire WordPress.com team! May it be a wonderful year for you and your sites.

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78 Comments

Comments are closed.

  1. rozaliadame Jan 2nd at 4:21 pm

    Throughout last year, I tried making a schedule in which I would post on my blog and what sort of post it would be. I kept to it… mostly, but found my interest waning now and then because I also write short stories and have a specific project I’m working on. I definitely want to look into your version of an editorial calendar to see if there as aspects I can add to my own. Hopefully it can help me keep on my Blogger’s Resolution to post at least 20 times a month on my blog, while working on my short story project. =)

    Liked by 9 people

  2. Leighton Paige Jan 2nd at 4:34 pm

    Luckily the blogging course begins on the same day my last semester of senior year begins! While i’m taking virtual class human geology, i’ll definitely be doing some blogging!

    Thatfreespiritedblog.wordpress.com

    Liked by 10 people

  3. Kanika Tripathi Jan 2nd at 4:38 pm

    Happy new year to you too dear WordPress and team! You’ve been a great company to share my mind with.
    Thank you!

    Liked by 11 people

  4. fillyourownglass Jan 2nd at 4:54 pm

    Thanks to you Ben, and all of the other WordPress gurus, for the constant support, motivation, and encouragement. Here’s to a “wordy” 2015 for all of us! Best, Karen 🙂

    Liked by 6 people

  5. stvensontupas Jan 2nd at 4:58 pm

    I opt to still use the classic Stats page. I’ve been using The Columnist so I’ll check out the new themes in a while. If time permits, please visit my site: stvensonsays.wordpress.com. I hope 2015 would be a great blogging year for all of us. 😇

    Liked by 7 people

  6. tominalbion Jan 2nd at 5:20 pm

    Some good ideas here, I’m going to try the blogging events and courses. Not really a resolution but my aim is to double the traffic on my blog this year and improve the quality of my content. Happy New Year to all my fellow bloggers 🙂

    Liked by 6 people

  7. timethief Jan 2nd at 5:22 pm

    Hi Ben,
    Given the number of support forums threads providing feedback on the new dashboard, and particularly the negative feedback in one which has now reached 395 comments, https://wordpress.com/forums/topic/massive-changes-to-the-wp-interface?replies=395 I’m surprised that you are extolling the virtues of the new dashboard. Frankly, I dislike it intensely so I do not use it, and if the classic dashboard is removed then I’ll be moving to self hosting.

    Liked by 8 people

    • Ben Huberman Jan 5th at 5:36 am

      Hi timethief, thanks for sharing your input. The feedback our users leave on forum threads like the one you mention in your comment helps us immensely in making the interface better every time we update it, so we truly appreciate it.

      Liked by 3 people

  8. Loretta Jan 2nd at 5:58 pm

    I signed up for the Blogging 101 course to start on Monday, but I have not heard anything for a few days. Where and how will I know it has started?

    Liked by 3 people

  9. Dennis Jan 2nd at 6:28 pm

    People should take a look here to see what others think about the latest changes: https://wordpress.com/forums/topic/massive-changes-to-the-wp-interface?replies=395

    It seems not all people think that it is a smoother blogging experience, and it isn’t. I participated in many software betas and talking about the usability of the updates here at wordpress, there are quite a lot of issues. Apart from that it is still a riddle why you keep updating things that workes so well. The old stats page and the old dashboard and editor are superior to the new one.

    Liked by 10 people

  10. jOsh LGB Jan 2nd at 6:31 pm

    Thank you Ben and the WordPress team.

    I know, every little helps… your tips every now and then add important sparks to keep it going.

    But Ben, is there any chance you guys could add more upgrade choices in your store?

    Things like custom design to include a plug in or two. I mean, what you have there is all good… but a couple more options would be great.

    Cheers.

    Liked by 2 people

  11. vibranthealth9 Jan 2nd at 6:41 pm

    Lovely innovations. Wishing you a greatly fulfilling and wonderful year ahead.

    Liked by 2 people

  12. GolNaran Jan 2nd at 6:45 pm

    Great thanks for introducing “Community Pool”. It looks so great for me!
    But why are the comments closed?

    Liked by 2 people

  13. Old School Game Blog Jan 2nd at 6:58 pm

    Big thanks to the people behind WordPress for the great work they’ve done! I’ve been blogging for a few years now, and could not imagine doing it anywhere else than on here. So, Happy New Year guys!! 🙂

    Liked by 6 people

  14. dandelionsalad Jan 2nd at 7:05 pm

    I question the use of the word “smoothly” when the major changes to the dashboard/Stats page have been anything but smooth, not to mention the “too-blue-to-use” BBB editor, all of which I never use.

    These changes may be helpful to those using mobiles/tablets, but for us bloggers using a desktop computer with a wide screen all the scrolling makes for an unpleasant blogging experience.

    Many of the features we have been used to having have been eliminated, including the time on the “new” Stats page; no bulk edit on the “new” blog posts page; and all WP pages are too blue to use. I prefer the old administrative pages where we can choose the colors and it doesn’t remind me of Facebook.

    Happy New Year. I will continue using the old classic administrative pages and hopefully they will not be eliminated.

    Liked by 8 people

  15. gogi6666 Jan 2nd at 7:24 pm

    Many thanks for the kind support, motivation and your team’s constant updates to facilitate and enhance WordPress society’s performance.

    Have a great New Year to you all!

    Greetings from Bulgaria to all fellow bloggers as well! 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

  16. thesciencegeek Jan 2nd at 7:41 pm

    Great post, I will definitely sign up for the blogging courses.

    One other thing I thought of was as part of sprucing up your site it is definitely worth getting a custom domain. I think this gives a blog a much more professional look and it only costs around $18 per year.

    The Science Geek

    Liked by 2 people

  17. meboyes Jan 2nd at 8:09 pm

    Being new to the blogging experience, this was a great post to find! I’m excited to try your blogging class and anything else that can help me make this a great experience! Thank you!!

    The Eclectic Scribe

    Liked by 5 people

  18. impossiblebebong Jan 2nd at 8:31 pm

    When is the next writing 101 going to start?

    Liked by 2 people

  19. Rebecca Meyer Jan 2nd at 8:34 pm

    I think one of my blogging resolutions this year will be to come up with a blogging schedule. I want to be more organized.

    Liked by 5 people

  20. bowlingchef Jan 2nd at 9:12 pm

    Thank you wordpress for bringing out my creativity in many different ways, knew nothing of blogging two years ago, now I have learned so much of myself, while sharing my creativity with a wide audience.
    Thank you……Bowlingchef

    Liked by 2 people

  21. Edward Brain Jan 2nd at 9:18 pm

    I still dislike the new stats page. Mainly because I cannot look at the summaries for the different stats. For example, with the old stats page, I could see how many times each post was read throughout time. I can’t do that with the new stats page.

    Liked by 6 people

  22. merlinspielen Jan 2nd at 9:31 pm

    An excellent update on what is new and old on WordPress. I do find the new stats and pretty dashboard nicer on a mobile device – they certainly load in a much cleaner fashion. However on my desktop and laptop I find I need to switch back to “classic” mode since so many of the features I want to access/use/review are not in the new pretty looking stats and dashboard pages. I don’t see any obvious way to customize the dashboard in particular to add the things I am missing. Always glad to see changes and try new things – so thanks for looking at ways to improve WordPress.com!

    Liked by 2 people

  23. Edward M. Bury, APR Jan 2nd at 9:40 pm

    Thanks for this great ideas and for providing this tremendous digital communications platform for me and millions of others. My goal each year is to publish weekly. Came pretty close in 2014; plan to meet that goal this year.

    Liked by 1 person

  24. marymanzella Jan 2nd at 10:23 pm

    Thanks. This really helps. 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  25. shazzameena Jan 2nd at 10:34 pm

    Starting my blog here with wordpress has been one of the main highlights of my past year. I never would have expected to have reached 91 posts (and 94 of Marcella’s recipes!) in that time! I especially loved what I learnt on the Writing101 course in the middle of the year. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

  26. rosieelizabeth182 Jan 2nd at 10:36 pm

    Some really helpful tips!
    Definitely going to use the weekly photography challenges and motivational monday… fits in with my blog idea fabulously!
    Thanks ❤

    Liked by 2 people

  27. Fiona McQuarrie (@all_about_work) Jan 2nd at 11:01 pm

    The changes to the stats page are not an “upgrade”. The changes have reduced the amount of available information and presented it in a different format that is difficult to use – not “smooth” – on many devices. There is a lengthy thread in the Forums on the problems with the so-called “upgrade”. Please don’t insult our intelligence by trying to pretend that this is an improvement.

    Liked by 7 people

  28. crod900 Jan 2nd at 11:08 pm

    i just started up my blog and would love some feedback on what i could focus and improve on. Peer to Peer

    Liked by 1 person

  29. pittsk Jan 2nd at 11:13 pm

    This post was truly helpful to those who are new to the blogging community, such as myself, I will be utilizing these tips.

    Liked by 1 person

  30. Loveday Ogaga Onokwakpor Jan 2nd at 11:14 pm

    Nice one. Thanks for keeping in touch with your bloggers. Blogging with worldpress has been an awe experience.

    Liked by 2 people

  31. foxgloveanddaisies Jan 3rd at 12:45 am

    Just started my first ever blog. I’m…struggling but trying. Maybe by this time next year I’ll be able to find my way round lol

    Liked by 4 people

  32. mohammedali Jan 3rd at 1:01 am

    This sounds fantastic! Have been wanting to blog for years. Have finally made it on here! 2015 – let the blog begins!

    Happy to take tips on how to gain followers as much as find relevant people to follow. My passion is business and am currently doing an MBA!

    Like

  33. Greater Voice Jan 3rd at 2:11 am

    WordPress is not only encouraging people to write but making them good writers too. It was wonderful to know about new bloggers in the year gone by. Even more optimistic in the New Year. Thanks.

    Liked by 1 person

  34. rknutson1104 Jan 3rd at 3:19 am

    Thanks to the WordPress team! I went through a couple of the blogging university’s courses and some helped me out a lot. But I got to “meet” more bloggers and get their perspectives on my site too. Hoping to join the Blogging 201 this year and join a couple events that I saw looked cool! Happy New Year! Come for a visit if you can: reknutson.wordpress.com/simple-life-blog/

    Liked by 1 person

  35. dwoods30 Jan 3rd at 4:56 am

    The fact that there is “falling snow” at the top of this page is awesome. I can’t wait for the class to start. I recently just started an blog and would love some tips on how to get some readers.

    Liked by 1 person

  36. galz35 Jan 3rd at 5:57 am

    Thanks so much for this insight on how to make the Blogging experience an inspiring journey.

    Like

  37. MadisonAveryBlog Jan 3rd at 6:33 am

    I would like to learn how to customize my blog! So I think I’ll sign up for this course. Thank you!
    Quick questions though…How can I make my “gravatar” or profile picture show up? I have one downloaded and my WordPress is linked but it doesn’t show up. I’m very confused as you can probably tell. Can anyone help me out? I would REALLY appreciate it.
    Sincerely,
    Madison

    Like

  38. RinaMet Jan 3rd at 7:03 am

    I am a happy member of “21 days blogging challenge” blogging event. Will sign up for classes too. This is useful post, thanks

    Liked by 1 person

  39. amdleyho Jan 3rd at 7:20 am

    Good day Thanks and the same to You And the great WordPress team

    You’re a vital alternative for a Guy Like Me : kind of no good in informatique But with strong interest to communicate My passion for Art.

    Léonel Jules Envoyé de mon iPhone

    Liked by 1 person

  40. Tony So Jan 3rd at 10:26 am

    Thank you so much for sharing this. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  41. missyemma Jan 3rd at 1:28 pm

    Very helpful.

    Liked by 1 person

  42. jatwood5260 Jan 3rd at 3:57 pm

    Thanks so much for the great resource!

    Like

  43. Tim Sorbo Jan 3rd at 4:24 pm

    Thanks! I will get into some of things this year. We will see where it leads. =-)

    Liked by 1 person

  44. Zoie Jan 3rd at 4:32 pm

    I just set goals for myself for this year, and working on my blog is one of them! I’m going to try some of these. Thanks for the suggestions 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  45. vscola Jan 3rd at 5:40 pm

    Hello Ben Please can you help me? I want to create a new Blog on whatever site is the most straight forward. I want a free site and link it to my FB business page. I tried to register with Word press (which I have previously used) and it would not allow me to register. Why and what do I need to do? Is that something to do with already having registered or what? Thanks a lot Vanessa

    Liked by 1 person

    • Ben Huberman Jan 5th at 6:00 am

      Hello! You can add a new blog to your account (or several sites — as many as you wish, really) by following the instructions here. If you were trying to start a new account with the same email address, that would explain why you weren’t successful — each email address can only be associated with one WordPress.com account at a time. Simply adding another blog to the same account is the easiest solution to your situation.

      Like

  46. thekellygeorge Jan 3rd at 5:45 pm

    How is (seemingly) everyone on WordPress getting the snow to fall? What did I miss???

    Liked by 2 people

    • Ben Huberman Jan 4th at 6:01 am

      This is a holiday tradition on WordPress.com — it activates every year around early-December (we mentioned it on this blog about a month ago). Alas, the snow ends tomorrow (January 4), so you’ll have to wait for next year to see it again.

      Liked by 1 person

  47. iamgr88full Jan 3rd at 6:14 pm

    Some great content here, thank you Ben!…

    Liked by 1 person

  48. jpeggytaylor Jan 3rd at 7:40 pm

    Happy New Year WordPress people! Thank you for all your inspiring support during my first year of blogging. This post has reminded me to add another blogging goal to my New Year Action List: personalise image widgets. I think sometimes on a blog it’s a small detail that can make a big difference.

    Liked by 1 person

  49. nersessianm Jan 4th at 1:22 am

    i started taking baby steps already

    Liked by 2 people

  50. Pandu Padmanegara Jan 4th at 2:59 am

    My resolutions: More Blogging, post less rubbish. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  51. lifesmackbeauty Jan 4th at 3:23 am

    Thank you so much for this! I’ll work hard this year to achieve my blogging-goals!
    lifesmackbeauty.wordpress.com

    Like

  52. novel41881 Jan 4th at 4:05 am

    It’s my first time to enter the blogging era..and i wrote the ever first experience of spending my christmas with the less fortunate ones..Im planning to make this a part of my growing and learning years..and write mostly about my experiences in hikings, outreaches and travelling in my own country..HAPPY BLOGGING TO ALL OF US…

    Liked by 1 person

  53. Linette Dunn Jan 4th at 8:04 am

    I can’t wait to take this course and get more experience with blogging!

    Like

  54. GrahamInHats Jan 4th at 9:02 am

    You have left a link to the WP Forum unpublished for the second time. Journalistic ethics = 0

    Liked by 2 people

    • Ben Huberman Jan 5th at 5:54 am

      A large number of comments were awaiting moderation on this post while I and other staff members were away for a holiday weekend; as you can see from many of our previous posts, we certainly don’t silence those who offer negative feedback on our releases. On the contrary, as I’d mentioned to timethief in an earlier comment on this post, critical feedback from our users helps us enormously in making WordPress.com better. As for the link itself, it is included in several earlier comments that have already been approved.

      Like

  55. Tris22granger Jan 4th at 12:48 pm

    I’m new to wordpress and I’m so excited! I’m going to be posting regularly and I really look forward to reading other blogs. Happy Blogging! 🙂

    Liked by 2 people

  56. zockerinfo Jan 4th at 4:10 pm

    I like the new dashboard, it makes blogging more comfortable. Thank you for your post!!!

    Liked by 1 person

  57. antonykirby Jan 4th at 4:58 pm

    This year for me, I hope will being more inspiration and motivation to keep writing my blogs as I travel the world, writing from a different style telling stories you can’t read about on the internet. Thanks for the tips in your blog, I hope it helps get my future blogs off to a great start!

    Liked by 2 people

  58. bluecandies Jan 4th at 5:36 pm

    Awesome content! I definitely need to get more involved.

    Liked by 1 person

  59. Adrienne Rice Adams Jan 4th at 11:00 pm

    The changes to the WP.com dashboard are likely to be seen as “smoother” by mobile users, but the desktop experience is degraded.

    Liked by 6 people

  60. fjordaniv Jan 4th at 11:23 pm

    Like many here, I find the new dashboard to be inefficient and, frankly, unpleasant to use on a desktop computer. I look forward to continuing to use WordPress as my web hosting and blogging platform of choice.

    Unfortunately, the mobile-centric nature of the “improved” dashboard, with its narrow column and hidden or stripped-down features, will detract from the experience.

    Liked by 8 people

  61. bubbasuess Jan 4th at 11:33 pm

    The new dashboard and stats page are a huge disappointment. They are not intuitive, not efficient of the screen space for desktop users and in no way an improvement over the old system. Please bring back the old, effective dashboard and stats!

    Liked by 6 people

  62. Ali Jan 5th at 5:36 am

    Happy new year WordPress and fellow bloggers!

    I finally got the courage to write a public blog and I pledge to write one post a day, everyday of January, 2015. I have a lot to improve upon but I hope to continue even after January with a goal to be writer one day.

    Liked by 1 person

  63. EFER MAAGAD Jan 5th at 7:49 pm

    I have already deleted my account with word press.but every time I goggle my name, jenefer maagad , my previous posts with word press still show.I want it to be totally gone. please help

    Liked by 1 person

    • Ben Huberman Jan 6th at 5:21 pm

      WordPress.com doesn’t have control over search engines and what content they cache and retrieve. Please note that WordPress.com accounts cannot be deleted, though individual sites can. So, as long as you deleted your site following the instructions you can find here, your content will be less and less likely to appear on search results.

      Like

  64. GrahamInHats Jan 5th at 8:37 pm

    @ben huberman

    “For the second time”. That is, on a a previous post you closed the topic and, those who find cause to complain, are in contact with one another. The truth is here:-)

    https://wordpress.com/forums/topic/massive-changes-to-the-wp-interface/page/16

    Liked by 2 people

    • Ben Huberman Jan 6th at 5:34 am

      Hello again,
      The link you share here is present in earlier comments, but thanks for sharing it once again for anyone interested in following the discussion on our Support forum.
      A cursory glance at the comments left on previous posts announcing some of the recent updates will show a wide variety of opinion, including a sizable portion of very (very) critical comments. As I’d mentioned in my response to you yesterday, we welcome and are grateful for all feedback our users share with us, including the negative.

      Like

  65. fairybossmother Jan 7th at 4:07 pm

    Thanks for the tips, I’m a total newbie! Missed the course, but looking ahead to one of the ones coming up later in the year – Wish me luck! x

    Liked by 1 person

  66. satya1711 Jan 7th at 11:18 pm

    Thanks for confirming that blogging be a continuous affair, that’s what I thought

    Liked by 2 people

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