Jan 14, 2016 / Beginner

Five Leads for Self-Help with WordPress.com

Take control of finding the information you need to add features and solve problems with your blog.

You started a new blog, or you’ve taken a Blogging University course and you’re inspired to keep working on your site’s look and content. Maybe you want to keep learning at your own pace. Or you’re just not sure how to add a new feature or where to find help. Here are five leads to find the information you need to maintain your blogging momentum.

learn.wordpress.com

Pro tip: bookmark these resources so that they’re always at your fingertips.

If you’re just getting started with your new blog, you might feel a little overwhelmed and unsure of how to keep making progress. Check out learn.wordpress.com — it offers bite-sized chunks of information on configuring basic settings, getting comfortable navigating within your dashboard, picking a theme, publishing posts and pages on your site, and more. The beautiful thing about Learn is that you can work through the sections in any order you like — it’s always there when you need it.

Support Docs

Most people on WordPress.com are self-taught. They fire up a blog, and work on the look and content over time. When I get stuck, or if I’m helping a WordPresser with their site, I search Support Docs first. With a topic search, I can get a list of relevant documents to choose from. For example, want to collect posts on the same topic on a single page? Category pages will serve you well.

Forums

If you’re having a problem or you’re not sure how to do something in WordPress, chances are someone else has raised the same question on the WordPress.com Forums. Try a search term or two to see if you can find the answer you’re looking for on your own. If you get stuck or have a specific question about a theme, a widget, or even CSS customization, post it to the forum. The dedicated volunteers and WordPress.com staff who frequent the forums are super smart about WordPress.com and can answer all of your questions.

The Theme Showcase

Looking for a new theme? The Theme Showcase is a one-stop shop to browse and sort themes according to criteria you set. You can search from among free and premium themes, and sort by many different criteria including the number of columns, color, and/or by style, such as “Business,” or “Minimal.” You can preview themes before you activate them, to see how your blog will look before you make the change.

Blogging University

Looking for constructive criticism on your site between Blogging U. courses? Get feedback on your blog and return the favor at The Community Pool. The water’s great!

blogging u sealIf you want to create and maintain a blogging habit, learn more about WordPress.com, and become part of a fun, supportive community, Blogging University is the place for you. We offer several different courses (more in the works!). Some help you learn the basics, some help you build traffic and grow your blog, still others help you form habits in writing or photography. If you’re interested in learning more, keep an eye on this page — we announce all new courses and course sessions there.

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  2. I have been into blogging for three years now. But decided to get really serious with it this year.
    This is just a marker, and hopefully I get inspired to continue via the blogs suggested here.
    Thanks.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Thank you so much for the advice. I have been so focused on my page, that I completely forgot to go around and talk/poke around on other pages to get feedback. It is completely important to network if you want so viewers and readers. ;D

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Spending time in the community, visiting others’ blogs and commenting thoughtfully, is the single most important thing you can do to grow your own audience. To get genuine love, you need to give it.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Good tips here. If I might pile on a bit. Write good, relevant, original content. Never plagiarize you will get penalized. Make sure to write value added content that people want to read. I know this sounds a little ridiculous, but these are the best tips I can give for beginner bloggers.

    Liked by 2 people