Why WordPress.com
Two weeks ago I moved this site to WordPress.com. Sure, it means I might actually have a chance of blogging more because I don’t have to worry about any of the technical details of running my own WordPress install. But what else does it mean?
In this post, I’ll dive into some of the other reasons I’m enjoying WordPress.com in my first two weeks here. Full disclosure: I work for Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com.
Simplified Content
WordPress.com helped me simplify the overall structure of my site. Before I moved, I pared down my content in a big way. I consolidated two custom post types (projects and photo albums) and one other blog (a photo blog) into this site. Yes, I could have kept some of the custom post types, like projects, but I don’t need them for the amount of work I want to display.
Many people who have to choose between WordPress.com and WordPress.org think they need to be able to do anything and everything. But they don’t most of the time. That flexibility often comes with too much responsibility for them to handle or that they want to handle. Sometimes, this even includes web developers like me who just want to write a personal blog.
The Plugins I Need
When I self-hosted my site, it seemed I was always trying this new plugin or that popular plugin. At WordPress.com, I have all I need and not much more. I don’t have to keep an eye out for what’s new and what the best plugin is that does “A” or “B” because someone else does that for me.
What Backups?
Similarly to plugins, I also don’t have to worry about backups. On my self-hosted site, I used VaultPress to back everything up. It was awesome, and thankfully, I never had to restore from a backup, but I still paid for it. WordPress.com has me covered there.
Speed
I came from DreamPress, another service I enjoyed immensely (I still have a hosting account with Dreamhost). However, when you use WordPress.com, you know your site and the architecture behind it will be as fast as possible. A lot of people take this for granted when they sign up for a WordPress.com account.
Easy Theme Switches
I build themes for WordPress.com and that gets me excited each day so it makes sense I should try some out on my personal site. I plan to switch themes more often than I did when I self-hosted. That should be easier since I’m not building every single one and sometimes switching will be more about putting myself in our users’ shoes than anything else.
More Readers
When you write a blog, sometimes you feel like you’re on an island. I’ve only written mine since 2009, but the posts where you get comments or a stats spike are few and far between. Building an audience takes time, but with WordPress.com I have a better shot at a bigger, more passionate audience. Things like subscriptions, likes, sharing and more help with all that. We’ll see how it goes.
The Reader
I used Feedbin for more than a year after Google Reader went away. I liked it a lot, but it wasn’t perfect. The WordPress.com Reader isn’t either. I miss being able to group RSS subscriptions with tags, but I like its simplicity. It keeps me close to blogging and helps me discover great content – those are the important things. I’ve also been using it more on my iPhone 5s as a news source.
Conclusion
We’ll see how it goes once I get a few months behind me. Will I blog more? Will I have more visitors and comments? Will my topics be more varied?