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My Top 3 Features of Wordpress?

I have been using Wordpress (.org) since July this year and I thought I would share my 3 favourite features of Wordpress with you. I have found Wordpress very easy to use, although I have had some experience of using a blogging platform before over at Blogger, and was therefore familiar with that type of interface, so that may have helped. My favourite features are all to do with the write tab.

1. More Tag

If I feel my post is really long and therefore taking up too much space on the front page, I can insert the more tag by placing the cursor where I want the break to be, and then clicking the more tag in the posting tools (it’s the one that looks like a cut piece of paper). It’s great because I can have the first couple of teaser paragraphs on the first page, to draw the reader in and want to read more, then hopefully click through to read the rest which will help my page views. When clicked it takes you to a single post page where you can read the whole post and comment if you like. Saving that valuable space on the front page to fit even more posts on, and put off the time when the post is relegated to the archives. There’s a difference in opinions about the use of more tags, I tend to only use them when I have a really long post. Because if all the posts on a blog are tagged then it can be annoying to read, and there is no real content on display on the front page so I can’t get a feel for the blog itself. A really useful feature as long as it’s used well.

2. Timestamp

The edit timestamp tool is probably my favourite. It gives you the ability to edit when the post will be published which is great for holidays or a weekend off. I would like to be organised enough to write a batch of posts and then timestamp them to publish while I was away making sure that my ranking isn’t effected by the holiday or time off. Also sometimes I get a mad mood on and sit down to write several posts say, if I know I won’t have time with the kids being on school holidays, then I can timestamp them to publish when I want them to. It’s great for keeping continuity to my postings and helpful if I get ahead of myself. But as you may have noticed the best laid plans sometimes go astray and I don’t always get organised to do it, but everything comes with practice!

3. Pages

Next to the write post tab is the write pages tab, so I can add pages to the navigation across the top of the blog like my about page, articles page and recommended resources page (so far). This is great for information that I want to stay visible and highlighted on the blog, and easily accessible without having links everywhere on the front page or having to delve into the archives to find it. It gives me more scope for extending that information, updating it and breaking it down into relevant sections making it an easier read and information source. A great way to personalise my blog and make it a nicer place to visit!

Conclusion

These features were all new to me when I started with Wordpress because I hadn’t had them available for my blogger blog (or as far as I know I didn’t). They have added and enhanced my blogging experience and simply made it easier. I am writing this to share my enthusiasm for them and why I like them. These are the 3 features I feel have changed my blog and blogging the most, so tell me…

What are your favourite features of Wordpress?

This post is part of a series about Wordpress, if you are interested in reading the rest here they are:

Blogging Platforms Which One to Choose?
Who Else has Trouble Choosing a Host?
How to Install Wordpress Themes and Plugins.

Mandy

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