Category: Tech

New to WordPress.com or want to learn more? We have various resources to give you a boost, like our support site and free email courses. And if you love to learn with videos, browse our YouTube library, where you’ll find tutorials to help you manage and build your site.

---

Learn the basics

In this series of videos, you’ll learn to change or personalize your site’s basic settings, from your theme to your title and tagline. We also walk you through the steps to set up a static front page — a common request from people who don’t want to display a blog on their homepage.

View all videos

---

Customize your site

These videos help you make your site your own. Display a site logo to visually promote your brand, for example, or add custom tweaks like your own background or header image. You’ll learn about lesser-known features and settings, too, like related posts and…

WordPress websites of all sizes rely on web hosts to keep them up and running. However, glitches, malware, and human error can all threaten your site. As a website owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure you have an up-to-date backup of your site at all times.

Protect Against Brute Force Attacks

Your first defense is to block suspicious login attempts with a security plugin like Jetpack that offers brute force attack protection.

A brute force attack is the most rudimentary — and common — form of website attack. In an attempt to gain access to your site, large networks of automated bots try different combinations of usernames and passwords until they find the right one. These malicious login attempts can also affect your website’s performance.

Protect Against Malware and Code Vulnerabilities

Although brute force attacks are very common (and successful), they aren’t the only thing that can jeopardize your website.

Your Instagram account is a great way to share your life, products, and services online. With all that great content, why not showcase your Instagram account on your website or blog? Learn three ways WordPress.com makes it easy and discover other sites that are doing it well.

Activate the Instagram Widget

The Instagram Widget allows you to display your latest Instagram photos in your site’s sidebar, footer, or other widget areas available with your theme.

La Colombe is a chain of coffee shops in New England. Their blog, The Daily Grind, runs on WordPress.com, using the MH Magazine theme. They display their Instagram account prominently on their site using the sidebar widget area.

If you’d like to show off your latest shots like La Colombe, begin by adding the Instagram Widget to the widget area of your choice. You’ll have to grant WordPress.com access to the Instagram account…

Blogging is a great way to communicate with your customers and reach new ones. Business owner Phoebe Clare blogs at Sage and Clare, where she documents her exotic trips scouting merchandise for her online home decor store she runs with Jemma Sage. Learn how Phoebe uses her blog to share inspiration for her curated marketplace while generating visits to the Sage and Clare eCommerce website.

Write meaningful content

One of Sage and Clare’s most popular posts was a commentary on a New York Times piece about Loulou Van Damme, a designer with a beautiful home in the hills of India. It spoke to the blog’s design-savvy audience and showcased products similar to the Sage and Clare inventory.

Regardless of your industry, choose topics that offer value or entertainment to your readers. Share how-tos, industry insights, and thoughtful posts. Don’t underestimate the importance of writing an enticing post title