I have just finished uploading the Wordpress video to Patreon (available only to patrons), and if you choose to join patron for as little as 3$ a month- you’ll have access to that video (and the rest of the videos and freebies already uploaded) there.
However, as I mentioned, I love to be able to also share information with people who, for any reason, don’t support the channel at the moment… Hence- this post with some tips and bits of information mentioned on the video:
1 - Wordpress VS other CMSs (the good and the bad)
Wordpress is a CMS, which means :
A content management system is a virtual “space” where people who are not developers- can build their own website, without using any code.
You probably know other CMSs, such as Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, Payhip, and even Hostinger’s own website builder. (Which there was a full video about, and they have an AI website builder which is pretty awesome.)
However, there is a HUGE difference between Wordpress and these other CMSs… and that is that Wordpress is Open Source.
Open source code, VS a closed environment, is a “free” code that anyone can use.
That means 2 things:
- While you can only use the Shopify shop builder when you’re hosted on Shopify, and the Wix (horrible) website builder when you’re hosted on Wix… You can use Wordpress when it’s hosted on any hosting service!
That means that if I have my website made on Wix, or any other one of the CMSs that I have mentioned, and I want to host it elsewhere- I can’t. It will only “exist” on Wix.
However, if I had my Wordpress website hosted on Godaddy, and I saw that Hostinger is offering me a better price for a more stable and solid hosting- I can migrate my website from one hosting to another- keeping the website itself- intact.
- Being open-source also means that anyone can develop plugins and themes for Wordpress, without needing the approval of Wordpress. And in that case you can end up downloading a plugin that messes up your website.
This probably won’t happen on Squarespace or Shopify- as they have their own approved apps and plugins on their system. and if these apps miss-function, they will be there with customer support, as that’s what you’re paying them for.
(Personal advice - when trying out a new plugin, do it on a day in which you have not updated anything on your website, and make sure your hosting service has a back of the day before- so in case the plugin breaks your website- you can always go back to a version of your website BEFORE the installation of that plugin)
2- Wordpress.com or Wordpress.org??
I feel like a lot of people don’t understand the difference between these 2 website, or don’t even know- you don’t really need any of them to have a Wordpress website.
Wordpress.com is a website to HOST your Wordpress website, and you can do that for FREE, with a subdomain, such as mywebsite.wordpress.com, or for monthly payments that can be… quite high compared to what I usually pay for hosting anywhere else:
While I do not recommend being hosted with Wordpress personally, I think you can def have some fun TRAINING on a free environment.
Wordpress.org, on the other hand, is the place where I’d recommend you go for information about Wordpress themes and plugins, as well as news and some tutorials.
Whenever I want to use a theme or plugin I haven’t used before- I go and search for that on Wordpress.org to check out what other people had to say about it… Sometimes- that can save you a lot of heartache and un-needed work- seeing a plugin rated very low for causing website loading issues.
and even see if a plugin is currently updated to the latest version of Wordpress, and how many people are using it:
As I mentioned, you don’t have to download Wordpress in order to use it.
All you have to do is install Wordpress on your hosting package, which in majority of hosting services can be done with a click of a button.
3 - Recommended FREE Wordpress Themes
There are so many paid and free Wordpress themes out there, but I find that there are 3 FREE themes I somehow always turn to, that have really good templates and full demo content.
Those themes are: ASTRA, Ocean WP, and Kadence.
These themes, as I said, have free demos, which are- examples of how your website could look like- and an instant way to make your website looking exactly like them!
Some of the templates and demos will be free, and some will require a further purchase of the premium version of the theme. (I do just fine with the free ones).
These are some of Astra’s Demos:
4 - Uploading Photos to Wordpress (true for other sites as well)
Uploading a photo to Wordpress, or to ANY website, is something that i see so many people make mistakes with…
The photo you’re uploading needs to be in it’s SMALLEST possible size!
meaning, if it will cover the full width of the website, usually I would use maximum 1200 pixels width.
Or for other photos inside a blog post, anywhere between 600x600 pixels, or 300x500 pixels, based on the location and need for that photo.
Make sure your photos are in JPG format, and not PNG (unless you need a transparent background for them).
If your photo is too big, or in a different format, simply drop it to Canva, on a design in that size, make it fill the background, and download it as JPG.
This is how I took this image that is a Mockup from Kittl:
That weighs 8.8MB and is 3000x3000 pixels, to this image:
That is only 56KB in weight, and is 600x600 pixels.
Last, but not least, SEO starts in YOUR laptop… so make sure to name the photo with a proper SEO keyword or phrase- before uploading it to Wordpress.
5 - Community Hosting discount-
Many years before even having a Youtube channel- I was in the process of moving my work from Godaddy hosting to Hostinger.
I found that Hostinger had cheaper packages, better customer service, and overall better site security. (too bad I didn’t finish migrating my main blog on time, as I lost 2500 posts written in about 6 years, when Godaddy was hacked…)
When I started the channel, I applied to a bunch of affiliate programs in multiple topics and fields. I was denied being a Hostinger affiliate, and while I was already a Godaddy and BlueHost affiliate from years prior- I chose to recommend Hostinger on my videos.
Almost 2 years after opening the channel, Hostinger approached me with the offer to become their affiliate- providing all of the Meytribe community with an added 10% discount on their Hosting packages.
And if you’re interested in saving money on your hosting package on Hostinger- simply click here. (This is an affiliate link, and you don’t have to use it:) You can host anywhere else, or simply pay the full price of Hostinger).
I do find blogging to be one of the MOST beneficial ways of promoting pretty much anything online, and if you’re not sure what kind of blog you can have that will help you promote your shop/shops - I double dare you to comment your shop’s link here, or provide details on it- asking what kind of blog you can use to promote it!
With that said, that was it from me for today, I had spent 7 hours in the past few days writing today’s script, 2 hours filming, 7 hours editing, and an hour writing this post, and would very much like to do anything else that doesn’t involve looking at a screen <3
All my love, Mey
Looking well, Mey! Good read. This is my linktree https://linktr.ee/writartstudio. But, it seems I'm getting more attention on Instagram. I'm just curious about suggestions you or anyone else might have that are in a positive manner.
Super helpful, thank you, Mey! I had been wrestling between Hostinger’s AI web site builder (looks super easy! And manageable) vs WP (open source, portable, but I don’t feel like learning another platform) and your write up here helped change my mind to what I knew I should do, go WP, even if it’s more work in the short-term, it’s portable in the future. Thanks!