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20 Years of WordPress.com: Show Us What You’ve Built

Today, we’re celebrating 20 years of WordPress.com! We set out to put the power of publishing into everyone’s hands, and since then, millions of you have used it to build amazing things.
Our beginnings and our purpose
On June 20, 2005, WordPress project co-founder Matt Mullenweg hired Donncha Ó Caoimh (a software developer and WordPress contributor) and Automattic was born. Their mission: create a hosted version of WordPress that anyone could use.
After beta testing in August 2005, WordPress.com launched publicly on November 21, 2005. Here’s what the homepage looked like:
Source: Internet Archive We’ve come a long way from these humble beginnings, but our purpose hasn’t changed much: democratizing publishing and ecommerce.
A place for every website
Today, WordPress.com powers all kinds of websites. People all around the world use our platform to build:
Professional portfolios where creatives showcase their work and attract new clients, like standup comedian Aparna Nancherla, film director Mike Flanagan, and visual artist Ana Teresa Fernández. Membership communities that bring together people with shared interests, like the Bedfordshire Bird Club. Cutting-edge educational websites from institutions like the UC Berkeley Center for Psychedelics. Popular blogs like the experimental art project PostSecret, sci-fi author John Scalzi’s Whatever, and food blogger Vegan Bunny Elle. This is just a small handful of examples. From simple sites to online stores, no matter what you want to create and share on the web, WordPress.com gives you the tools to make it happen.
What are you creating with WordPress.com?
The WordPress.com story isn’t just ours. It also belongs to everyone who has chosen our platform to create and share on the web.
From our first homepage to the millions of sites hosted on our platform today, every WordPress.com website represents someone who decided to put their ideas into the world. We’re honored to be part of that journey.
Tell us your story. How did you find WordPress.com? What have you built? Drop a comment below! After 20 years, we still love seeing what you’re creating.

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By Drewfus · November 21Nov 21
How Does Open Source Make WordPress Different (And Better)?

WordPress’s open-source nature gives you true ownership and flexibility for your website. Unlike proprietary site builders, it allows you full control over every aspect of your site — from hosting and design to performance and functionality.
This matters because your website is a long-term asset. The platform you choose establishes the foundation for everything you do with it, now and in the future.
To help you make the right choice, in this guide, I’ll break down what “open source” means and why it sets WordPress apart from other site builders.
What does “open source” actually mean?
Open source refers to software (like WordPress) whose source code is open for anyone to view, use, and change.
It’s built under licenses that encourage people to contribute, share ideas, fix bugs, and make improvements together — so the tools they build can be publicly available, most often for free.
For example, WordPress uses the GNU General Public License (GPL), which allows anyone to freely use, modify, and share the software under the same open terms:
This is very different from closed-source or commercial software, where the code is private and only the company that owns it can make changes.
Other main distinctions include:
Ownership and control: Open-source projects are often built and maintained by communities of volunteers. Closed-source products belong to one company. Cost and use: Most open-source tools are free to use and customize, while closed-source tools usually cost money and come with restrictions on what you can do with them. Open source has been quite the success story, with some big names falling under its umbrella:
Android holds over 70% of the mobile OS market Linux powers 63.1% of servers and 100% of all supercomputers PHP is found on over 73% of all websites VLC Media Player recently crossed six billion downloads Why WordPress defines open source success
WordPress is the most widely used open-source CMS in the world — powering over 43% of all websites (along with other impressive statistics).
This dominance highlights just how far open-source platforms have come in comparison to proprietary site builders:
Long story short: WordPress gives users full freedom to modify, host, and distribute their sites however they choose.
This open model is what makes the platform fundamentally different from proprietary site builders.
Instead of locking users into one ecosystem, it lets them own and control their entire web presence. That distinction becomes even clearer when you look at it in more detail.
Open-source platforms vs. proprietary site builders
With an open‑source solution like WordPress, you’re in control of your website’s code, content, and future. You can fully choose how you set up and manage your site.
Here’s a quick overview:
Key factorsOpen source platforms like WordPressTypical proprietary website buildersCostFree core software, with flexible costs for hosting, domains, and optional paid features.Subscription-based monthly/annual plans.OwnershipFull ownership — you can choose a hosting provider, as well as export and migrate your site any way you want, including when you build it on WordPress.com.Limited control — exporting or migrating is restricted, complicated, or impossible.DesignThousands of free and paid themes; full code access to make custom changes.Drag-and-drop editors with templates; design freedom varies, and some features may require more expensive tiers.FeaturesExtendable through thousands of free and paid plugins as well as custom code.Ecosystems are closed; integrations and features are limited to approved app stores or internal tools.PerformanceDepends on your hosting environment and setup, but it’s fully customizable through caching, CDNs, server configurations, and other optimizations.Automatically optimized, but with limited tuning options.SecurityDetermined by the security features of your hosting provider and site setup, fully modifiable.The platform manages most security, and users rely on the vendor’s protection.ScalabilityCan support everything from small blogs to enterprise sites (e.g., major media sites).Good for personal/business sites; less suited for massive global-scale websites.Developer featuresFull access to source code, custom themes/plugins, and database control (Business or higher on WordPress.com).Limited or no access to underlying code; customization restricted to platform tools and APIs.SupportWordPress.com provides 24/7 support, and there are thousands of community-based options like forums, tutorials, and freelancers.Centralized customer support from the platform.Developer ecosystemHuge global community of theme and plugin developers, agencies, and freelancers.Smaller, proprietary developer ecosystems. Why choose open source for your website? A deeper dive
Choosing WordPress and open source lets you build any kind of website you want — and truly make it your own, all at a great price point.
It means your site will run on a system that’s secure, proven, and well-maintained, with a great support infrastructure, and no ecosystem lock-in.
Let’s look at some of these benefits in detail.
1. Full website ownership
WordPress allows you to own every part of your website.
That includes its files, content, and all other data. You can download, back up, or migrate your site at any time.
You can even run it locally using WordPress Studio, which creates a virtual server environment on your computer — perfect for practicing your skills and testing new ideas safely.
With a website built on a proprietary platform, you don’t have these freedoms. Access to files is usually limited or non-existent, your site is bound to the vendor, and they make it hard to move off their platform. If you want to take your website elsewhere, you often have to rebuild it and copy content over by hand.
This is not the case with WordPress. You always have the option to move your site, just the way it is, with the same design, features, and content.
That includes websites hosted on WordPress.com. You can export your content or entire website as well as import content from another site or migrate your self-hosted site to WordPress.com. In fact, WordPress.com will do the migration for you — for free!
2. Customization options: themes, plugins, and more
WordPress gives you full creative control and offers the tools, parts, and flexibility to build anything you might need, from a small business site or a food blog to a personal or enterprise site.
First, choose from thousands of free and premium themes designed for multiple purposes — from blogs and portfolios to stores and business sites.
They let you change your entire site design with just a few clicks.
From here, you can customize your site in any way you want and adapt site-wide settings like colors and fonts directly in the drag-and-drop block editor.
Patterns — reusable design elements — help you put together entire layouts quickly.
Then, extend your site’s functionality even further with plugins to add features for SEO, eCommerce, contact forms, analytics, and more (check out the most popular plugins on WordPress.com).
Finally, developers and advanced users can also use custom code or connect external services and APIs (with no limits on the Business plan and higher on WordPress.com).
Tip: WordPress.com users can also generate and customize their websites using simple text prompts with our AI website builder:
In short, unlike closed platforms, WordPress doesn’t lock you into a fixed design or feature set.
You have the freedom to integrate, expand, and grow your website exactly how you want.
3. Platform maturity and security
WordPress is powered by a global community of developers, researchers, and companies who keep the software secure and up to date.
WordPress.com is part of that community — and through its parent company, Automattic, it provides the largest share of core contributors.
The community maintains a predictable update cycle that regularly introduces new features, security improvements, and performance upgrades to WordPress.
The upcoming WordPress 6.9 release is a great example. Check out the video below for more information:
The result: a secure, well-tested platform that’s proven itself across thousands of different environments.
Besides, the sheer number of people contributing to WordPress — and the platform’s open, public codebase — means vulnerabilities and other issues are quickly spotted and fixed.
Its decentralized structure empowers anyone to contribute improvements, rather than relying on a single central entity to do so.
Yet while the core software is mature and secure, overall site safety also depends on following best practices and using a reliable hosting environment. That’s why WordPress.com includes automatic updates, backups, SSL certificates, and DDoS protection with every plan. The Business and Commerce plans also include Jetpack’s built-in spam filtering, activity logs, and downtime monitoring.
4. Community support and shared knowledge
Support and learning are where WordPress’s open-source roots really shine.
The sheer size of its community means you’ll find endless tutorials and advice for every skill level.
On WordPress.com alone, support options include detailed guides, courses, support forums, and expert help via live chat.
As a WordPress user, you’ll find that nearly every problem you might face has already been solved — and documented — by someone in the community.
You’ll never be without help, and you’re never locked into a single vendor or support channel.
Tip: Another highlight is in-person meetings like WordCamps, where you can connect with other WordPress users, listen to informative presentations, and learn from each other.
6. Growth and innovation
Because WordPress is open source and powered by a global community, it keeps improving and growing faster than most commercial platforms ever could.
Developers constantly build improvements, extensions, and tools that make the software more useful and user-friendly.
One of the best examples of this is the thousands of themes and plugins created by the community.
Some of these extensions become so successful that they eventually become default features of WordPress itself — like the Block Editor, WordPress REST API, and auto-embeds.
Besides, WordPress has multiple tools that make life easier for the developers themselves.
For example, WordPress Studio is a free, open‑source app from WordPress.com. It lets you spin up local WordPress sites, sync changes with the live site, and share preview links with clients.
Another great example is Telex — an experimental AI tool from Automattic that lets you describe your idea in plain language and generates a fully functional WordPress block you can install on your site.
Why choose WordPress.com to host open‑source WordPress?
WordPress.com gives you a managed WordPress experience — everything is set up, optimized, and maintained for you.
You don’t have to handle installation, hosting, security, performance, or software updates. WordPress.com takes care of it automatically, so your site runs reliably without extra effort.
Protection and performance features you get include:
Servers specifically optimized for WordPress Automatic backups and malware scanning Free SSL certificates and spam protection A web application firewall (WAF) and DDoS protection Real-time backups, one-click restore, and uptime monitoring on Business and Commerce plans Expert support is also available whenever you need it. Every plan includes unlimited pages, users, bandwidth, and traffic — plus a free domain for your first year on paid plans.
Opt for WordPress and open source for long-term growth
Open source isn’t just a technical choice, but a decision for flexibility, freedom, and future-proofing your online presence.
When you build your website on WordPress, you’re choosing a platform that grows with you, adapts to your needs, and never holds your content hostage.
With WordPress.com, you get the best of both worlds: the power and flexibility of open source combined with the ease and reliability of managed hosting.
Build your WordPress website today View the full article

By Drewfus · November 20Nov 20
8 Games You Can Play in WordPress Right Now

WordPress lets you do almost anything on your site — from publishing blog posts and selling products to, yes, even adding playable games.
Games can be a fun extra or even a central part of your website experience. Whether used as digital easter eggs or interactive content, they’re a creative way to surprise visitors and keep them engaged.
In this guide, we’ll cover some WordPress-compatible games and explain how to add them to your site.
1. The Google Chrome Dinosaur Game
In the Google Chrome Dinosaur Game, players control a T. rex that runs across the screen.
As the T. rex approaches various obstacles, players must click the space bar or up arrow to jump over barriers and the down arrow to crouch.
As the game progresses, the dinosaur runs faster and faces more obstacles. A player’s score is based on how far they run before hitting an obstacle.
Most Google users have probably played the dinosaur game before, so it doesn’t require much explanation. Its placement is particularly flexible because the game rarely lasts more than a few minutes.
In addition to using it as a fun reprieve amidst long posts or dense text, you can follow Google’s lead and use it on a custom 404 “not found” page.
How to add the Dinosaur Game to your WordPress site
You can add the Dinosaur Game to your WordPress site with the Dinosaur Game plugin.
Once you’ve downloaded and activated the plugin, you can add the game to different pages with a shortcode.
Simply add a Shortcode block to the page where you want the game to appear and type in the code [dinosaur-game].
2. Snake
Based on a ‘70s arcade game called Blockade, Snake challenges players to use the arrow keys to control a snake as it slithers around the gameboard. The goal is to grow your snake by eating “food” on the gameboard.
However, you must dodge obstacles on the board and avoid running into your own snake’s tail. As the snake grows longer, it becomes increasingly difficult to move around the board.
With simple controls and fast gameplay, Snake has been both an arcade hit and a Nokia phone game. Now, you can also add it to WordPress for a bit of nostalgic fun.
How to add Snake to your WordPress site
Snake can be installed with the plugin Snake Retro Game Shortcode by Eskim. Simply install and activate the plugin through the Plugin Marketplace to get started.
To place the game on the page, add a Shortcode block and type in the game’s shortcode, [snake_game].
To customize the game’s colors, size, and speed, you can use additional shortcode parameters located on the Plugin’s description page.
We’ll dig in more on how to install and activate plugins at the end of this post.
3. DOOM
DOOM, the “father of first-person shooter games,” came out in the early ’90s and inspired an ongoing video-game franchise.
Players control an expelled space marine who must fight through radioactive waste facilities on Mars and kill enemies in hell to return to Earth.
Part of the interest and lore of the original DOOM is that it used a series of clever programming tricks to make it playable on slow, old computers, which makes it flexible and easy to run.
DOOM for WordPress was created by Rhyse Wynne, a DOOM lover and developer. Wynne built WP Doom as a custom plugin that wraps the 1993 DOOM shareware inside a JavaScript DOS emulator.
How to add DOOM to your WordPress site
This classic shooter isn’t available as a one‑click plugin because the WP Doom plugin wraps the shareware version of the game (and therefore isn’t listed in the plugin directory).
Wynne solved this by setting up a WordPress Playground blueprint that installs the plugin and spins up a demo page.
You can’t embed the game directly into your WordPress.com site, but you can link to Wynne’s demo.
When readers click the link, it launches a new browser tab where DOOM runs inside WordPress Playground.
4. WP Sudoku Plus
Sudoku is a number puzzle game that requires players to complete a 9×9 square of numbers.
Using number clues, players must place the remaining missing numbers into the empty squares, ensuring that every row, column, and small box on the puzzle contains the numbers 1-9 exactly once.
Since Sudoku requires some focus, it could be used to celebrate finishing a long blog post or on an FAQ page for added interest. You could also use it alongside short-form audio content, like a song or podcast clip, to keep users engaged while they listen.
How to add Sudoku Plus to your WordPress site
WP Sudoku Plus is another plugin available through the WordPress Plugin Marketplace.
Once installed, you can add a puzzle to a page by using a Shortcode block with the shortcode [sudoku].
Sixteen is the default puzzle size, but you can adjust it to be bigger (up to 32) or smaller (as small as eight) on the page.
To change the size, expand the short code to [sudoku size=”(number between 8-32)”].
5. Minesweeper
Minesweeper is a classic internet puzzle game from the 1990s. To win, players must click on all the free squares on the board without setting off a landmine.
Numbers next to landmine squares indicate how many mines touch that square on all sides. Using the numbers, you need to figure out which squares are safe to click.
While the rules are relatively straightforward, Minesweeper puzzles range from beginner to expert to suit a variety of player levels.
A casual player is expected to complete a beginner grid in around 3 minutes, which means that adding Minesweeper to your site could more than double the average time visitors spend on your site.
Similar to Sudoku, Minesweeper is a medium-engagement game: it requires users to think deeply, but it doesn’t demand uninterrupted focus. This makes it a good choice to use alongside audio content or as a fun breather between long content sections.
How to add Minesweeper to WordPress with Telex
Telex AI is an Automattic experiment that generates interactive WordPress blocks from natural‑language prompts. You can find an AI-coded block that allows you to add Minesweeper to your site here.
Simply download the code using the Download button in the upper-right corner.
Then, visit your website’s dashboard and click on Plugins on the left side to install the plugin. Then, click the “Upload” button.

Because Telex blocks run inside WordPress itself, the Minesweeper game can then be embedded on a page just like any other block.
You can build other simple games in Telex, which we’ll dig into at the end of this article.
6. Cybersoldier
Live out your 8 Mile fantasies with Cybersoldier, a virtual rap battle.
With Cybersoldier, users can create accounts on your site, design a custom rapper Avatar, and battle with other registered players. Players will be alerted via email when someone starts a battle with them.
If you run a music site or a community of creative readers or writers, Cybersoldier can strengthen relationships between site visitors.
Since users need to return to your site to respond to battles, Cybersoldier also encourages repeat visits and ongoing engagement.
How to add Cybersoldier to your WordPress site
Cybersoldier is another plugin-enabled game that you can install directly from the WordPress Plugin Marketplace.
Once activated, you’ll see a Cybersoldier settings page in your WordPress admin dashboard.
From the settings page, you can set some of the main rules around your battles, including how long each battle lasts and how long each diss can be.
The page also contains directions for adding necessary shortcodes to your site, including one for adding a player’s page and a running Battle List.
7. Personal Dictionary
With Personal Dictionary, students can create digital flashcards, and educators can monitor student progress in real-time.
This plugin allows website users to create and organize personal vocabulary lists right on your site. Once a user has created a dictionary of at least four words, they can practice the words using the tool’s built-in games.
The first game, “Find the Word,” gives the word’s definition or translation with four word options. Users must select the correct word out of the four provided words.
Students can also play “Find the Definition,” “Matching Word,” and “Write the Translation.”
Teachers, tutors, schools, and other learning professionals who have administrative access to WordPress can utilize this tool. On the backend, you can monitor students’ Personal Dictionary usage, including how many words have been saved, view student progress on games, and track leaderboards.
How to add Personal Dictionary to your WordPress site
Personal Dictionary is available for installation in the WordPress Plugin Marketplace.
Once activated, you can add the plugin’s shortcode [ayspd_userpage] to a Shortcode block on any page. This will embed the tool into your site.
8. Scratch & Win
Scratch and Win is a digital giveaway game that helps you capture visitor information and referrals.
With the plugin, you can set up your own giveaways, which will show up to users as a pop-up after they complete specific actions, such as scrolling down the page or clicking on a link.
Users can scratch to win in exchange for their email address, and can get additional scratch cards by referring friends or returning to the site on another day.
Scratch and Win is best for sites looking to ramp up their marketing and lead-building efforts through email advertising. If you sell custom merch through a WooCommerce store or have branded partnership opportunities that involve product giveaways, Scratch and Win can help you build engagement and brand loyalty.
How to add Scratch and Win to your WordPress site
Scratch and Win is available as a Free Plugin via the WordPress Plugin Marketplace.
Once activated, you will see a Scratch and Win page in your Admin Dashboard where you can configure key settings.
However, to launch and manage the plugin, you will need to create an account with the plugin’s creator brand, Appsmav, which has its own dashboard for scratch and win lead management.
How to add games to WordPress
There are several ways to install games on WordPress. Below, we’ll dig into a few ways to get started.
Install a plugin
The easiest way to install a game is by using a plugin.
You can find and install plugins from the WordPress Plugin Marketplace or by downloading a developer’s code file and installing it on the Plugin page with the Upload button.
Game installation and activation can vary, so be sure to read the installation information provided by the publisher.
Embed an external game
Some games aren’t available as plugins, but can be embedded into your site from an external site.
If the game provides a link from a supported WordPress provider, paste it into an Embed block, and WordPress will automatically convert it.
If the game offers an <iframe> or <script> embed, you need to paste that code into a Custom HTML block. Custom HTML blocks are available on WordPress.com’s Business plan and above.
Build a game with Telex
If you’re adventurous, you can try Automattic’s new tool Telex to build a custom game plugin using natural language instructions.
Once you’ve created and tested your game on Telex, you can download the plugin and install it on your site. You can also share a Telex preview link.
Link to a game
If there’s no way to embed a particular game on your site, you can still encourage people to check it out on another website.
Simply use a link or a button to direct visitors to the game in another tab.
Level up your website with games
One of WordPress’s greatest assets is its flexibility and huge variety of developer-created plugins.
WordPress game plugins make it possible to turn a static webpage into a unique, engaging experience.
If you’re interested in adding games to your site, there’s more to explore. Check out the full WordPress games plugin library or cook up something new with Telex.

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By Drewfus · November 19Nov 19
11 Common WordPress Myths vs. Reality

For years, many believed that WordPress was only for blogging: too complicated and too vulnerable to cyberattacks.
These misconceptions spread relentlessly like the viral Labubu dolls.
To debunk the most common WordPress myths, I’ll share real success stories backed by my decade of experience working with this platform.
By the end of this post, you’ll learn more about our platform’s actual capabilities and determine if it fits your needs.
TL;DR: 11 Common myths about WordPress, debunked
MythRealityMyth #1: WordPress is only for blogging.WordPress powers 43.2% of the web, including ecommerce stores, corporate sites, and government agencies.Myth #2: WordPress is insecure.Most vulnerabilities stem from weak passwords and outdated plugins. The core WordPress software is regularly audited, keeping you ahead of cyber attacks.Myth #3: WordPress is low quality because it’s free.WordPress being free doesn’t mean it’s low quality — it’s open-source software built and continuously improved by thousands of expert developers worldwide.Myth #4: WordPress.com is expensive.WordPress.com provides managed WordPress hosting with built-in security, backups, support, and performance optimization. The WordPress software itself is free — you’re paying for the services essential for keeping your site fast, secure, and reliable.Myth #5: WordPress sites are always slow.Properly configured sites load quickly, with 60–70% TTFB (Time to First Byte) improvements possible.Myth #6: All WordPress sites look the same.The WordPress.com AI website builder and Site Editor, 1,000+ customizable themes and plugins, and other customization features enable unique designs.Myth #7: WordPress isn’t scalable.WordPress powers everything from personal blogs to growing websites, thanks to an advanced infrastructure that handles high traffic smoothly.Myth #8: You can’t use third-party themes or plugins on WordPress.com.You can use third-party plugins on all plugin-enabled plans; Business and higher plans also offer granular customization of layouts, styles, and more via custom themes.Myth #9: WordPress is complicated.Anyone can learn WordPress. You can easily build functional sites using the WordPress.com AI Website Builder or Site Editor — no coding required.Myth #10: WordPress.com has limited customization.WordPress.com offers extensive customization, with access to plugins, themes, and AI tools. On Business and higher plans, you can take full control — customizing layouts, navigation, and code — while still benefiting from managed hosting.Myth #11: WordPress.com owns your content.You keep full ownership of your content, and you can migrate your site whenever you want. Now that we’ve got the TL;DR out of the way, let’s debunk each myth in detail.
Myth #1: WordPress is only for blogging
Reality: WordPress powers ecommerce stores, corporate websites, portfolios, magazines, government agencies, and more.
Originally known as a blogging platform, WordPress now runs over 43% of the web, including Fortune 500, government agencies, ecommerce experiences, and national media sites.
With robust design tools, AI features, and thousands of themes and plugins, you can create virtually any type of website.
For example, using the WordPress.com AI website builder, I generated a full business coaching site in minutes — complete with an aesthetic header image, clear copy, and a professional layout:
Bigger companies also benefit from using WordPress, as our features span beyond web building and hosting.
In a notable success story, Endoh Collaborative partnered with WordPress.com to access our agency services, like client management tools and a partner directory referral program.
WordPress.com supports your needs at every stage, with features for whatever website you want to create — be it an ecommerce store, small business, or corporate initiative. All paid plans offer unlimited bandwidth, expert support, managed hosting, and access to plugins and themes.
Launch your site on WordPress.com Myth #2: WordPress is not secure
Reality: Most cyber attacks are caused by weak passwords or outdated plugins. WordPress’s core is audited by thousands of developers, keeping you one step ahead of attacks. For peace of mind, use a managed WordPress host like WordPress.com — site updates, backups, and security patches are handled automatically.
Because WordPress is open source, some folks assume it’s vulnerable to security threats.
As a WordPress user for 10+ years, my websites have remained secure through intentional security practices. For example, WordPress.com updates my site to the latest, most secure version and takes care of plugin safety and performance, so I don’t need to monitor it constantly.
The reality is: even the most robust CMS becomes vulnerable when burdened with inefficient plugins, according to experienced developers.
Note the Reddit comments below where they talk about how poorly coded plugins slow down sites and create security gaps:
Safeguard your website on WordPress.com today. Our managed hosting plans offer complete security through SSL certificates, advanced firewalls, brute force prevention, encryption, and DDoS protection.
Myth #3: WordPress is low quality because it’s free
Reality: WordPress is free for a reason — not because it’s low quality, but because it’s open-source software.
WordPress is built and maintained by thousands of developers and designers around the world who contribute their expertise to keep improving it.
This community-driven model is what makes WordPress so powerful.
Every update, feature, and security enhancement is peer-reviewed and tested before release.
WordPress.com adds managed hosting, security, and performance features to the mix, making it easier to run a fast, reliable site without extra effort.
Plus, our community runs hundreds of WordPress events worldwide.
For example, WordPress.com sponsored WordCamp US, a popular WordPress conference, this year. At WordCamp, thousands of WordPress beginners and experts come together to exchange knowledge on the open source software.
This collaborative culture moves WordPress further. It never stagnates.
Myth #4: WordPress.com is expensive
Reality: The WordPress software itself is free, but building and running a professional website always involves essential costs like hosting, a custom domain, and maintenance.
With WordPress.com, those costs are bundled into simple, transparent plans that include managed hosting, security, backups, and expert support.
You also get access to features like the AI website builder, premium themes, plugins, and 24/7 support.
The best part? It’s also possible to start for free and upgrade when you’re ready to launch your website.
Compared to juggling separate services on self-hosted setups, WordPress.com often ends up being both affordable and easy to manage.
Myth #5: WordPress sites are always slow
Reality: WordPress sites can be fast. Your site speed depends on your hosting, theme, and plugin quality.
WordPress sites load quickly when configured correctly.
On WordPress.com, websites include built-in caching to reduce server load. Combined with our optimized WordPress.com themes, your site stays fast without extra setup.
For example, when LUBUS migrated a client’s site to WordPress.com, it observed a 60% to 70% improvement in TTFB (Time to First Byte), indicating faster page loads and reduced visitor bounce rates.
Tip: TTFB measures how long it takes a visitor’s browser to receive the first byte of data from the server. A low TTFB score indicates faster page loads and better user experience. According to Google, a good TTFB score is 0.8 seconds or less.
We credit our full-stack infrastructure for LUBUS’s massive TTFB improvements.
WordPress.com’s Global Edge Caching uses 28+ data centers across six continents, routing your site content from servers closest to each visitor. This ensures your site loads fast, no matter where they’re located.
Our infrastructure also automatically resizes images via our Site Accelerator CDN (Content Delivery Network). This helps pages load quickly, even during traffic spikes.
Myth #6: All WordPress sites look the same
Reality: You can create unique websites and customize them using the WordPress.com AI website builder, Site Editor, and thousands of plugins and themes. You can also code or upload custom themes if you’re on the Business and higher plans.
Whether you want to pick from 1,000+ professionally designed WordPress themes, enhance your site with plugins, or create something from scratch using AI prompts — customization is simple.
For example, when I built a dog shelter site with the AI website builder, I started by giving it a short brief: the organization’s name, goal, and address.
The tool generated the first draft in seconds — a clean scarlet-red design with a Beagle in the hero image, which fit the “senior dogs” mission of my website perfectly.
From there, I customized.
I asked the AI to swap the Beagle for a pack of six dogs playing in a garden to shift the mood to something warmer and more energetic.
I also had it rewrite the homepage copy in a friendly, second-person tone to nudge visitors to get involved.
In a few minutes, I went from a solid AI draft to a site that felt uniquely mine.
Myth #7: WordPress isn’t scalable
Reality: WordPress powers everything from personal blogs to enterprise-level sites, supported by infrastructure that handles high traffic with ease. On WordPress.com, you also get robust managed hosting that scales automatically, so your site stays fast and reliable as it grows.
WordPress’s performance architecture makes it easy to scale without downtime — especially when you’re using a managed platform like WordPress.com.
For example, after Jelly Pixel Studio moved its client sites to WordPress.com, the agency saw improved stability and faster load times. Even during traffic spikes, uptime remained at 100%.
As the founder put it, WordPress.com’s infrastructure felt “literally magic,” saving him from countless emergency calls about performance issues.
Two core features help keep WordPress.com sites consistently fast and stable:
Global Edge Caching: Delivers content from data centers closest to your visitors. Site Accelerator CDN: Offloads your image and static files to reduce server load and improve overall performance. Myth #8: You can’t use third-party themes or plugins on WordPress.com
Reality: You can use third-party plugins on all plugin-enabled plans. Business, Commerce, and Enterprise plans also let you upload and use third-party themes for full design flexibility.
You can extend your site with any plugin from the WordPress ecosystem, whether you’re adding advanced SEO tools, contact forms, or custom integrations.
Since the core platform includes essentials like security, backups, and performance optimization, you can safely experiment without worrying about maintenance or compatibility issues.
In short, WordPress.com gives you full creative freedom — with the added benefits of managed hosting, automatic updates, and expert support.
Myth #9: WordPress is complicated
Reality: WordPress can feel unfamiliar at first, but anyone can learn how to use it. The platform has a learning curve — like any powerful tool — yet there’s a huge library of tutorials, courses, and community support to help you get comfortable quickly. AI tools like the AI website builder also speed up the process.
You don’t need to be a designer or developer to build a professional website with WordPress.
Once you learn the basics, the Site Editor lets you add and move elements — like headings, buttons, payment blocks, or images — with just a few clicks.
If you prefer extra help, the AI website builder can generate your first site draft in minutes.
For example, remember the dog shelter website I built?
All I needed to do was use text prompts to create the drafts and add visual changes.
With a bit of practice — and access to a supportive community — most WordPress users quickly go from overwhelmed to confident site owners.
Tip: If you need help, tap into our courses, guides, AI assistant, or expert support (for paid plan users of WordPress.com). Our forums, actively supported by WordPress.com staff and experienced users, are also available for all users.
Myth #10: WordPress.com only suits beginners
Reality: While WordPress.com is beginner-friendly, it also offers advanced tools for experienced users.
Many users see WordPress.com as a “lite” version of WordPress and assume it offers limited customization.
Some even claim that WordPress.com locks you into set templates with no plugin access.
The reality is more nuanced:
WordPress.com’s plugin-enabled plans allow third-party plugins, helping you expand your website’s capabilities in various ways. Business, Commerce, and Enterprise plans support fully custom plugins and themes for deeper control. Premium plans and above include custom CSS, so you can adjust layout, typography, spacing, interactions, and more. Business, Commerce, and Enterprise add developer tools like SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI, Git commands, and GitHub deployments for streamlined, professional workflows. Tip: All WordPress.com paid plans include automatic updates, security, analytics, and plugins (e.g., Jetpack Social for social sharing, Akismet for spam protection).
Myth #11: WordPress.com owns your content and locks you in permanently
Reality: Only you control your WordPress content, whether it’s your posts, pages, media, or followers.
You own all content published on your WordPress site. Automattic doesn’t own your data.
In fact, we explicitly mention this in our Terms of Service: “We don’t own your content, and you retain all ownership rights you have in the content you post to your website.”
You can manage your content however you want: delete it, monetize it, sell premium content using the Paid Content block, accept tips through the Donations Form block — or migrate to another host at any time.
These WordPress myths are just that…myths
Now that this post has debunked the myths, you can confidently use WordPress for your website.
Hosting it on WordPress.com is also the best option if you want unlimited bandwidth and “done for you” technical maintenance.
Our pricing scales with your growth. Start free, then upgrade when you need a professional site with advanced features.
All paid plans offer unlimited bandwidth and visits — there’s no traffic slowdown or surprise fees in high-traffic events. Plus, you get a free domain for one year, fast support, 50,000+ plugins, and more.
Launch your site on WordPress.com
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By Drewfus · November 18Nov 18
Black Friday 2025: Get Your Website Built for You — Free with WordPress.com Business

This Black Friday (Nov 17 – Dec 1, 2025), get your website built for you — free — when you purchase a new annual WordPress.com Business plan. Plus, take 10% off.
That’s over $499 in professional design included at no cost, along with savings on our most powerful plan.
Claim your free site build
Terms apply.
Why a website matters more than ever
A professional website does more than put your name online. It builds trust, helps people find you, and sets you up for growth.
Unlike social media accounts or third-party platforms, a WordPress.com site is fully yours: you own your content, control your design, and decide how your audience engages with you.
Whether you’re starting a side project, promoting your business, or sharing your passion, launching a polished website now means you can step into 2026 with momentum — on a platform that you control.
What you’ll get this Black Friday
Here’s what’s waiting for you:
A free, professional five-page site created for you by our team
10% off your Business plan purchase.
A free custom domain for the first year.
Access to premium themes, plugins, and advanced tools like SEO, analytics, and marketing integrations. Why choose the WordPress.com Business plan
The WordPress.com Business plan is built for growth.
You get the flexibility to scale with ecommerce, memberships, and integrations as your goals expand, all on a fast, secure hosting platform.
And whenever you need help, our Happiness Engineers are available worldwide to support you.
How it works
Getting started is simple:
Purchase a Business plan between November 17 and December 1, 2025. 10% will be automatically applied when you purchase via the Black Friday offer page.
Tell us your website goals, and we’ll request the key information we need to create your site. Our design team builds your site.
You launch before the year ends—without the stress of starting from scratch.
Don’t miss out
This Black Friday promotion is only available for a short time — November 17 through December 1, 2025.
Claim your free site build and start the new year with a website that’s ready to grow.
Claim your free site build + 10% off Business Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for this offer?
This promotion is available only to new WordPress.com Business plan customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
How does it work?
After completing your purchase of a yearly WordPress.com Business plan (with 10% off!), you’ll receive an invitation to share your project details with our website design team. We’ll discuss your goals and guide you on how to submit your content using a simple form. From there, our designers will create a custom layout and design based on the information you provide.
What kind of design will I get?
Your website will be built by our experienced design team, which has created sites for thousands of WordPress.com customers.
We use the latest WordPress.com tools and blocks to craft a professional, modern layout — without relying on third-party themes or plugins.
While we don’t build from mockups or external websites, we’re happy to incorporate your preferred colors or fonts to ensure the design reflects your brand.
Once our team delivers the site to you, you’ll be able to add and customize third-party themes or plugins within your Business plan.
Can any website project qualify for the free build?
Our team reviews each project to make sure it fits within the scope of our service. We focus on websites that can be built using WordPress.com’s built-in tools. If a project falls outside of that scope — for example, if it requires advanced custom development or third-party integrations — we’ll let you know and recommend alternative options.
What if I need more than 5 pages?
Additional pages are available for $69 each. Just let us know how many you need, and we’ll include them in your project.
Do I own my website after the work is completed?
Yes. Once your site is finished, it’s completely yours. You’ll be able to edit everything directly from your WordPress Dashboard. The design is built using features included with the Business plan, so keeping that plan ensures your site looks and functions exactly as designed.
Can I use this discount to renew an existing plan?
No. The offer is limited to new annual Business plan purchases between November 17 and December 1, 2025.
What is the refund policy?
All new WordPress.com plans include our standard 14-day refund window. If you decide the Business plan isn’t right for you, you can request a refund within 14 days of purchase.
Terms and conditions
WordPress.com is offering a free, 5-page website build and 10% off with the purchase of a new annual Business plan subscription for users in the US, UK, and Canada. Discount applies to the first payment of an annual plan and does not apply to future recurring payments. Not all website projects will be a fit for our Design Services team. Which projects are a fit will be at the discretion of the Design Services team. This promotion runs from Nov. 17, 2025 to Dec. 1, 2025 and may not be applied to previous purchases, renewals, upgrades of existing subscriptions, or combined with any other offer. We may modify or terminate this promotion at any time without prior notice.

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By Drewfus · November 17Nov 17
12 Cool AI-Powered WordPress Blocks Made with Telex

Did you know you can create custom WordPress blocks with AI — just by describing what you want in plain language?
With Telex, a free, browser-based tool from Automattic, you can type out your idea for a block and watch it come to life right in your browser.
You can then interact with the block, refine it with extra instructions, and download it as a plugin for use on your own WordPress site.
To show you what’s possible, this article lists 12 cool WordPress blocks made with Telex. Each one is accessible via a shared link, so you can explore, remix, and add them to your site.
1. Minesweeper
The Minesweeper is an interactive AI-generated WordPress block that lets you play the classic Minesweeper game on your site.
You can interact with it right inside the post editor or after publishing, whether it’s on a post, page, or any other block area.
Block settings let you adjust the grid’s rows, columns, and mine count.
The puzzle resets automatically on each page load or refresh, and it can be added anywhere blocks are supported.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The Minesweeper block adds a fun, interactive touch to your site and keeps visitors coming back for more.
You can publish it on any post or page to engage your audience — or simply drop it into the editor and enjoy a quick round when you need a break from writing.
2. Rainbow Confetti
The Rainbow Confetti block adds a button to your site that toggles a fun, colorful animation that overlays the entire site.
Its settings let you control the size of the confetti and the speed at which it falls.
You can also switch between random and steady movement styles.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The interactive Rainbow Confetti block adds a fun, eye-catching touch to your site. It’s fully responsive and works seamlessly across all devices.
You can add it to individual posts and pages or even include it in your header template part so it’s always available.
For example, place it at the end of long articles or tutorials so visitors get a playful visual reward for reaching the finish line.
Since these blocks are easy to edit, feel free to remix this one — adjust the confetti’s shape, colors, or animation to match your style.
3. Personality Quiz
The Personality Quiz block lets you add an engaging personality quiz to your WordPress site.
Create your own questions and answers that assign your visitors a personality type or character.
Some of the quizzes you could build include “Which superhero are you,” “What’s your spirit animal,” and “Which TV show character are you?”
You create the cast of characters or personalities and then enter a series of questions and answers. Each question has multiple answers, and each answer points to one of the characters or personality types.
The results are nicely presented and easy to share on social media. Users can retake the quiz with the touch of a button.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The Personality Quiz block makes a great addition to fan sites, entertainment and sports blogs, and any site where characters and personalities are relevant.
This Telex block is perfect if you’re looking for an easy way to add fun, shareable, and engaging interactive content to your site.
4. Accordion Block
The Accordion Telex block helps you add collapsible accordion panels to your content.
These accordions are perfect for FAQs and other question-and-answer-style content.
Multiple accordions can be added to a single post if necessary. Each accordion can have as many panels as needed, and you can add content to the panels through the WordPress editor.
You can also customize the accordions’ colors, font sizes, and border styles through the block settings.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The block works well for any scenario where you want to let visitors control how and when content is displayed, prevent them from being overwhelmed by exposure to too much information, and avoid taking up too much space on a page.
For example, you can use it to create an FAQ or to hide spoilers until visitors choose to see them.
5. Scratcher
The Scratcher Telex block lets you hide text behind a scratchable coating. It supports mouse and touch scratching.
The size of the scratch area, the coating color, and the brush size and shape can be customized. You can also modify the percentage of the coating that must be removed before the content is revealed.
How to use it on your WordPress site
Add an interactive twist to your site with this scratch-off block. It’s perfect for hiding content such as spoilers, special offers, or quiz answers.
6. Pokémon Fun Facts
The Pokémon Fun Facts block adds a button to your site that displays a fun fact about a random Pokémon when clicked.
The block fetches a Pokémon’s name, sprite (its small character image), and Pokédex entry (the short descriptive text shown in the in-game Pokédex) from the PokéAPI each time someone presses the button.
You can use it right away — no API key required.
How to use it on your WordPress site
If your audience would enjoy quick access to random Pokémon facts, this block is for you.
The Pokémon Fun Facts block can be a playful addition to your content or the main highlight of your site — add it wherever you want a bit of extra fun.
7. One More Bite
The One More Bite block lets you conveniently publish recipes on your WordPress site.
It adds a form to the editor with fields covering all of the recipe publishing essentials.
Published recipes include Google Recipe structured data for enhanced search visibility and displaying rich snippets in the search results.
The recipes are all nicely presented and easy to read.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The One More Bite block is perfect for food blogs and for anyone who occasionally shares recipes on their site.
8. Space Dots
The Space Dots block adds floating elements to your site that respond to cursor movement, mouse clicks, and touchscreen taps.
The block settings let you control the number of dots, the height of the block, and the dots’ speed.
How to use it on your WordPress site
You can add this block anywhere on your site — in posts, pages, or template parts.
It serves as both a subtle decorative element and a fun, interactive way for visitors to relieve stress.
9. Weather Forecaster
The Weather Forecaster block fetches and displays a five-day NOAA weather forecast based on a US zip code entered by the user.
It retrieves the forecast using free APIs (Zippopotam.us and weather.gov).
The block then presents the weather information in an accessible, mobile-friendly layout. Visitors can see a day-and-night forecast for today and the next four days.
How to use it on your WordPress site
Any website that features services or activities affected by the weather can benefit from adding this weather forecast block.
For example, sites for local attractions, outdoor events, or travel experiences could use a five-day forecast to help visitors plan their visit or make informed booking decisions.
10. Scroll Indicator
The Scroll Indicator block adds a small animation that invites visitors to scroll down.
When clicked or tapped, it automatically moves the page, offering an easy, interactive way to explore your site.
The block’s animated icon features a smooth bounce effect to gently catch your visitors’ attention without being too distracting.
You can change the icon’s color, size, and text, and set the block to be hidden once a user starts scrolling.
How to use it on your WordPress site
Add this animated indicator to longer pieces of content to give readers another way to navigate your site.
11. Orbit
The Orbit block lets you add animated, circular text to your site.
Add it to a post, enter your text in the block settings sidebar, and watch it rotate around the circle.
You can adjust the rotation speed and control the spacing between the start and end of the text loop.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The Orbit block is ideal for highlighting key pieces of text in an article or adding animated headings to your posts.
12. Chaos Rolled
The Chaos Rolled block adds an animated dice roll to your WordPress site.
Visitors can click the dice to generate a random result with a smooth animation providing visual feedback.
In the block settings sidebar, you can choose from a range of dice types, from D4 to D20. You can also add multiple dice to simulate higher rolls — for example, two D10 dice to create a D100 roll.
How to use it on your WordPress site
Any website that would benefit from random number generation could use this block.
For example, an educational site could make lessons more engaging by generating random numbers for math problems or selecting tasks.
How to get started with Telex
Creating your first block with Telex is as simple as visiting the website and entering a description.
To get started, follow these steps:
Come up with an idea: Your block could serve a practical purpose or simply add a fun, creative touch to your site. Go to the Telex website: Sign in with your WordPress.com account or create a new one. Enter your prompt: Describe the block using natural language. Simple prompts work well, but adding more context helps Telex generate better results. You can easily modify the generated block by providing additional instructions. Click “Build:” Telex will generate a working block in the browser. Iterate and refine: Try out the block and use follow-up prompts to tweak it. Download or share: Once you’re happy with the result, click “Download” to get the plugin zip file that you can install on your WordPress site or choose “Share” to copy a preview link that you can use to show others what you’ve created. You can return to the blocks you create at any time.
Blocks are automatically saved to your WordPress.com account and can be accessed from the Telex page if you need to make changes.
For more information, check out this post on creating AI-generated WordPress blocks with Telex.
Try Telex for Yourself
Ready to build your first AI-generated WordPress block?
Creating custom blocks is faster and easier than ever with Telex.
Whether you want to bring a brand-new idea to life or remix one of the showcased blocks, Telex makes block creation fun and straightforward.
Visit Telex to get started, then share your creations or feedback. We’d love to see what you build.

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By Drewfus · November 13Nov 13
8 Must-Try AI Tools for Web Development (Build Faster & Smarter)

Artificial intelligence excels at automating repetitive tasks and streamlining tedious workflows — and web development has plenty of those.
That’s why using AI tools in your web projects can save you a ton of time and effort.
Still, with so many options out there, which ones are actually worth trying? That’s exactly what we’ll cover in this post.
Below, we’ll explore eight AI-powered web development tools that genuinely stand out.
For each, you’ll see what it does, why it’s useful, and how it can improve your workflow — plus a few quick-start resources to help you put them to work right away.
1. Studio Assistant
The Studio Assistant is our own AI chatbot integrated into WordPress.com’s free local development desktop app, WordPress Studio.
It saves time by letting you do more from a single interface using natural language — no need to browse your site or file system, or learn shell commands.
You can find it under the Assistant tab.
To access the Assistant, you must be logged into your WordPress.com account.
Each user is allowed 200 prompts per month across all of their Studio sites.
You can talk to the Studio Assistant in any language, and it will perform various tasks to help you configure new sites and manage your existing local websites. For example:
Answer questions about WordPress development Give plugin and theme recommendations Create ready-to-copy content Write PHP, JavaScript, and CSS Disable or update plugins Upgrade your local site’s WordPress version (even to beta or RC versions) Open site files directly from the chat interface Run WP-CLI commands If you want to add custom code, the Studio Assistant writes it for you and links to the file where you can add it. The chatbot understands your site’s context (themes, plugins, etc.) and connects to the WordPress.com knowledge base and infrastructure to tailor responses to your setup.
In short, it helps you focus on your goals and ideas instead of clicking around your site.
To learn more, read the documentation. We also have a detailed blog post on the Studio Assistant, and you can download and install WordPress Studio for free here.
Pricing
The Studio Assistant is completely free to use within the WordPress Studio tool. You’ll need to log into a WordPress.com account — free or paid — to access it.
2. Cursor
Cursor is an AI code editor that speeds up your workflow by predicting what you’re going to write next, even across multiple lines and files.
You can simply accept its proposals by hitting the tab button.
In addition, Cursor has an autocorrect function, which means you don’t have to type every colon or apostrophe. The editor fills them in for you.
Another feature is agent mode, which can write and edit code from natural language prompts.
The tool automatically takes your existing codebase into account when creating markup, but you can also provide an instruction file and manually reference files, functions, images, documentation, or the web.
Cursor keeps you in the loop with what it’s working on. You can ask it questions about the code it creates, request revisions, and accept the tool’s output with one click.
Besides, it can run terminal commands and detect and fix lint errors automatically to speed up debugging.
There’s an additional paid feature called Bugbot AI code review, which catches bugs, security issues, and beyond.
This AI web development tool is a real time-saver for anyone who writes a lot of custom code. While not WordPress-specific by default, Cursor lets you set rules — for example, to follow WordPress coding standards or use a specific PHP version.
You can also find and adapt community-made rules in the Cursor Directory.
Check Nick Diego’s detailed video for how to use Cursor for WordPress development with Studio below:
Use the documentation to get started.
Pricing
Cursor has a free plan with limited features.
Paid plans start at $20/month for individuals and $40/month per user for teams (20% off when you go for a yearly plan).
3. Perplexity
Perplexity is an AI‑powered “answer engine” or conversational search tool.
It combines real‑time web access with large language models to generate natural‑language answers and cites its sources.
This makes it really useful for research, unlike static LLMs that may rely on outdated training data.
For example, it helps you quickly find up-to-date information on APIs, frameworks, or error messages through context-aware conversations — much faster than juggling multiple browser tabs. It’s especially useful for troubleshooting, debugging, and discovering additional resources.
Beyond that, Perplexity can do everything you’d expect from an LLM:
Brainstorm ideas Create content Write SEO titles and meta descriptions Generate or refine code snippets Debug and explain code, give feedback Act as a knowledge base Paid users also have access to Perplexity Labs, an AI-powered productivity suite aiming to function as a virtual business or technical team.
It can handle a range of tasks, including data analysis and visualization, content generation, code writing and execution, and building interactive elements.
Overall, Perplexity is better for information gathering and big-picture planning for your website and business than coding.
It’s useful for generating quick code snippets, but since it lacks awareness of your site’s context, it’s less effective as a full development assistant compared to other tools on this list.
Learn Prompting has a great beginner tutorial for Perplexity, and you can also use the official documentation.
Pricing
Perplexity is free to use; its Pro pricing is $20/month (less if you buy an annual subscription).
4. OpenAI Codex
OpenAI Codex is an agent running an OpenAI model optimized for software engineering that integrates with your GitHub repository.
It acts as a “virtual coworker” that you can assign routine work to — e.g., to write code, fix bugs, answer questions about your codebase, run linters and tests, and propose pull requests.
OpenAI Codex exists in two forms:
A cloud-based version accessible via the ChatGPT interface. A local terminal tool called Codex CLI that’s open source and installable via npm. You can access the cloud version from the sidebar of your ChatGPT account.
Once connected to your GitHub account and repository, simply write a new prompt and click on Code to start a coding task or click on Ask to ask the tool questions.
Codex allows multimodal input in the form of text, screenshots, or diagrams to clarify what you want it to do, and you can also provide guidelines in a file.
When it completes a task, the tool shows you exactly what it did so you can review, request additional changes, or open a pull request to merge the changes.
You can find three practical use cases in this tutorial on DataCamp. In addition, check the documentation and, for Codex CLI, the official GitHub repository.
Pricing
Codex is available through ChatGPT’s paid plans, starting at about $25/month for Plus, $250/month for Pro, and $37 per user/month for Business.
5. Claude Code
Similar to our last entry, Claude Code is an agentic coding tool that runs in your terminal. It understands your codebase, and you can prompt it to perform routine tasks, explain code, and manage Git workflows via natural language commands.
Claude Code also integrates with GitHub, GitLab, IDEs like VSCode and JetBrains, as well as external tools like Slack and Jira.
Here’s what it can do:
Build features: Tell the agent what you want to create, and it will write the code for you, including multi-file edits and refactors. Debugging: Share an error message or describe a bug. Claude Code will analyze your codebase, suggest fixes, and implement them automatically after approval. It can also manage Git workflows like commits, branches, and merge conflicts. Onboarding: The AI tool can map the structure of your codebase, explain dependencies, and highlight relevant files for new contributors. It also answers codebase questions and can even pull in context from external sources. Automate testing and code review: Automatically generate unit tests, pull request summaries, and receive code review comments. In addition, Claude Code can help translate functionality across languages and frameworks. Provide documentation: Generate or refine comments, notes, and module overviews to keep your codebase well-documented. Claude Code is designed for developers of all levels who want to speed up their workflow and spend less time on repetitive tasks.
WordPress developers, for example, can use it to generate plugins or themes from simple prompts, debug issues like plugin conflicts or database errors, improve documentation, migrate legacy code to newer WordPress standards, and more.
Check out this tutorial to get started:
Pricing
Plans start at $17/month for an annual individual subscription. Get started with the official documentation, tutorials, and learn how the Anthropic team uses Claude Code.
6. GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant developed by GitHub and OpenAI, which supports a wide range of languages and frameworks.
It integrates primarily into popular IDEs like VS Code, Visual Studio, XCode, and JetBrains IDEs, as well as your CLI.
There, it provides real-time, context-aware code suggestions and completions based on natural language prompts and your existing code context.
Copilot also includes a chat interface that helps with coding questions and debugging. It’s available directly on GitHub, as a command-line tool, and in the GitHub mobile app.
As a (WordPress) web developer, here’s what you can use this AI tool for:
Make changes across multiple files from a single prompt (Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, and JetBrains IDEs only) Write PHP, JavaScript, CSS, and REST API code Get suggestions and explanations for command-line commands Have Copilot review your pull requests In short, GitHub Copilot automates development tasks while remaining context-aware and adapting to your coding style.
It’s like a virtual team member inside your favorite IDE. You can adapt its responses by providing custom instructions.
The documentation has everything you need, and there are separate docs for using it in VS Code.
Pricing
Copilot comes with a limited free plan (50 agent mode or chat requests and 2,000 code completions per month).
Paid plans begin at $10/month (two months free if you pay annually) and include a 30-day free trial.
7. Telex
Telex is an experimental tool from the Automattic AI team that lets you build WordPress blocks. It makes the whole process easier by using natural-language prompts.
It is powered by WordPress Playground, meaning Telex works online in your browser, so there’s no need to install anything to use it.
After logging in with a WordPress.com account, simply describe the block you are trying to build.
The tool will create a usable prototype for you to preview and test. From here, you can refine it with follow-up prompts or by editing the code directly.
When you are satisfied, download the block as a plugin and install it on your site. You can also share it via a link.
How can Telex best help you speed up your development process?
Use it to:
Build quick prototypes or small utility blocks for client projects. Create block scaffolding in a real WordPress context to experiment with and refine. Learn from working examples and the code behind them. Note that Telex is still an experimental AI as the team continues building and improving it. You may run into occasional limitations, but more functionality is on the way. Their team is actively working to enhance the experience and welcomes your feedback and suggestions as you try it.
More information is available in the Telex FAQs, and you can help improve the tool by using the “Send us feedback!” button at the bottom of your project screen.
Picing
Telex is free to use, and you can create unlimited blocks with it. If you don’t know what you should build, use these cool Telex block examples to get started.
8. WordPress.com AI website builder
The WordPress.com AI website builder allows you to use conversational prompts to create entire websites, and you can use it for free for new sites.
To start your free trial, head to the AI website builder page and use the prompt box to describe your website in a few words.
You can get more specific with your prompts once your site has been created.
Once you submit, log in to your WordPress.com account, and answer a few more questions about the kind of site you want to create, the builder will create your site.
From here, you can customize your site using the AI chat in the sidebar. For example:
Customize colors Change page layouts Choose new fonts Add new pages Upload your own photos And so much more… Click on any element to customize it — use one of the suggested prompts that appear above the prompt box or type your own.
Change templates, colors, elements, generate new content — it’s up to you. If you don’t know what to do, you can also ask the AI builder what else it can help with.
Once you’re happy with your site, click the Launch button. Pick your hosting plan, and you are ready to publish your site.
Since it’s all done in WordPress, you can always go back and customize your website further. Go to Appearance → Editor.
The AI sidebar will open automatically so you can easily continue using the AI chat to make changes across your site.
The WordPress.com AI website builder is ideal for anyone who wants to launch a website quickly, including developers who want to quickly scaffold ideas into functional prototypes or fully deployable sites.
It allows you to do so in a few hours instead of days or weeks.
Note that it can’t (yet) build ecommerce sites that need complex logic and features, but we’re constantly improving it. For more information, check the launch post and documentation.
Pricing
The AI Website Builder from WordPress.com offers a free trial and is available on all WordPress.com paid plans.
Use AI tools to level up your web development workflow
Web developers can benefit greatly from AI tools — if you find the right ones.
There’s plenty to choose from, each suited for different jobs, applications, and environments.
They can do anything from generating code snippets and offering context-aware suggestions to answering questions and even building and managing entire WordPress sites via conversational prompts.
The list above is a solid starting point to explore the world of AI web development tools. The key is selecting the right combination that aligns with your specific needs, preferred workflows, and budget.
Sign up for WordPress.com and try out Studio Assistant and the AI Website Builder. Take advantage of powerful developer features like staging sites, SSH access, WP-CLI, and GitHub deployments while you are at it.

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By Drewfus · November 12Nov 12
Top Simple Prompts to Build Your First WordPress Site With AI

WordPress.com’s AI website builder helps you create a site using simple language prompts.
Just type what you need and it’ll materialize your vision (like magic!) — no coding or technical skills required.
In this guide, I’ll share seven prompts you can use to create and customize a website from scratch with our platform.
Let’s assume we’re making a personal blog all about books and publishing. Follow along, then adapt the prompts to suit the site you’re building.
1. Create the first site draft
First, use the AI website builder to create a whole website from scratch.
Think of it as the first draft before you customize each section and page based on your needs.
To create a blog about books, I used this prompt:
“Build a website called “Rochi’s book corner.” It’s a personal blog that will include written and video content about books (reviews and recommendations) and cultural commentary on books & the publishing industry. The style should be fun, welcoming, and modern. I want to have pages for reviews, recommendations, trends, an about page, and a contact page.”
To get a result as close to your vision as possible, include specific and detailed instructions, such as:
The name of your website (if you have one) The type of site you want to build — blog, portfolio, business, or something else How many pages you want to add and what each page should be called The style you’re going for — modern, professional, chic, funny, elegant, minimalistic, etc. The type(s) of content and media you’re looking to publish on the site — like blogs, images, videos, and more For the above prompt, WordPress.com’s AI website builder created this site:
The first draft alone was stellar — something that would’ve taken me hours (if not days) to create were I doing everything from scratch.
2. Customize the site’s design and appearance
Next, customize how you want your site to look: fonts, colors, layouts, and more.
Follow the prompts I’ve shared below to adjust your site’s look step by step.
Change your site’s color
The first draft of the site is great — the yellow and purple contrast pops, instantly giving it a fun and exciting energy (something I requested in my prompt).
However, I would like the color palette to be more subdued. Here’s the prompt I used to achieve this:
“Show me color palettes for my site that are a little more subdued and relaxed without sacrificing the current fun and exciting energy.”
The AI website builder gave me nine color palette choices to choose from.
Each of the colors complemented one another well and matched the requirements of the prompt I gave.
Ultimately, I chose the green palette.
Change your site’s fonts
Next, I wanted to see if a different font looked better on the site. I used this prompt to ask the AI to give me options:
“Show me new fonts for my site that complement the rest of the design. It should be a little bookish (like a typewriter), but easy and accessible to read.”
The website builder gave me eight options of font pairs (one font for the header, another for body text) that go together like cookies and milk. I picked the one I liked the most.
Change your site’s layout
I also wanted to see if there’s a better way to arrange all of the moving elements of the site on the homepage. I asked AI to show me various layout options using a simple prompt:
“Show me different layouts for this page.”
I ultimately liked the original version best, so I simply clicked the backward arrow, which allowed me to restore my website to its last setting.
AI had several unique options with diverse designs and structures, which will come in handy when I update my site and mix up the appearance a little bit.
Change your site’s buttons
Lastly, I wanted all the buttons to be round instead of square or rectangular. So, I gave this prompt:
“Make all the buttons of a round shape.”
AI instantly granted my request, and all the buttons on the whole site were made circular.
Note: Make sure you add the right links to all the call-to-action buttons across your site. You can do this manually or ask AI to link the button back to a specific page on your website.
3. Edit individual sections on your site by customizing WordPress blocks
You can also edit individual sections and WordPress blocks on your site.
Ask AI to add sub-sections, display posts in a different order, rewrite the copy, and even add a brand new section.
Edit a section on your site
I wanted the book reviews section to have different headers and sub-sections. I used the following prompt to accomplish this:
“Edit the “Latest Book Reviews” section. There should be five sub-sections overall: Fiction, Biographies, Self-help, Classics, and Debuts.”
AI reorganized the section based on my input and let me choose the appearance pattern for each sub-section.
Rewrite the text of your site
In each individual block, you can also manually edit anything you wish.
I find it easier to edit the text manually, but you can also prompt AI to change the tone of any text on your site.
For example, you can use this prompt to make your landing page copy more concise and friendly:
“Rewrite the copy on the homepage to be more concise and friendly. Use short sentences and a welcoming tone.”
Add a new section to your site
You can add new sections and pages to your site using the AI website builder.
I wanted to create a separate section for adjacent book-related content, for instance, so this is what I asked it to do:
“Create another section after “Latest Book Reviews” titled “We’ll Talk More Than Just Books.” Include headers with three posts inside them, similar to a sub-section. The sub-headers should be “The Rise of Romance Books,” “Should You Read Books Recommended on BookTok?,” and “The Cult of the Classics.””
The image below is the result generated by the tool.
I also provided specific instructions for each thumbnail so that it accurately reflects the section’s title. Here’s an example of the prompt I gave for the last image:
“Create a thumbnail image for the “The cult of classics” post in the “We’ll talk more than just books” section. This image should have a stack of five books that say “Jane Austen”, “Charlotte Brontë”, “Charles Dickens”, and “Virginia Woolf.”
Note: Select the section or block you want to edit before giving a prompt to the website builder.
4. Update or generate your website images and logos
The AI website builder can also create a logo for your site (if you don’t already have one) and generate images to complement your content.
Generate and update images
You can add your own images to your site by uploading them. You can also ask AI to generate images for your site.
I prompted the tool to create photos for the whole site that match a specific aesthetic:
“Edit all images to have a cozy feel to them. There should be a fall aesthetic and books in every image. The hero image should be of a girl reading in the candlelight, animated.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if the images would be up to par (my experience with AI image generators has not been excellent), but the photos were surprisingly good. No six fingers or freaky joint angles.
Create a logo for your site
You can also create your site’s logo from scratch.
Here’s the instruction I gave:
“Create a logo for this website. It should say “Rochi’s book corner” inside an open book.”
You can make the guideline more specific for better results and include details regarding the color palette, shape, etc.
Although I have found the tool creates a pretty decent logo on the first try, too.
5. Add social media icons and sign-up forms to your site
If you’d like to include extra elements — like social media icons, newsletter sign-ups, or contact forms — just ask the website builder to add them.
Add media icons to your site
Here’s the prompt I used to add three social media icons to my site:
“Add social icons to the right side navigation bar with links to Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.”
You can also continue prompting and further customize the icons’ appearance and placement on the site.
Add a newsletter opt-in for your site
I wanted to add a section on my site where readers can subscribe to my newsletter. I used this prompt to create a simple opt-in form:
“Add a newsletter opt-in form after the “We’ll talk more than just books” section. The form should include two fields: Name and Email, along with the “Subscribe” button. The section’s title should be “Never miss a post from Rochi’s book corner.” Add an image of an email opening up to reveal a book inside to go along with it. The order should be image, header, and opt-in box from left to right.”
Here’s the result:
Note: If you plan to send regular updates, use WordPress.com’s built-in Newsletter feature that lets you turn your posts into emails, customize layouts, and monetize your content without extra tools.
6. Learn how to use WordPress
Although WordPress is quite intuitive to use, if you face any roadblocks, you can ask the AI website builder how to navigate it.
For example, I was struggling to understand how to create a slideshow for one of my website sections. I asked the tool:
“How can I add a slideshow to the “We talk more than just books” section? It should display the posts on the page “Beyond books.” Give me step-by-step directions.”
The full response included clear and detailed instructions on how to create the slideshow I wanted.
7. Get ideas to improve your website
The AI tool is also great for generating website ideas — you can ask it to improve navigation, suggest new pages, enhance security, or identify missing elements.
Make your site more secure
I wanted to know what I can do to improve the security of my site, but I can’t invest in paid tools for this website yet.
Here’s the prompt I used to get some (free) solutions:
“Give me some ideas on how I can improve the security of my website. Don’t recommend any paid tools.”
The full list of tips included several suggestions I hadn’t thought of before.
The best part?
The AI tool gives you recommendations tailored to your site’s current setup.
For instance, in my case, it detected that I didn’t have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled and suggested adding it to improve security.
Brainstorm ideas to improve your site
Next, the AI website builder can provide you with personalized recommendations to improve your site overall.
For instance, I used this prompt to find general big-picture methods to make my site better:
“Suggest some ideas to improve this site. Recommend some additional pages or sections I could add, navigation enhancements, and any other missing elements.”
AI provided me with several detailed suggestions to improve my site, including adding social proof, producing author interviews, creating an online book club, launching reading challenges, and more.
The prompt I used was a bit broad, but you can ask AI for more specific queries to help improve your site as well. The tool is able to understand complex instructions.
Hopefully, the examples above give you a sense of what’s possible with WordPress.com’s AI website builder.
This is all really just the start because you can tweak and customize your site in almost any way you like.
There’s one catch, though: Your AI-built website will only be as good as the guidance you provide.
How to write effective prompts in the AI website builder: five pro tips
While AI can help you create a website in seconds, you’re still in the driver’s seat.
You have complete control over how you want your site to look and function — it all comes down to how you guide the AI with your prompts.
So here are some pro prompting tips:
1. Be as specific as possible
The number one tip to prompt better is to provide specific, detailed instructions. Here’s an example:
Less effectiveMore effective“Make the text in this section better.”“Rewrite the text in the “Book Reviews” section to have a more friendly and casual tone.” This also means not relying too heavily on context.
For instance, tell it to “change the About section’s color palette to sky blue,” even if your last prompt was about the same section.
Be specific, and avoid overusing vague pronouns like “this” or “it” in your prompts.
2. Keep refining until you get the result
Don’t lose hope if the first draft of something that AI produces isn’t close to your imagination.
Continue providing more specific instructions until you achieve the desired result.
For instance, if the homepage’s hero image isn’t the right size, prompt the tool to “Make the hero image smaller so the headline stays above the fold.”
Each new prompt helps the AI better understand your vision, so think of it as a back-and-forth process rather than a one-time command.
3. Ask for help beyond website design
The website builder can do a lot more than design your website.
You can ask how to improve your site’s loading speed, get tips on the best security settings, or explore anything else related to your WordPress.com site.
4. Use it in conjunction with the manual editor
The AI website builder is extremely powerful, but you can also edit things manually to customize them to your liking or for convenience.
For instance, I find it easier to add/replace the links of all buttons myself rather than ask AI to do it.
WordPress.com’s Site Editor is just as sleek and smart as the AI tool itself — use it alongside the website builder to make your site exactly as you’ve imagined.
5. Take it one section at a time
Specific, detailed prompts work great with AI, but only when they focus on a particular section.
Avoid giving multiple directions about different sections on your site simultaneously. Instead, break that request into smaller parts.
For example, instead of asking the tool to “Put the hero image above the headline and make all the buttons on this page blue,” break it down into two steps.
First, ask to resize the hero image. Then, enter the command for changing the color of the buttons.
Start building your WordPress site using these AI prompts
With WordPress.com’s AI website builder, creating your site takes minutes instead of days or weeks.
The prompts in this guide give you a starting point.
The next step is adjusting the details — such as content style, layout, colors, fonts, and everything in between — to match your unique vision.
Remember: Be specific, refine as you go, work on one section at a time, and use AI alongside manual editing for the best results.
Your first iteration might not be perfect, but with just a few tweaks, it’ll be exactly what you need.
Note: Using the AI website builder from WordPress.com enters you into a free trial so you can build your site before purchasing. To publish your site, you’ll need to purchase a Premium or Business plan.
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By Drewfus · November 10Nov 10
How to Build a Multilingual Website on WordPress.com

Have you ever wondered whether having your WordPress website in multiple languages is worth it, and how much effort it actually takes?
During my recent trip to the Netherlands, I found myself navigating local websites for everything from restaurants to train schedules.
As a non-Dutch speaker, it was such a relief when I could switch to English versions without fumbling with translation tools.
That experience reminded me that a multilingual site isn’t just about translating text — it’s about making people feel included and welcome.
As a website owner, offering your content in different languages opens you up to a wider audience and invites more connections, opportunities, and even sales.
If that piques your interest, let’s explore why you should consider a multilingual website and how to create one on WordPress.com.
Benefits of having a multilingual website
Is my experience in the Netherlands not enough to convince you about turning your website or store into a multilingual one?
That’s okay!
Consider the following benefits you’ll gain if you do it anyway.
1. Sell more to a global audience
Having a multilingual website instantly expands your customer base beyond local language speakers.
During my time shopping online in the Netherlands, I skipped sites without English versions and gave my business to those that offered language options.
This simple choice applies to all website owners — your potential customers include not only locals, but also expats and tourists who might not speak the local language.
The same applies if you serve customers and ship internationally. It removes purchase barriers, gives you a competitive advantage, and builds trust with your audience.
Why should you create a multilingual website when visitors can use their browser to automatically translate? Your visitors may have Google or other forms of translation built into their browsers, but not everyone has the plugins, and they’re not always reliable. You risk losing potential customers or readers simply because their browser failed to translate, or the translation wasn’t accurate. Besides, all areas of your website may not function properly when an extension takes over. That’s why it’s always better to offer multiple languages instead of relying on browser tools.
2. Share your passion with a wider community
A multilingual blog increases your potential readership and community engagement.
If you’re blogging about news, crafts, technology, or something you’re passionate about, it’s second nature to stick to the language you speak.
Adding another language version, however, opens doors to entirely new communities.
This is especially true if you currently write in a language other than English.
Since the internet is global and language reaches across borders, offering English versions of your posts means someone from another corner of the world might discover your content and become a follower.
Sounds far-fetched? It really isn’t.
That’s exactly why I started blogging in English alongside my native language back in 2008.
Have I met people from all over the world? I most certainly have.
That’s why I recommend considering going global, even if you’re primarily writing for yourself.
3. Rank in local search results in different regions
Multilingual content also improves your search visibility in different regions.
When I was Googling in the Netherlands, most search results appeared in Dutch — including links to Dutch websites, even when those websites had an English version available.
This was clear proof that if you want to reach people in a particular region, there’s no better way than to write in their language.
By doing so, you allow search engines like Google to index your content in that language, giving your website an SEO boost.
So, when your target audience searches for something, your website has a higher chance of showing up rather than getting lost in the digital void.
Will a multilingual website really help you get more sales and traffic? In many cases, yes! Remember when I chose one website over another for shopping online simply because it was offered in a language I understood? This behavior is more common than you think.
How to create multilingual websites
Now that you know you may be leaving traffic (and money) on the table by not offering your website in more languages, your next question is likely: How do I create a multilingual website?
Let me share three different ways you can create a multilingual website (or turn your existing website into one).
Each option has its pros and cons, which I’ll explain.
Tip: Did you know you can translate the content of your posts and pages using our built-in AI Assistant? Click here to find out!
Option 1: Create multiple websites for each language
This is exactly what it sounds like: You create different websites for each language you want to offer. While it requires some effort, the payoff is definitely worth it!
This approach is best suited for:
Large-scale business and organization websites Multinational companies that operate in different countries Benefits:
Each website can have its own content and design language. You can optimize each website separately for maximum SEO benefits. It’s much easier to tailor the tone, voice, and overall design of each version of your website while keeping true to your brand. Drawbacks:
A little more time and effort are required to manage and update multiple websites, especially for online stores with frequent product updates. This approach involves higher costs. It can be harder to maintain brand consistency across all versions of the website and benefit from the existing authority of your original site. How to create multiple sites on WordPress.com
The best part: You can easily create multiple websites using the same WordPress.com account.
Whether you have different websites or the same one in multiple languages, you can have all of them in the same account, saving you from the hassle of having to log in separately to each site.
1. Create or copy an existing website.
If you’re using plans like Free, Personal, and Premium, click here and start creating a new website.
Or, if you have the Business plan or higher, use our Copy a site feature to effortlessly copy your entire site into a brand new one.
Click the W logo at the top left of your screen to see your Sites.
Then, click the three dots next to the website you wish to copy and click Settings.
Scroll down to the “Actions” section and click the “Duplicate” button.
Next, give your new website a domain name.
You can opt for a completely different domain name, like my-website.com on the primary website and mon-site.com for the French version.
Or you can use a subdomain like fr.my-website.com to keep all versions of the website on the same domain name.
Not ready to set a domain name yet? No worries! You can type a name for your new website and pick the free address option that will appear in the list.
Then, choose a WordPress.com plan for your new website.
Not sure which plan is right for you? Check out our plans and pricing to learn more.
In most cases, you can purchase the same plan you have on your primary website for your localized ones.
For example, if you have the WordPress.com Business plan on your main site, you can choose the Business plan for the other version, too.
Keep in mind that each website will need to have its own plan.
2. Sit back and wait
You’ll see a progress bar as our system starts copying your website.
This means you can safely navigate away from the screen.
We’ll email you once your new website is ready.
You can then edit the content and translate it as needed.
Option 2: Publish multiple versions on the same site
If you’d like to stick to a single website while offering your content in multiple languages, you’re not out of luck!
With a bit of planning and organizing, you can have multiple versions of the same posts and pages on the same website.
This approach is best suited for:
Personal and company blogs Local businesses Benefits:
It’s relatively straightforward to set up — you won’t have to manage multiple websites. You’ll be able to use one dashboard to manage all of your website’s content. Perfect for growing blogs and small, information-oriented websites. Drawbacks:
Pages can look cluttered if multiple versions are in the same place. The audience of one language may unintentionally land on a page written in a different language, causing confusion. Search engines may struggle to recommend your website to a specific audience, especially if they detect multiple languages on the same page. How to implement this approach on WordPress.com
If this option best suits your needs, I recommend creating different pages and posts for each language rather than adding all translated copies on the same page.
This provides a better user experience with clear separation between languages.
When readers land on your website, they can continue reading content in their chosen language. You can add internal links to other posts written in the same language, reducing the “bounce rate” and keeping visitors on your website longer.
For navigation between languages, add a language switcher to your menu. For example:
Although language switchers work best with third-party plugins (more on this in Option 3), you can create a simple version by:
Creating multiple pages in different languages (including separate homepages) Adding links in your menu to the corresponding pages in other languages This way, visitors can easily switch between language versions of your site while maintaining a clean, organized structure.
Option 3: Use a multilingual plugin
Using a plugin (developed by third-party developers) can be a fantastic choice if you want to have your website in different languages without having to show different versions on the same page.
One of the most popular plugins for creating a multilingual website in WordPress is Polylang.
It lets you create multiple versions of every post and page, as well as add a language switcher to the navigation menu of your website, so that visitors can choose their language and see all content in their selected language.
This approach is best suited for:
Ecommerce websites that manage stocks of their products Professional websites that need content in multiple languages Content-heavy sites with lots of pages to translate Benefits:
Visitors can switch languages easily with a toggle or menu. Strong SEO support. Plugins help Google index each language separately. You keep one single website, but with structured management for translations. Good scalability for larger sites or businesses. Drawbacks:
Initial setup can take a bit of time. Some plugins are premium (extra cost). Needs a consistent translation workflow to avoid confusion. How to implement this approach on WordPress.com
Each multilingual plugin has its own specific setup process and guidelines.
For example, if you choose to use Polylang, you’d follow their documentation for the most up-to-date instructions.
I’d suggest checking out the Polylang plugin description to get started. You can also browse other multilingual plugins for your website.
Bonus: Use our AI Assistant to translate your posts and pages
I know you’re wondering, so I figured, why not sprinkle it in, too!
If you have an existing website, getting help from AI can be the fastest way to translate all the content into a new language.
The methods I mentioned above are all for creating different versions of your website in multiple languages.
You still have to manually translate the content.
However, you can use our AI Assistant block to complete this task.
One of the coolest things it can do is it can access the content of the entire page you’re editing.
So, if you open up one of the pages that was written in English, you can insert the AI Assistant block at the top or bottom of your page and ask it to translate the content automatically for you.

For example, I used the following prompt: “Translate this page into Spanish.”
In seconds, you’ll get your copy translated and optimized.
Once the AI Assistant block has finished generating the content, click the “Accept” button to insert it into the editor.
You can then add a separator or simply copy the translated version and paste it into the other page.
As you can see, the AI Assistant block is a powerful tool to speed up the translation process for your website.
However, for accuracy, I’d still recommend performing a human review, especially if you have a business website.
Ready to reach new audiences with your multilingual site?
The bottom line is: Going multilingual with your online store, hobby blog, or professional website doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Since WordPress.com gives you the flexibility to choose, pick the right method based on your time commitment, goals, budget, and audience.
Are you still in doubt about going multilingual with your WordPress.com website?
Let us know what kind of website it is and what’s preventing you from offering it in more languages in the comments below.
For WordPress.com websites on a paid plan, you can also reach our support team to discuss your multilingual needs directly.
We’re ready to help you choose the right method!
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By Drewfus · November 6Nov 6
Let’s Grow Together: Introducing Recommended Blogs

Building an audience is one of the most challenging aspects of creating online content.
You pour your energy into writing, publishing, and refining your work, but finding readers who genuinely connect with what you create takes time and effort.
What if your readers could help your blog grow? What if the writers you love could introduce their audience to yours?
That’s the idea behind recommended blogs, a feature now available in the WordPress.com Reader that lets you share the blogs you enjoy most with your own audience.
Where to see recommended blogs in the Reader
When you find a blog you genuinely enjoy, you can add it to your personal recommendations list.
Your subscribers and readers can then see these recommendations when they visit your profile in the Reader or hover over your gravatar anywhere in the Reader.
Recommended blogs on the Reader user profile This creates a network effect — bloggers recommending other bloggers, helping each other discover new audiences authentically.
Rather than relying solely on algorithms or paid promotion, you can grow through the trust of fellow creators.
How to recommend a blog
There are several ways to recommend a blog.
First, you can add or edit your recommendations in the Reader by visiting Lists > Recommended Blogs.
Alternatively, visit your Subscriptions page in the Reader and recommend a blog using the Recommend toggle.
Or, use the “Recommend this blog” button that appears on the blog page in the Reader.
You can recommend any blog shown in the Reader and update your recs as your interests evolve.
This includes blogs on WordPress.com, Jetpack, or any blog with an RSS feed.
If someone recommends your blog, you’ll receive a notification — a small reminder that your work is resonating with other creators.
Connect with creators who inspire you
If you haven’t spent much time with the Reader, it’s the place where you can discover new blogs, follow your favorites, and engage with people from across the WordPress.com community.
You’ll find personalized streams of posts from sites you subscribe to, can browse by topic, and interact with other creators.
It’s designed to help you stay connected to the sites you care about while discovering new voices that align with your interests.
Unlike sites that feel like social media, the Reader is built to be a calm platform where you can read what you like and find a community with similar interests.
Time to hand out the recs
Ready to make a recommendation? Visit the Reader and share the blogs you love with your followers.
We’re continuing to refine how recommended blogs work based on your feedback.
It’s all about building a network where creators support each other’s growth, one thoughtful recommendation at a time.
Visit the Reader
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By Drewfus · November 5Nov 5
How to Use WP-CLI to Manage WordPress Sites More Efficiently

WordPress has a user-friendly graphical interface that makes site management simple.
But did you know there’s another way to run your website?
Meet WP-CLI, the WordPress Command Line Interface. It does everything WP Admin can, plus more.
You can use it to interact with your site through the command line in a terminal, which can actually save you a lot of time — whether you’re managing content, plugins, themes, users, or anything else.
In this guide, we’ll cover what WP-CLI is and share some useful commands to help you get up to speed.
Whether your site’s hosted by WordPress.com or another provider, WP-CLI could be the skill upgrade you’re looking for to make managing sites more efficient and flexible.
What is WP-CLI?
WP-CLI is the official command-line interface for WordPress. It’s been built to help developers manage their sites more quickly and flexibly.
Instead of managing a site through the graphical WP Admin interface in a browser, WP-CLI lets you run powerful commands from your choice of terminal software.
For example, with commands, you can:
Install a list of plugins on a site Assign multiple posts to a different user Create new users Delete all spam comments. You can even create a new WordPress installation, switch to a different version of WordPress core, and search for and replace strings in the database — things you can’t do from WP Admin.
The story behind WP-CLI
WP-CLI is an open-source project, just like WordPress itself.
It was originally created by Andreas Creten, Cristi Burcă, and former Automattician Daniel Bachhuber, and is now maintained by Alain Schlesser with contributions from developers all over the world.
To ensure compatibility with the latest versions of WordPress, WP-CLI follows a regular release cycle. Updates are usually rolled out every three to four months and include new commands and improved performance.
At its core, WP-CLI aims to make WordPress more developer-friendly.
Once you get comfortable with it, you can manage one or many sites more efficiently — and even automate tasks you’d never be able to in WP Admin.
How to install WP-CLI
Some web hosts include WP-CLI by default — and WordPress.com is one of them.
To use WP-CLI on WordPress.com, your site needs to be on the Business or Commerce plan.
First, make sure you have SSH access to the server where WordPress is installed.
To check if WP-CLI is installed, try running a version check by entering the following command:
wp cli version
If WP-CLI is installed, you’ll see something like:
WP-CLI 2.12.0
If not, you’ll get a message such as:
command not found: wp
If WP-CLI isn’t installed yet, follow these installation instructions.
Why use WP-CLI?
The main reasons to use WP-CLI over WP Admin are the efficiency and access advantages.
It lets you:
Execute commands in seconds instead of clicking through multiple screens in WP Admin, saving time when setting up new sites or managing existing ones.
Keep working even if a problem prevents you from accessing WP Admin — for example, a plugin conflict. In those cases, WP-CLI lets you disable plugins, create user accounts, and update WordPress core, all without using WP Admin.
Perform tasks that WP Admin doesn’t allow without installing extra plugins, such as interacting with the database or running bulk actions like installing and activating multiple themes or plugins with one command, generating dummy content, rolling back WordPress core or plugin versions, and managing multiple sites on the same server from a single command.
Combine WP-CLI commands into chains or scripts to automate entire workflows — for example, setting up a new site, configuring settings, creating user accounts, installing plugins, and generating dummy content, all from one script. Sure, you need to learn a new way of working with WordPress to get the full benefits of WP-CLI.
However, it doesn’t take long to get familiar with this approach, and once you are, you’ll be working much more efficiently.
If your site is hosted on the WordPress.com Business or Commerce plan, you can use WP-CLI plus get access to a few WordPress.com-only commands, some of which we cover later in this guide.
The best part? As WP-CLI was built for developers, you get a lot of freedom in how you use it.
Examples of common WP-CLI commands and what you can do with them
Let’s go over some examples of common commands and why you might want to use them.
Before we get to the examples, it’s worth taking a look at the format of the commands.
WP-CLI commands generally follow this structure:
wp <command> <subcommand> [arguments] [--flags] [--flag=value]
Every command starts with wp, which tells the shell you’re running a WP-CLI command. wp is then followed by a command and often a subcommand.
Examples include plugin and list — the command for listing all the plugins installed on the site:
wp plugin list
The commands can also include arguments, such as:
wp plugin update hello-dolly
This command updates the hello-dolly plugin (if an update is available).
Flags can also be added to commands. They start with — and either toggle options or pass a value to the command.
For example, when adding the –status=active flag to the wp plugin list command, it will only list the active plugins on the site:
wp plugin list --status=active
You can also chain commands together using &&, such as:
wp plugin install contact-form-7 --activate && wp plugin install akismet --activate && wp theme install twentytwentyfive --activate
This command installs and activates the Contact Form 7 and Akismet plugins, along with the Twenty Twenty-Five theme.
You can add –help to any command to view its subcommands, flags, and other information in WP-CLI.
For example:
wp plugin --help wp plugin list --help
As we go through the examples, you’ll get a better idea of how WP-CLI commands are structured.
You can use WP-CLI through terminal software, including the free Windows Terminal and macOS Terminal apps.
You can also use loops and Bash scripts with WP-CLI to build more advanced, automated workflows — performing bulk updates, managing multiple sites, and streamlining complex WordPress maintenance tasks with a single command.
How to manage WordPress plugins with WP-CLI
wp plugin is a handy command for interacting with plugins on a site via WP-CLI.
It lets you install, update, and delete plugins using commands rather than navigating multiple steps in WP Admin — and saves you a lot of time.
For example, if you often set up new sites and have a list of plugins from the WordPress.org Plugin Directory that you always install, you can achieve this with a single time-saving command.
You can also easily update plugins you’ve installed from the WordPress.org Plugin Directory from the command line. Switching to different versions of a plugin, including older versions, from the command line is straightforward, too.
Finally, you can install and update plugins from other sources using WP-CLI. This won’t work for all plugins, as you’ll need to enter their URL, and WP-CLI must be able to access the ZIP file. However, if the files are accessible, then you should be able to install them.
Let’s have a look at some of the most useful wp plugin commands.
wp plugin list
Use the following command to see which plugins are installed on the site:
wp plugin list
This command not only lists all the plugins installed on the site, but also displays their status, version number, and whether an update is available.
You can add flags to the wp plugin list command to modify what it returns, such as:
wp plugin list --update=available
This command will only list the plugins that have an update available.
You can see all the flags available for a specific command by adding the –help flag to it.
For example:
wp plugin list --help wp plugin update
If the site you’re working on has plugins installed that are hosted in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory and have an update available, they can be updated using the following command:
wp plugin update --all
You can exclude plugins from the update by using the –exclude flag:
wp plugin update --all --exclude=akismet
Excluding a plugin can be useful if you haven’t tested the latest version of a plugin and don’t want to install it.
As you can see below, all plugins have been updated, except for Akismet, as requested.
wp plugin install
WP-CLI can be used to install plugins hosted in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory.
You can also install plugins by entering the path to a local zip file or a URL to a remote zip file.
To install one or more plugins from the WordPress.org Plugin Directory, use the following command appended by the name of the plugin(s):
wp plugin install <plugin-name>
For example, to install BuddyPress and Contact Form 7, enter:
wp plugin install bbpress contact-form-7
When entering the name of the plugin, you must use the plugin’s slug in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory.
To find the plugin’s slug, visit the plugin page in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory and locate the slug in the URL:
Image: WP-CLI-slug-example-one
If you’d like the plugins also to be activated after installation, add the –activate flag to the end of the command:
wp plugin install bbpress contact-form-7 --activate
You can find more information about installing plugins, including instructions on how to install plugins not listed in the WordPress Plugin Directory, on the wp plugin install page of the WordPress Developer Resources site.
wp plugin deactivate
You can also deactivate one or more plugins from the command line.
This can be especially useful if the site has become unresponsive due to a plugin-related issue that’s preventing you from accessing WP Admin and deactivating the plugin via the browser.
Some of your options for deactivating plugins include deactivating a specific plugin by name, using the –all flag to deactivate all plugins, and deactivating all plugins except for specific ones.
For example, to deactivate a specific plugin, use the following command:
wp plugin deactivate akismet
To deactivate all plugins, use this command:
wp plugin deactivate --all
To deactivate all plugins except for specific plugins, use the following command:
wp plugin deactivate --all --exclude=akismet,hello-dolly
You can view the other options in the wp plugin deactivate command documentation, and for more plugin-related commands, view the wp plugin command documentation.
How to manage WordPress posts using WP-CLI
You can also work with posts and pages using WP-CLI.
wp post list
First up, you can quickly get a list of all posts on a site using the following command:
wp post list
To see a list of pages, add this flag to the command:
wp post list --post_type=page
You can see a list of posts and pages using this command:
wp post list --post_type=page, post
The wp post list page of the WordPress Developer Handbook provides more information about retrieving lists of posts.
wp post create
As you might expect, the wp post create command lets you create posts and pages with WP-CLI.
If you regularly set up new sites that include the same set of pages, such as about, contact, and services pages, you can quickly create those pages using a single command.
For example, the following command will create a post with the title “Created Using WP-CLI.”
wp post create --post_title="Created Using WP-CLI"
To create more than one post, you can chain multiple commands together using &&:
wp post create --post_type=page --post_status=publish --post_title='Home' && wp post create --post_type=page --post_status=publish --post_title='About' && wp post create --post_type=page --post_status=publish --post_title='Contact'
By default, new posts are saved as drafts.
However, you can change this by using the –post_status= flag and adding a command, such as publish, draft, or pending.
For example, to create a new post with the title “Created Using WP-CLI” with its status set to published, use the following command:
wp post create --post_title="Created Using WP-CLI" --post_status=publish
You can also add content to the post, assign an author, set the publish date, and more by using the appropriate flags.
More information about the wp post create command can be found in the WP-CLI documentation.
wp post generate
If you’re starting a new site and want to populate it with placeholder content, then the wp post generate command will come in handy.
This command is deal for creating test content for a new site design or populating a site with thousands of posts to test performance.
It creates multiple posts with a single command.

Like with other commands, you can add flags to the wp post generate command.
wp post generate --count=10
Other flags that can be used with wp post generate include: –post_type=, –post_status=, –-post_author=, and –post_date=.
For example:
wp post generate --count=10 --post_type=page --post_status=draft --post_author=1 --post_date="2025-01-15 12:15:00"
The above command will create 10 draft pages by the author with ID 1 with the creation date and time set to January 15, 2025, 12:15 pm.
You can find out more about the wp post generate command in the WordPress Developer Handbook.
wp post update
You can also update or change existing posts using WP-CLI.
The wp post update command flags let you update the title, body, excerpt, publish date, status, and author.
As you can update multiple posts at once, this command is useful for changing the status for multiple posts from published to draft or assigning a different user as the author.
When updating multiple posts with a single command, you must refer to the posts using their ID. To see the IDs for each post, use this command:
wp post list
Once you have the IDs for each post you want to update, you can refer to them in the command, separated by a space.
Here’s an example of a wp post update command that updates multiple posts:
wp post update 1 125 283 --post_author=2
This command changes the author of the posts with IDs 1, 125, and 283 to the user with ID 2.
(To view the list of users and their IDs, use the wp user list command.)
To build upon that command, if you wanted to change the author of all posts by a specific author to a different author, you could use this command:
wp post update $(wp post list --author=1 --format=ids) --post_author=2
This command retrieves a list of all posts authored by the author with author ID 1, then updates or changes them so that the author is now the one with ID 2.
You could use the same approach to change the status of all published posts to draft by using this command:
wp post update $(wp post list --post_status=publish --format=ids) --post_status=draft

You can see what else is possible with this command on the wp post update page of the WP-CLI documentation.
wp post delete
Deleting posts is another task that you can carry out with WP-CLI.
Again, the post IDs are used when specifying which post(s) to delete:
wp post delete 649
To delete multiple posts, separate the IDs with a space:
wp post delete 649 300 150
By default, posts are moved to the trash. However, you can use the –force flag to skip the trash folder and delete the post:
wp post delete 648 --force
If you want to delete all pages, you can use the following command:
wp post delete $(wp post list --post_type=page --format=ids)
This command deletes all posts by a specific user:
wp post delete $(wp post list --post_author=2 --format=ids)
How to manage WordPress themes with WP-CLI
The wp theme commands also let you carry out several theme-related tasks on a site.
wp theme list
To quickly view a list of all themes on the site, along with their status, whether an update is available, and the version number, enter the following command:
wp theme list
wp theme activate
You can activate a specific installed theme using the following command:
wp theme activate twentytwenty
wp theme install
Like plugins, you can install themes from the command line.
If you want to install a theme from the WordPress Theme Directory, you’ll need to use its slug.
Like plugins, the slug is in the URL of the theme’s page in the WordPress Theme Directory.
For example, if you want to install the Hello Biz theme, you need to enter its name as hello-biz based on its slug.
wp theme install hello-biz
If you want to activate the theme after installing it, add the –activate flag:
wp theme install hello-biz --activate wp theme update
A single command can update all of the themes that have an available update:
wp theme update --all
You can also exclude themes from the update by using the –exclude flag:
wp theme update --all --exclude=twentytwenty How to manage WordPress comments with WP-CLI
Besides, the wp comment command gives you a quick way to view and delete spam comments on the site, as well as interact with comments in other ways.
You can see the comments on a site by using the following command:
wp comment list
However, this doesn’t always include spam comments in the list. To see spam comments, use this command:
wp comment list --status=spam
Then, to delete the spam comments, use the wp comment delete command with the wp comment list command:
wp comment delete $(wp comment list --status=spam --format=ids)
The above are just a few examples of how you can use WP-CLI to interact with your WordPress site outside of the WP Admin interface.
Hopefully, this has inspired you to start interacting with WordPress from the command line.
For more information on using WP-CLI, check out the complete list of commands in the documentation.
Cool WordPress.com-specific WP-CLI commands
WP-CLI is included with the WordPress.com Business and Commerce hosting plans.
Some core commands aren’t supported, but there are a few others that are exclusive to WordPress.com sites.
1. wp –help
To see exactly what’s available on the WordPress.com Business and Commerce hosting plans, enter the following command:
wp --help
Doing so will reveal all of the WP-CLI commands available to your site based on your plan.
2. wp wpcomsh diag
wpcomsh is a WordPress.com-specific command that includes several useful subcommands for managing your site.
One such command is wp wpcomsh diag.
This command runs site diagnostics tests and outputs the results, including the status of plugins, accounts with administrator access, details of active WordPress.com hosting plans and services, critical PHP errors, and more.
It’s a quick and easy way to get a detailed overview of a site’s status.
3. wp wpcomsh plugin
The wp wpcomsh plugin command lets you switch between using the WordPress.com-optimized version of a plugin and the standard WordPress.org version.
For example, if you use the command:
wp wpcomsh plugin use-managed woocommerce
The site will start using the WordPress.com-optimized version of the WooCommerce plugin rather than the version available from the WordPress.org Plugin Directory.
You might want to use this command if you’re setting up a new site that needs to be identical to an existing site and is using a specific version of a plugin.
4. wp wpcomsh plugin-dance
If there are errors on the site, the following command disables all plugins and enables them one by one to check if a specific plugin is causing the issue:
wp wpcomsh plugin-dance
You can also manage Jetpack and WooCommerce via WP-CLI.
For more WordPress.com-specific WP-CLI commands, check out the complete list in the WordPress.com Developer documentation.
As you can see, being able to use WP-CLI is another reason why WordPress.com isn’t just for hosting simple blogs; it’s a developer-friendly platform with advanced tooling.
Learn more about WP-CLI
There’s a lot more you can do with WP-CLI, from checking out the full list of commands to creating your own custom commands.
You can also create Bash scripts that contain multiple WP-CLI commands. Then, instead of running each command individually, you can run the entire script at once.
For example, you could create a Bash script called update.sh that includes WP-CLI commands to update all plugins and themes:
wp plugin update --all wp theme update --all
You can then run the script with ./update.sh. The script’s contents will execute, which in this case, will update the themes and plugins on the site.
That’s just a sample of what’s possible with WP-CLI. To learn more, refer to the online handbook.
Ready to start using WP-CLI?
WP-CLI is a great tool for developers and site owners who want more control over their site while spending less time clicking around in WP Admin.
The biggest hurdle to getting started is usually a mental one.
In most cases, opening your terminal software and logging in for the first time takes only a few minutes. After that, you’ll have a faster, more efficient way to manage your site.
Beyond its speed and efficiency, WP-CLI offers other practical advantages.
You can deactivate plugins and themes, toggle settings when WP Admin is inaccessible, and even generate dummy content with a single command.
To try it out, sign up for the Business or Commerce plan on WordPress.com.
Another useful tool to explore is WordPress Studio, a free open-source desktop app from WordPress.com for building local WordPress sites. In addition to letting you spin up sites in seconds, sync with WordPress.com or Pressable, and import any WordPress site to work on locally, it gives you a quick, easy way to try out WP-CLI in a safe environment.
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By Drewfus · November 3Nov 3
11 Delicious Food Blog Examples (And How to Follow Their Lead)

When it comes to starting a food blog, there are lots of decisions to make.
The good news is that you don’t need to start completely from scratch: just like with recipes, it’s completely natural to browse other blogs for ideas, fork what’s working, and add your own unique spin for a blog that perfectly matches your tastes.
In that spirit, we’ve compiled a list of 11 unique food blogs to help you get cooking on your very own food blog.
Many of these blogs use affordable .blog domains, which are managed by WordPress.com’s parent company, Automattic. You can buy .blog domains from other providers. But they are still managed right here by our team, so we recommend you buy your .blog at the source to avoid upcharges!
Find my .blog 1. Munchin’ With Maddie
Theme: Tiny Salt Munchin’ with Maddie is a “feel-good food” site with plenty of recipes to fit a variety of specialty diets, including gluten-free, sugar-free, paleo, and vegan recipes.
This blog is photo-forward, with gorgeous food and process photos in addition to simple recipe blurbs.
Maddie organizes her recipes both by “course” (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert) and diet type, giving readers multiple ways to search depending on their needs.
We also love her use of a “what’s special” box at the top of each recipe, telling readers what makes this recipe great in one quick line!
Take a page from Maddie’s cookbook
Use a Recipe Plugin: To achieve that professional recipe site feel, Munchin’ With Maddie uses a plugin called WP Recipe Maker, a WordPress plugin designed specifically for recipe sites. This plugin adds recipe blocks to the WordPress drag-and-drop blog editor so that you can easily add step-by-step directions, shoppable ingredient blocks, videos, and buttons to jump to or print recipes. Divide your content into categories: Follow Maddie’s lead and create relevant content categories for your site. Like Maddie, you should take some time to consider what overarching categories will be most relevant across your recipes/content and create a simple schema that is intuitive to your readers. Get this theme: Love Maddie’s look? This website uses the Tiny Salt theme, a third-party theme. WordPress.com Business plan and above users can buy and customize this theme. Or, check out WordPress.com’s huge library of food themes, available to all WordPress.com users on the Personal plan and above. 2. Flavoury
Theme: Tiny Salt Flavoury is a fully vegetarian recipe site created by Marvin, a freelance editor, hobby cook, and aspiring vegetarian.
While this site is recipe-focused, Flavoury addresses common questions at the end of each recipe post.
He covers topics like how to adapt the recipe for specific diets, sharing related recipes in the archive, and discussing the pros and cons of different ingredients.

Like Munchin’ with Maddie, Flavoury also uses the Tiny Salt WP Theme and the WP Recipe Maker plugin.
You can see how different color palettes, fonts, and varying uses of drag-and-drop page elements make these two sites visually distinct.
Take a page from Flavoury’s cookbook
Add a Newsletter block: Flavoury includes a newsletter signup at the bottom of each recipe post, making it easy for readers to subscribe while they’re already engaged. Adding the option to subscribe to a newsletter at strategic places across your site increases the odds that readers will continue engaging with your content. Engage your readers through comments: At the end of each post, Flavoury poses a question to its readers, encouraging them to comment and engage with the recipe and content. Enabling commenting and posing direct questions to your readers can help you build an active and dedicated community. 3. A Hundred Years Ago
Theme: Custom A Hundred Years Ago is a unique project bringing recipes from the early 1900s to modern cooks.
Each week, Sheryl photocopies a “new” 100-year-old recipe from an old cookbook and discusses terms and verbiage that may be unfamiliar today.
At the bottom of each post, she translates the original recipe into a modernized version for today’s chefs.
Take a page from Sheryl’s cookbook
Make something old new again: Part of what makes A Hundred Years Ago so successful is that it archives and digitizes recipes and cookbooks that are likely not online elsewhere. An archival focus can help your blog stand out in this highly digitized space and guide content creation. Keep a content schedule: Posting on a regular cadence can help keep your audience engaged and keep you accountable. For example, in addition to a weekly recipe every Sunday, Sheryl posts more general musings about food from the early 1900s each Thursday. 4. Smitten Kitchen
Theme: Custom Deb from Smitten Kitchen has spent the last 16 years capturing hearts (and stomachs) from her tiny New York City kitchen.
Today, Smitten Kitchen is a bona fide food media empire, with NYT bestselling books, food show appearances, and branded tools (goals!).
Despite Deb’s growing online presence, she still keeps things warm, fuss-free, and casual.
Take a page from Deb’s cookbook
Utilize tags: While categories can be used to organize your content into a simple, manageable system, tags offer a more free-flowing method. Smitten Kitchen uses tags for cuisine regions, common ingredients, occasions, seasons, and more. It’s a good rule of thumb to start tagging from your first post, so that by the time you have a huge collection like Smitten Kitchen, it’s easy for readers to find exactly what they’re looking for. Add process videos: A photo is worth a thousand words, but when it comes to cooking, a video can be especially helpful. You can upload video content and embed YouTube and Vimeo videos directly on your WordPress site. Or, if you are on the Premium plan and above, you can host 4k videos directly on WordPress. 5. Bread.blog
Theme: Huntt Professional baker Karen Man’s Bread.blog is an ode to breadmaking and bread eating.
This blog only has a small collection of staple recipes, and Man notes the site is not to be a recipe center, but rather “to give pause and allow for space to lead from your own intuition.”
Bread.blog is a quirky collection, focusing on both aspects of the craft alongside bread-related musings, photos, and even a few Spotify playlists like this one.
While Bread.blog is text-heavy, Man mixes whimsy and mindfulness into her posts, reminding readers to breathe and set intentions as they start the journey of breadmaking.
Take a page from Bread.blog’s cookbook
Pick a hyper-specific niche: Part of what makes Bread.blog’s variety of posts cohesive is its hyperfocus: the unique combination of “bread+mindfulness” and Man’s engaging writing style makes this seemingly random group of posts (a picture of buttered toast or a hip-hop heavy playlist for breadmaking) feel curated. Add an equipment list: We love Karen’s baking equipment page, which allows readers to outfit their kitchen with professional-approved baking gear. Blog-approved gear can be a great opportunity to use affiliate links to make commissions on products and ingredients. Get this theme: If you love the style of Bread.blog, and you’re a WordPress.com user on the Business plan or above, check out the Huntt theme! Or, explore our huge library of food-specific blog themes to find your perfect aesthetic. 6. Broma Bakery
Theme: Custom Broma Bakery is a dessert lover’s paradise, featuring indulgent treats from cookies and cakes to seasonal baked goods.
The site’s clean, modern design puts the focus on beautiful sweets, with detailed instructions and tons of process photos that help home bakers bake with confidence.
Take a page from Broma’s cookbook
Add a robust search option: Broma Bakery includes a search function in its header, making it easy for readers to find recipes. Broma uses a plugin called Slickstream to offer suggestions to searchers, like related and trending recipes. Create weekly menus: Broma’s weekly dessert menu is a clever way to encourage readers to keep baking (and engaging!) daily. Regardless of the type of food you offer, finding ways to keep readers coming back is paramount for blogging success. 7. Bruno Barbieri
Theme: Custom Bruno Barbieri is an Italian 7-Michelin-star chef and WordPress blogger.
His site is part blog and part career portfolio: it includes his books, some of his recipes, a travel blog, and links to his active social media.
Since Bruno is a professional chef, his recipes lean toward the gourmet side, with niche ingredients and advanced cooking techniques.
Take a page from Bruno’s cookbook
Link your social media feeds: Bruno puts his active Instagram account front and center on his homepage, encouraging readers to engage across platforms. Social media integrations can be a great way to keep your audience engaged, and WordPress.com offers a suite of social media integrations right out of the box — for example, you can add social media icons to your site. Build your professional portfolio: If you are a professional chef, your blog can act as a digital resume for potential customers and employers. Alongside personal stories and recipes, your website is a great place to list accolades, publications, and awards. 8. History and Wine
Theme: Custom History and Wine is a wine review blog by sommelier and Biscayne Times “Vino” columnist Jacqueline Coleman. History and Wine offers both reviews and lists of seasonal wines alongside wine tour itineraries and wine guides.
While some posts are standalone blog posts created specifically for History and Wine, the site also acts as a writing portfolio.
Jacqueline shares blurbs with links to her monthly columns in the Biscayne Times and other publications, creating a central hub for all of her work across the web.

Take a page from History and Wine’s tasting menu
Keep it Local: As the Biscayne Times reporter, much of the coverage on History and Wine is centered around the Miami area (with occasional guides to national wineries). A local focus can be a great way to build a dedicated following and increase your chances of showing up in local-specific Google searches. Create a Content Hub: If you write for paid publications, creating a centralized hub of your content is an important way to own and manage your content. Your site can show off your portfolio and create a forever home for your stories. 9. Food and Mood
Theme: Custom
Food and Mood is run by Mateja, who considers herself a videographer, photographer, and recipe developer.
With a huge focus on photography, her images are as much of a treat as her recipes, featuring colorful textiles, textures, and stunning closeups of her creations.
The blog focuses on natural, seasonal recipes elevated through exceptional visual storytelling.
Take a page from Mateja’s cookbook
Invest in high-quality photographs: Good photography can make or break a food blog. Even if you’re not a professional like Gabi, invest time in learning basic food photography principles: use natural light when possible, keep backgrounds simple, and maintain a consistent style across all of your images. Get reader support: At the end of each recipe, Mateja has a section asking readers to fuel her creativity with a small $3 donation. Many food bloggers rely on reader contributions to help cover the costs of recipe testing, ingredients, and photography equipment. With WordPress.com, you can use various plugins to manage donations or add a donation form block directly. 10. Marco Bianchi
Theme: Generate Press Marco Bianchi is a scientist working in biochemical research and oncology, so his blog focuses on food and recipes as a part of disease prevention.
In addition to recipes, he publishes health-related articles explaining the properties and nutritional value of different ingredients.
By combining scientific expertise with practical cooking advice, Marco has created a unique, nutrition-forward site for health-conscious cooks.
Take a page from Marco’s cookbook
Bring in your professional expertise: Marco’s background in biochemistry and oncology sets his food blog apart from typical recipe sites. Consider how your own professional expertise or education might inform your content in unexpected ways. Tie content types to specific days: Marco features recurring content series called “Small Snacks,” a Tuesday post series where he creates nutritious snacks for his daughter Vivienne. Having regular themed content on specific days gives readers something to anticipate and helps you establish a posting rhythm. 11. Vintage Kitchen
Theme: Custom
Vintage Kitchen is run by Dorothy, a former newspaper and magazine writer who opened an old Victorian inn with her husband in Northern Vermont.
Through her blog, she chronicles tried-and-true recipes she’s developed and served to her guests using seasonal items from her on-site garden.
Inspired by the food her mother used to make for a household of six, her recipes are no-frills, homey, and hearty.
Take a page from Dorothy’s cookbook
Make it Personal: In addition to the recipe itself, Dorothy discusses the weather that day, shares stories of making these recipes in her childhood and with her family, and provides updates on her large garden. These personal touches differentiate a blog from a generic recipe site, allowing readers to connect with you on a deeper level. Use images to elevate the blog layout: For example, Vintage Kitchen uses a split-page layout for each recipe, with a “sticky” recipe photo on the left and the recipe on the right. The benefit of this layout is that your image will stay on the screen no matter how long your post is. For new bloggers without ample photography skills or who don’t love taking step-by-step process photos, this approach can help you get up and running in no time. Ready to Get Cooking?
Looking at other successful food blogs is one of the best ways to engage and learn about blogging.
From building relationships with other bloggers to discovering new ideas for your own blog and content, being a regular reader of food content is a great habit.
For step-by-step directions for starting your food blog, check out our companion posts:
How to Start a Blog How to Start a Food Blog Or, if you’re ready to jump into blogging, get a free domain name for your first year of hosting with WordPress.com.
Start my food blog

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By Drewfus · October 28Oct 28
How to Choose a Web Design Company You’ll Love Working With

How can you tell if a web design company is worth your investment?
In this guide, we’ll explore how much it costs to build a website in today’s market, highlight key considerations in your evaluation, and recommend questions to ask potential providers.
By the end of this post, you’ll be able to make the right decision with confidence.
What is the average cost to hire a web designer?
Outsourcing web design can cost anywhere from $500 to over $5,000. Your final investment depends on various factors, including your website’s complexity and project timeline.
To illustrate, a basic five-page site built via our website design service costs $499, excluding hosting. This includes a free custom domain for one year and is completed within four business days or less.
In contrast, customizing a larger website requires a substantially larger budget. Hiring a web design agency through the WordPress.com Partner Directory, for instance, starts at $5,000 (excluding hosting).
This higher price point includes a custom-designed website, third-party integrations, multiple revisions, migrations, and pre-launch checks, among other benefits. Website completion takes three months or longer.
Here’s a pricing chart to differentiate the deliverables.
How do I choose a web design company?
The best web design firms don’t just craft websites that align with your brand and vision — they create an experience users love. To pick the ideal partner, here’s what you need to watch out for.
1. Decide what you’re after
Clearly defined goals pinpoint the ideal web design company for your needs.
Determine what you need your website to accomplish. Is it generating leads, driving ecommerce sales, or improving brand authority? Once you define your goal, you can quickly work out a rough budget and the type of agency to partner with.
Here are three examples to illustrate what we mean:
EXAMPLESolo service providerMid-sized IT businessFortune 500 enterpriseGOALImprove personal brand and attract new clients.Improve user experience (UX) to increase leads and set up analytics tracking and reporting.Improve digital footprint and increase pipeline growth through a complete omnichannel strategy.IDEAL AGENCYBoutique agency specializing in brand storytelling, photo direction, SEO optimization, and conversion-driven design.Mid-sized agency specializing in conversion optimization and copywriting.Full-service agency or a group of specialist agencies (e.g., one for web design and copywriting, another for SEO and lead generation). 2. Curate a list of agencies
After defining your goals, prepare a list of potential agencies.
Here are three ways to find them:
Referrals: Ask for recommendations from trusted peers who’ve achieved similar goals. This can be your professional connections or community groups. Agency directories: Analyze reviews on reputable agency marketplaces like Clutch, DesignRush, and WordPress.com Partner Directory. Focus on web design companies with positive testimonials highlighting outcomes relevant to your goals. Favorite websites: Here’s a neat trick. Visit websites you admire, scroll down to the footer, and identify the credited web design company next to the copyright notice. This often reveals web design firms creating the caliber of work you’re seeking. For example:
Source 3. Focus on agencies that match your business
Choose web design companies whose reputation or maturity level aligns with your own. This strategic alignment ensures effective collaboration and results.
Here’s what we mean.
Imagine your small business hired a prestigious agency. Given larger agencies’ tendency to prioritize bigger clients, it’s likely the agency will delegate your project to junior web designers with limited experience.
Enterprises partnering with less established agencies are no better. With standardized rules and processes, small agencies without first-hand experience navigating red tape will struggle to meet compliance standards, potentially delaying launches.
4. Review portfolios
Prioritize agencies with a proven track record in your industry.
A web design company working with B2C companies is unlikely to understand B2B market nuances — and vice versa.
Review the agencies’ projects, examining the challenges encountered, solutions implemented, and measurable results delivered. This should give you an idea if they possess the needed expertise.
Tip: If their portfolio lacks results, consider contacting past clients to gain insights using this script: “Hey! I noticed your website was designed by [web design studio]. It’s impressive. I’m considering hiring them to revamp my website as well. Out of curiosity, how was your experience?”
5. Assess soft skills
Typically, relationships cause agency partnerships to falter.
Evaluate the web design companies to better understand their communication, teamwork, and problem-solving skills — it’ll prevent partnership breakdowns:
Company research: What’s their process for learning about your business, ideal customers, sales cycle, and the customer journey? Collaborative approach: How do they ensure your input shapes the website from concept to completion? Risk management solutions: What do their contingency plans for unexpected hurdles look like? For example, what happens if the lead web designer becomes unavailable? Communication style: What channels or systems do they use for regular updates and feedback throughout the partnership? What to ask before hiring a website design company?
You’ve now identified several potential web design companies on your list. Ask the following questions to pinpoint the perfect partner.
1. “Who will I work with?”
Why ask this question: Anticipate the team members you’ll collaborate with. This way, you can assign the ideal counterparts in your in-house team and plan communication ahead. For example, assigning someone technical ensures immediate responses to technical inquiries from the agency’s web development specialist.
Green flags:
Offers a kickoff meeting with your dedicated team during onboarding. Outlines your direct access to channels and team members (e.g., Slack for daily questions, project management software for design updates). Handpicks team members with proven success in your industry vertical. Demonstrates ongoing investment in their team’s professional development. Tip: Check the agency’s careers page to verify ongoing training programs for its web designers and developers. Working with specialists who stay ahead of design tools and emerging technologies ensures your site remains future-proof.
Red flags:
Cagey about who you’ll collaborate with. This indicates the agency views its delivery team as an afterthought. They’ll likely randomly assign staff without considering who’s the best fit for the job. 2. “How well does your team work together, and how is it structured?”
Why ask this question: Agencies with great internal teams deliver exceptional results. Strong team morale translates to increased productivity, enriched company culture, and successful collaboration with clients and partners.
Green flags:
Consistently positive team reviews on career communities like Glassdoor. Testimonials or case studies highlighting team synergy and collaborative problem-solving. Red flags:
Rampant negative Glassdoor reviews reveal poor workplace experiences. This directly impacts your website project as the agency will likely provide poor customer service and inconsistent deliverables. Unusually rapid promotion of junior staff to senior roles. This high pace signals you’ll work with an inexperienced team lacking the depth of expertise your web project requires. Tip: Check the LinkedIn profiles of these agency staff, paying attention to their promotion timeline.
3. “What’s the project communication like? What can I expect to receive during our collaboration?”
Why ask this question: Establish clear accountability to ensure progress toward your business goals.
Green flags:
Provides a detailed communication plan with deliverables, deadlines, and milestones. Adapts their communication style to align with your in-house team’s preferences and workflows. Runs regular meetings to keep stakeholders informed and identify potential issues before they impact deadlines. Red flags:
Rigid processes that prioritize their convenience over your business workflows. Vague or inconsistent communication that risks delayed launches. 4. “What else do you do besides website design?”
Why ask this question: A functional website goes beyond design. Here, you’re trying to tease out the agency’s complementary skills, such as digital marketing, information architecture (the practice of organizing information in a user-friendly way), and user research — all central to creating a website that drives conversions.
Green flags:
Highlights how their user research approach, mobile-first design process, wireframing, and UX design achieve your business goals. Walks you through how it handles security and third-party tool integrations. Red flags:
Relies on a one-size-fits-all approach to all websites (e.g., uses plug-and-play templates). Over-reliant on AI. While AI is becoming a bigger part of design workflows, it shouldn’t be treated as a complete replacement. The best agencies blend AI with human expertise to drive impact. Minimizes the importance of user research, information architecture, etc. 5. “What happens after the website is done?”
Why ask this question: The post-launch process matters as much as the initial design stage. Post-launch optimization helps you quickly spot opportunities for change and prioritize improvements based on results (e.g., conversions).
Green flags:
Provides a comprehensive action plan (e.g., migrate content management systems, document technical issues in the first three days after launch, check responsive web design, configure GA4 setup, heatmaps, and chatbots). Creates an optimization roadmap for the next 30/60/90 days to align efforts, allocate resources, and prioritize improvements. Conducts user testing to identify friction points in the conversion path and improve conversion rate. Red flags:
“Set it and forget it” approach. The agency treats your website as a one-time project rather than an evolving digital asset that needs long-term optimization. Start building your website with everything you need, right here
These key considerations and questions offer a useful starting point for further discussion. You’ll narrow down your choice and find the best-fit agency partner to turn your initial concept into reality.
If you’re building a high-end website, check the WordPress.com Partner Directory. All agencies are verified, boast years of experience in multiple sectors, and offer ongoing post-launch support as your website scales. Site migration is included, to boot.
To make it easier for you, we’ll handpick the web design agency best suited to your project. All you need to do is share your vision, design preferences, and desired functionality, and we’ll match you with a partner. Alternatively, if you’re building a smaller website, choose our Express Website Design Service. You’ll get a professionally designed site in four business days or less.
Match me with an agency Build my website now
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By Drewfus · October 22Oct 22
How to Become a WordPress Developer: A Zero-to-Hired Roadmap

So, you want to become a WordPress developer? That’s the best idea I’ve heard in a while!
After all, WordPress powers over 40% of the web — and behind every great WordPress site and product is someone who knows how to build and manage it. Why shouldn’t it be you?
Now, where do you start?
Well, how about right here? This guide walks you through everything you need to begin developing with WordPress professionally. You’ll learn what WordPress developers actually do, how to gather the right tools, skills, and knowledge, and how to start building a career.
What is a WordPress developer?
A WordPress developer is someone who builds, customizes, contributes to, or maintains websites using the WordPress platform.
If that feels like a rather broad definition, it is. That’s because WordPress is a big ecosystem, and there are many different ways to work within it.
Types of WordPress developers
WordPress developers come in different flavors, depending on what they like to build and how they work. These are some of the most common types you’ll find:
No-code/low-code site builders: Also sometimes called “WordPress implementers,” these kinds of developers use visual editors and existing themes, patterns, and plugins to create sites mostly using the WordPress user interface without writing custom code. Coding specialists: On the other end of the spectrum, developers with deep coding knowledge can build entire websites with custom design and functionality using different programming languages and advanced layout and design tools. Theme developers: Create the part that defines the visual design and layout of WordPress sites. You can build custom designs for specific clients or create themes as digital products for sale. Individual themes often focus on particular industries and use cases; making them requires both creativity, design knowledge, and technical chops. Plugin developers: Concentrate on extensions that add new features or integrations to a WordPress site. Plugin makers, too, can work directly for and with clients or build their own products and sell them online. This work involves less creativity and more logical thinking and programming skills. Technical/maintenance specialists: Handle security, updates, backups, performance, and day-to-day tasks for existing websites. Requires attention to detail and deep knowledge of where to do what in WordPress. WordPress core contributors: Help improve the WordPress software itself by submitting updates, patches, and new features to the open source project for the benefit of everyone who uses it. It’s up to you to decide what kind of WordPress developer you want to become. At the same time, you can wear more than one hat because skills in one role often carry over to others.
What WordPress developers do
Depending on your role, here are some of the core tasks you might handle:
Frontend development: Means working on the visual elements of a website, like layout, fonts, colors, and all parts of the user experience. It often involves modifying existing themes or building custom ones. In WordPress, frontend work can involve the built-in Site Editor as well as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Backend development: Here, the focus is on server-side functionality; basically, everything that happens in the background of a WordPress website. Typical tasks include using PHP to customize theme functions, create plugins, or modify WordPress core features. Block development: This is a growing area focused on creating custom WordPress blocks using JavaScript. It’s essential for both theme and plugin work since most content elements in WordPress now work with blocks. Site management: Typical tasks include updating WordPress core, themes, and plugins, trying out new extensions, managing user accounts, doing design and content updates, or running speed tests and acting on the results. You may also do site migrations and deployments. Ecommerce development: Involves setting up and customizing online stores. WooCommerce is a great example of this. You’ll handle product pages, checkout flows, shipping logic, and integrations with payment gateways. Contributing to WordPress core: You can do almost all of the activities above to help improve the WordPress core software as well. Assembling your WordPress development toolkit
To become a WordPress developer, you need the right tools for the job. Here are great options to start with:
WordPress Studio: Free local development tool that allows you to sign up and work on websites on your computer, sync them with your WordPress.com and Pressable account, share live previews with clients, and more. Text editor: WordPress development is almost impossible without a good code editor. Check out Atom, Brackets, or Sublime Text for starters. GitHub: A platform for version control and collaboration. It also offers a free plan. Browser developer tools: Use Chrome or Firefox dev tools to inspect website elements and understand and debug frontend code. FTP client: Allows you to access your server directly to upload or edit files. Popular free options are FileZilla, Cyberduck, and WinSCP. Understanding WordPress basics
As a first step in your developer journey, you need to familiarize yourself with some basic WordPress concepts.
WordPress.org and WordPress.com
WordPress core is the open source software that powers every site built with WordPress. You can download it at WordPress.org and use it free of charge. It includes all functionality and default features.
To run a WordPress website, you need hosting, meaning space on a web server.
There are different types of web hosting, from shared to managed hosting. The latter is what WordPress.com is — a hosting provider that lets you easily build WordPress-based websites while taking care of everything technical, like software updates, security, and performance.
Hosting your own or your clients’ websites on WordPress.com offers the following benefits:
Unmetered bandwidth and traffic WordPress-optimized server setup 99.999% uptime Free SSL certificate Staging sites SSH, WP-CLI, and GitHub deployments Free domain for the first year Expert support Get your WordPress.com account now
For more differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com, check this detailed list.
WordPress admin
The heart of every WordPress site is the WordPress admin dashboard. It’s where you manage content, themes, plugins, and settings.
It goes without saying that, in order to develop with WordPress, you need to know this part inside and out — including how themes and plugins work.
For example, WordPress themes come in two varieties: classic (PHP and file-based) or block themes (built for the block-based Site Editor). Depending on the type you use for a project, the process of customizing it will differ.
In addition, plugins cover a wide range of functionality. They can add singular layout elements, as well as create entirely new content editing experiences. This, too, is something you need to familiarize yourself with.
WP-CLI — The WordPress command-line interface
Finally, WP-CLI lets you manage WordPress sites with terminal commands.
Pretty much anything you can do in WordPress admin (like install, activate, and update plugins, moderate comments, manage users and user roles, change site settings, etc.), you can do quicker and in bulk with WP-CLI.
Plus, it has some nifty features for developers, like running and testing PHP code or flushing website cache.
(As mentioned, WP-CLI is included on WordPress.com Business and Commerce plans. You can learn more about it here.)
How to learn WordPress development
With the basics covered, next you need to familiarize yourself with WordPress’s architecture and the programming languages that make up the platform.
1. Learn WordPress development fundamentals
A good starting point to dive deeper is the dedicated Beginner WordPress Developer course on WordPress.org.
It offers a structured path to learn how WordPress works behind the scenes, development best practices, introductions to block, plugin, and theme development, as well as important topics such as the WordPress REST API, multisite, debugging, and much more.
This is a great basis to start from and decide in which direction to take your studies next.
Another frequently recommended option is the course “Become a WordPress Developer” on Udemy.
2. Get familiar with HTML
HTML forms the backbone of all web pages. It defines basic layout elements and content like headings, paragraphs, images, and links.
Knowing it is essential for understanding how WordPress and all other websites render content. That’s especially if you plan to do frontend development or customize themes or blocks.
In addition, it’s a great first language for beginners: it’s easy to read and learn, as well as immediately applicable.
You can start learning HTML for free on Codecademy, Learn-HTML.org, or W3Schools.
3. Dive into CSS
While HTML controls site structure, CSS is responsible for how a website looks. Its role is to define colors, fonts, spacing, layouts, and more.
For example, CSS is responsible for making sure the website design adjusts to different screen sizes.
Again, if your goal is to do frontend work, you won’t excel without familiarizing yourself with this markup language. You can find great learning resources for it at Codecademy, W3Schools, as well as web.dev.
4. Consider learning JavaScript
As the third-most important frontend language, JavaScript’s main purpose is to make websites more interactive. For example, you can use it to create things like sliders, pop-ups, and dynamic animations.
It also plays a role in:
Form submissions Connecting to third-party services like web analytics Real-time content updates (e.g., after user interaction) In addition, JavaScript is important in modern WordPress development. The WordPress block editor is built with React (a JavaScript framework), and custom blocks require working with JavaScript as well.
If you want to dive into this topic, you can do so at Codecademy, Learn JavaScript, or MDN Web Docs.
5. Master PHP
PHP is the main WordPress backend language and what powers most of the platform. It generates frontend HTML and controls how content loads, templates work, and features behave.
Knowing PHP is crucial for plugin development, although not as important for themes as it used to be.
Want to add PHP to your developer toolbelt? Great resources are Learn PHP and the ever-present W3Schools and Codecademy.
6. Be familiar with MySQL
The last skill to consider learning when pursuing a career as a WordPress developer is MySQL. It powers the database system that’s the other half of every WordPress site (the first being the file system).
The database contains all pages and post content, settings, and user data, which is pulled during the rendering process.
MySQL is likely not something you’ll work with every day, but understanding it helps when troubleshooting problems or building complex features.
You can get your bearings in this language at W3Schools, the guide in the MySQL documentation, or at MySQL Tutorial.
7. Other skills to invest in
While the above is essential to start developing with WordPress, there are a whole host of supporting skills you should consider learning:
Git and version control The WordPress REST API and APIs in general Headless WordPress JSON, especially to work with theme.json Accessibility Performance optimization SEO (e.g., to create optimized themes) UI, UX, and web design Soft skills like marketing and sales Project management Please don’t feel overwhelmed or pressured by this list; it’s just an overview. You will pick up many of these skills naturally as you take on more projects and grow your experience.
Build your first WordPress website
Speaking of which, the best way to learn anything is to use it in real life. Therefore, if you want to get into WordPress development, your best bet is to start building websites. Doing it will solidify your understanding of WordPress and give you something concrete to learn with.
You have different options for doing so:
Use the WordPress Playground to learn in a safe, browser-based environment with no setup required. Create a local development environment (e.g., with Studio) and practice there. Purchase hosting and build a live website. For the best results, pick a manageable project, like a personal blog, a portfolio, or a small business site. This will help you focus on achieving something tangible rather than aimlessly experimenting
If you want to focus on designing rather than managing servers, security, performance, or updates, launch your site on WordPress.com. We also have a guided first-website course for this.
Start your career as a WordPress developer
Once you’ve built a few projects and gained some confidence, it’s time to start thinking about how to turn your skills into real-world opportunities. The first step is to decide what you want:
Do you see yourself working for a company, joining an agency, or working freelance? What will be your niche? Frontend development for creative agencies? Perhaps you want to do ecommerce work for small businesses. Think about this both in terms of the technical area as well as the industry. Once you’ve made these important decisions, an important tool to find employment is your WordPress development portfolio site. There, you can showcase your work, skills, and services to help you attract web design clients. Highlight completed projects, describe the role you played, and include testimonials if possible.
After that, start applying for jobs in places like:
WordPress job board WPMayor Remote OK WeAreDevelopers LinkedIn Codeable You can also join online communities (Slack groups, forums, Facebook groups) where WordPress work is shared and discussed.
Continue your WordPress development education
WordPress and the web are constantly evolving, and staying current is part of being a great developer. It helps you become faster and stronger, and to learn new techniques and tools so you can offer more services and ask for higher rates and salary.
Here’s how to continue your education:
Explore the WordPress Codex to deepen your understanding of core functions and best practices. Read WordPress.com’s developer documentation for platform-specific tools, APIs, and features. Join or attend a local WordPress meetup group or WordCamps to connect with other developers. Hang out in WordPress Facebook groups and/or subreddits. Subscribe to the Dev and Deploy newsletter for monthly updates, tips, and tutorials. Follow the WordPress.com YouTube channel for video walkthroughs, dev talks, and quick tips. Start your development journey now
Becoming a WordPress developer is more accessible than ever — even if you’re starting with zero coding experience. There are lots of free learning resources and tools out there. WordPress itself is free, too.
Explore the different areas of development to find the right fit for yourself. Grow your skills with personal projects and gather a portfolio as soon as possible. Soon, it’ll be time to get hired for your first job.
If you want some help with the technical aspects of running WordPress websites, go for WordPress.com.

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By Drewfus · October 20Oct 20
How Net Literacy Secures Its Legacy With WordPress.com’s 100‑Year Plan

When the non-profit Net Literacy launched 20 years ago, it started with a simple but powerful idea: Empower those without Internet skills or resources to get online, with youth volunteers serving as teachers and ambassadors. Today, they have grown into a global nonprofit reaching over 250,000 people through digital inclusion and financial education while growing into new areas, such as AI literacy.
However, sustaining that impact across generations requires more than passion; it needs digital permanence and peace of mind that their resources will always be available online. This is what inspired Net Literacy to become one of the first customers to adopt WordPress.com’s 100‑Year Plan.
“A number of things really appealed to us about the 100‑Year Plan,” Net Literacy founder and CEO Dan Kent says. “First of all, it provides us with a lot of simplification and certainty around our operations. As a nonprofit, we’re looking to provide services for multiple generations.”
Planning for certainty
Nonprofits live in cycles of funding and change. As Kent (who founded Net Literacy when he was only 14 years old explains, “As a nonprofit, our fundraising definitely is cyclical […] so, to provide us the certainty and peace of mind for our operations, the 100‑Year Plan protects us from downside risks and ensures that we’re able to continue our mission […] remain on the Internet for anybody around the world to access.”
Net Literacy’s mission is to establish and maintain an open, long-term digital curriculum that will be available for generations. For that, they rely on a website that cannot be lost to expired domains or administrative lapses. According to Kent, “The 100‑Year Plan provides us peace of mind, ensuring that future generations of volunteers […] don’t have to worry about making sure that our resources are accessible for anybody around the world.”
Tools to match the legacy
Net Literacy’s programs tackle long-term challenges like closing the digital divide and spreading AI literacy. “Organizations that solve really big, meaty problems will really value this 100‑Year Plan,” Kent says. “Particularly those […] tackling problems that aren’t easily solved in decades, and need to measure their impact in generations.”
This isn’t just about hosting your website online with world-class open source software. It’s a promise that an organization’s digital presence is built to last and ready for anything. WordPress.com’s century-based products (which also includes 100-year domains) take a multi-layered approach that begins with a long-term investment model to endow the data, ensuring there will always be finances available to maintain the service.
This is then combined with distributed cloud server infrastructure, time-machine like layered backups, seamless trust-account continuity, and integration with the Internet Archive, making the 100-Year Plan not just a hosting plan, but a digital legacy fortress.
A trusted partnership backed by recognition
Net Literacy felt confident about the alignment between WordPress.com and their organizational goals. “WordPress.com has been around as long as we have,” Kent says. “That track record matters.”
Their trust in WordPress.com was reinforced when the 100‑Year Plan and Domain were recognized by Actualidad Economíca as one of the “100 Best Ideas of 2025” — a prestigious Impact Leader Award that underscores its innovation in digital legacy infrastructure.
Building for the long haul — together
Kent’s vision is clear: change is inevitable, but mission continuity is essential.
“The one thing that will be constant going forward is change […] things such as the 100‑Year Plan … will make sure that we have a lot more optionality and make sure that our mission continues into the future,” Kent says.
With both mission and medium secured, Net Literacy is ready for what comes next. Thanks to the 100‑Year Plan, their educational resources won’t vanish — they will endure.
Learn more about how to secure and future-proof your digital legacy with the 100-Year Plan and 100-Year Domain.
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By Drewfus · October 17Oct 17

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Alsonnard Newest Member · November 25Nov 25

20 Years of WordPress.com: Show Us What You’ve Built

Today, we’re celebrating 20 years of WordPress.com! We set out to put the power of publishing into everyone’s hands, and since then, millions of you have used it to build amazing things.
Our beginnings and our purpose
On June 20, 2005, WordPress project co-founder Matt Mullenweg hired Donncha Ó Caoimh (a software developer and WordPress contributor) and Automattic was born. Their mission: create a hosted version of WordPress that anyone could use.
After beta testing in August 2005, WordPress.com launched publicly on November 21, 2005. Here’s what the homepage looked like:
Source: Internet Archive We’ve come a long way from these humble beginnings, but our purpose hasn’t changed much: democratizing publishing and ecommerce.
A place for every website
Today, WordPress.com powers all kinds of websites. People all around the world use our platform to build:
Professional portfolios where creatives showcase their work and attract new clients, like standup comedian Aparna Nancherla, film director Mike Flanagan, and visual artist Ana Teresa Fernández. Membership communities that bring together people with shared interests, like the Bedfordshire Bird Club. Cutting-edge educational websites from institutions like the UC Berkeley Center for Psychedelics. Popular blogs like the experimental art project PostSecret, sci-fi author John Scalzi’s Whatever, and food blogger Vegan Bunny Elle. This is just a small handful of examples. From simple sites to online stores, no matter what you want to create and share on the web, WordPress.com gives you the tools to make it happen.
What are you creating with WordPress.com?
The WordPress.com story isn’t just ours. It also belongs to everyone who has chosen our platform to create and share on the web.
From our first homepage to the millions of sites hosted on our platform today, every WordPress.com website represents someone who decided to put their ideas into the world. We’re honored to be part of that journey.
Tell us your story. How did you find WordPress.com? What have you built? Drop a comment below! After 20 years, we still love seeing what you’re creating.

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By Drewfus · November 21Nov 21
How Does Open Source Make WordPress Different (And Better)?

WordPress’s open-source nature gives you true ownership and flexibility for your website. Unlike proprietary site builders, it allows you full control over every aspect of your site — from hosting and design to performance and functionality.
This matters because your website is a long-term asset. The platform you choose establishes the foundation for everything you do with it, now and in the future.
To help you make the right choice, in this guide, I’ll break down what “open source” means and why it sets WordPress apart from other site builders.
What does “open source” actually mean?
Open source refers to software (like WordPress) whose source code is open for anyone to view, use, and change.
It’s built under licenses that encourage people to contribute, share ideas, fix bugs, and make improvements together — so the tools they build can be publicly available, most often for free.
For example, WordPress uses the GNU General Public License (GPL), which allows anyone to freely use, modify, and share the software under the same open terms:
This is very different from closed-source or commercial software, where the code is private and only the company that owns it can make changes.
Other main distinctions include:
Ownership and control: Open-source projects are often built and maintained by communities of volunteers. Closed-source products belong to one company. Cost and use: Most open-source tools are free to use and customize, while closed-source tools usually cost money and come with restrictions on what you can do with them. Open source has been quite the success story, with some big names falling under its umbrella:
Android holds over 70% of the mobile OS market Linux powers 63.1% of servers and 100% of all supercomputers PHP is found on over 73% of all websites VLC Media Player recently crossed six billion downloads Why WordPress defines open source success
WordPress is the most widely used open-source CMS in the world — powering over 43% of all websites (along with other impressive statistics).
This dominance highlights just how far open-source platforms have come in comparison to proprietary site builders:
Long story short: WordPress gives users full freedom to modify, host, and distribute their sites however they choose.
This open model is what makes the platform fundamentally different from proprietary site builders.
Instead of locking users into one ecosystem, it lets them own and control their entire web presence. That distinction becomes even clearer when you look at it in more detail.
Open-source platforms vs. proprietary site builders
With an open‑source solution like WordPress, you’re in control of your website’s code, content, and future. You can fully choose how you set up and manage your site.
Here’s a quick overview:
Key factorsOpen source platforms like WordPressTypical proprietary website buildersCostFree core software, with flexible costs for hosting, domains, and optional paid features.Subscription-based monthly/annual plans.OwnershipFull ownership — you can choose a hosting provider, as well as export and migrate your site any way you want, including when you build it on WordPress.com.Limited control — exporting or migrating is restricted, complicated, or impossible.DesignThousands of free and paid themes; full code access to make custom changes.Drag-and-drop editors with templates; design freedom varies, and some features may require more expensive tiers.FeaturesExtendable through thousands of free and paid plugins as well as custom code.Ecosystems are closed; integrations and features are limited to approved app stores or internal tools.PerformanceDepends on your hosting environment and setup, but it’s fully customizable through caching, CDNs, server configurations, and other optimizations.Automatically optimized, but with limited tuning options.SecurityDetermined by the security features of your hosting provider and site setup, fully modifiable.The platform manages most security, and users rely on the vendor’s protection.ScalabilityCan support everything from small blogs to enterprise sites (e.g., major media sites).Good for personal/business sites; less suited for massive global-scale websites.Developer featuresFull access to source code, custom themes/plugins, and database control (Business or higher on WordPress.com).Limited or no access to underlying code; customization restricted to platform tools and APIs.SupportWordPress.com provides 24/7 support, and there are thousands of community-based options like forums, tutorials, and freelancers.Centralized customer support from the platform.Developer ecosystemHuge global community of theme and plugin developers, agencies, and freelancers.Smaller, proprietary developer ecosystems. Why choose open source for your website? A deeper dive
Choosing WordPress and open source lets you build any kind of website you want — and truly make it your own, all at a great price point.
It means your site will run on a system that’s secure, proven, and well-maintained, with a great support infrastructure, and no ecosystem lock-in.
Let’s look at some of these benefits in detail.
1. Full website ownership
WordPress allows you to own every part of your website.
That includes its files, content, and all other data. You can download, back up, or migrate your site at any time.
You can even run it locally using WordPress Studio, which creates a virtual server environment on your computer — perfect for practicing your skills and testing new ideas safely.
With a website built on a proprietary platform, you don’t have these freedoms. Access to files is usually limited or non-existent, your site is bound to the vendor, and they make it hard to move off their platform. If you want to take your website elsewhere, you often have to rebuild it and copy content over by hand.
This is not the case with WordPress. You always have the option to move your site, just the way it is, with the same design, features, and content.
That includes websites hosted on WordPress.com. You can export your content or entire website as well as import content from another site or migrate your self-hosted site to WordPress.com. In fact, WordPress.com will do the migration for you — for free!
2. Customization options: themes, plugins, and more
WordPress gives you full creative control and offers the tools, parts, and flexibility to build anything you might need, from a small business site or a food blog to a personal or enterprise site.
First, choose from thousands of free and premium themes designed for multiple purposes — from blogs and portfolios to stores and business sites.
They let you change your entire site design with just a few clicks.
From here, you can customize your site in any way you want and adapt site-wide settings like colors and fonts directly in the drag-and-drop block editor.
Patterns — reusable design elements — help you put together entire layouts quickly.
Then, extend your site’s functionality even further with plugins to add features for SEO, eCommerce, contact forms, analytics, and more (check out the most popular plugins on WordPress.com).
Finally, developers and advanced users can also use custom code or connect external services and APIs (with no limits on the Business plan and higher on WordPress.com).
Tip: WordPress.com users can also generate and customize their websites using simple text prompts with our AI website builder:
In short, unlike closed platforms, WordPress doesn’t lock you into a fixed design or feature set.
You have the freedom to integrate, expand, and grow your website exactly how you want.
3. Platform maturity and security
WordPress is powered by a global community of developers, researchers, and companies who keep the software secure and up to date.
WordPress.com is part of that community — and through its parent company, Automattic, it provides the largest share of core contributors.
The community maintains a predictable update cycle that regularly introduces new features, security improvements, and performance upgrades to WordPress.
The upcoming WordPress 6.9 release is a great example. Check out the video below for more information:
The result: a secure, well-tested platform that’s proven itself across thousands of different environments.
Besides, the sheer number of people contributing to WordPress — and the platform’s open, public codebase — means vulnerabilities and other issues are quickly spotted and fixed.
Its decentralized structure empowers anyone to contribute improvements, rather than relying on a single central entity to do so.
Yet while the core software is mature and secure, overall site safety also depends on following best practices and using a reliable hosting environment. That’s why WordPress.com includes automatic updates, backups, SSL certificates, and DDoS protection with every plan. The Business and Commerce plans also include Jetpack’s built-in spam filtering, activity logs, and downtime monitoring.
4. Community support and shared knowledge
Support and learning are where WordPress’s open-source roots really shine.
The sheer size of its community means you’ll find endless tutorials and advice for every skill level.
On WordPress.com alone, support options include detailed guides, courses, support forums, and expert help via live chat.
As a WordPress user, you’ll find that nearly every problem you might face has already been solved — and documented — by someone in the community.
You’ll never be without help, and you’re never locked into a single vendor or support channel.
Tip: Another highlight is in-person meetings like WordCamps, where you can connect with other WordPress users, listen to informative presentations, and learn from each other.
6. Growth and innovation
Because WordPress is open source and powered by a global community, it keeps improving and growing faster than most commercial platforms ever could.
Developers constantly build improvements, extensions, and tools that make the software more useful and user-friendly.
One of the best examples of this is the thousands of themes and plugins created by the community.
Some of these extensions become so successful that they eventually become default features of WordPress itself — like the Block Editor, WordPress REST API, and auto-embeds.
Besides, WordPress has multiple tools that make life easier for the developers themselves.
For example, WordPress Studio is a free, open‑source app from WordPress.com. It lets you spin up local WordPress sites, sync changes with the live site, and share preview links with clients.
Another great example is Telex — an experimental AI tool from Automattic that lets you describe your idea in plain language and generates a fully functional WordPress block you can install on your site.
Why choose WordPress.com to host open‑source WordPress?
WordPress.com gives you a managed WordPress experience — everything is set up, optimized, and maintained for you.
You don’t have to handle installation, hosting, security, performance, or software updates. WordPress.com takes care of it automatically, so your site runs reliably without extra effort.
Protection and performance features you get include:
Servers specifically optimized for WordPress Automatic backups and malware scanning Free SSL certificates and spam protection A web application firewall (WAF) and DDoS protection Real-time backups, one-click restore, and uptime monitoring on Business and Commerce plans Expert support is also available whenever you need it. Every plan includes unlimited pages, users, bandwidth, and traffic — plus a free domain for your first year on paid plans.
Opt for WordPress and open source for long-term growth
Open source isn’t just a technical choice, but a decision for flexibility, freedom, and future-proofing your online presence.
When you build your website on WordPress, you’re choosing a platform that grows with you, adapts to your needs, and never holds your content hostage.
With WordPress.com, you get the best of both worlds: the power and flexibility of open source combined with the ease and reliability of managed hosting.
Build your WordPress website today View the full article

By Drewfus · November 20Nov 20
8 Games You Can Play in WordPress Right Now

WordPress lets you do almost anything on your site — from publishing blog posts and selling products to, yes, even adding playable games.
Games can be a fun extra or even a central part of your website experience. Whether used as digital easter eggs or interactive content, they’re a creative way to surprise visitors and keep them engaged.
In this guide, we’ll cover some WordPress-compatible games and explain how to add them to your site.
1. The Google Chrome Dinosaur Game
In the Google Chrome Dinosaur Game, players control a T. rex that runs across the screen.
As the T. rex approaches various obstacles, players must click the space bar or up arrow to jump over barriers and the down arrow to crouch.
As the game progresses, the dinosaur runs faster and faces more obstacles. A player’s score is based on how far they run before hitting an obstacle.
Most Google users have probably played the dinosaur game before, so it doesn’t require much explanation. Its placement is particularly flexible because the game rarely lasts more than a few minutes.
In addition to using it as a fun reprieve amidst long posts or dense text, you can follow Google’s lead and use it on a custom 404 “not found” page.
How to add the Dinosaur Game to your WordPress site
You can add the Dinosaur Game to your WordPress site with the Dinosaur Game plugin.
Once you’ve downloaded and activated the plugin, you can add the game to different pages with a shortcode.
Simply add a Shortcode block to the page where you want the game to appear and type in the code [dinosaur-game].
2. Snake
Based on a ‘70s arcade game called Blockade, Snake challenges players to use the arrow keys to control a snake as it slithers around the gameboard. The goal is to grow your snake by eating “food” on the gameboard.
However, you must dodge obstacles on the board and avoid running into your own snake’s tail. As the snake grows longer, it becomes increasingly difficult to move around the board.
With simple controls and fast gameplay, Snake has been both an arcade hit and a Nokia phone game. Now, you can also add it to WordPress for a bit of nostalgic fun.
How to add Snake to your WordPress site
Snake can be installed with the plugin Snake Retro Game Shortcode by Eskim. Simply install and activate the plugin through the Plugin Marketplace to get started.
To place the game on the page, add a Shortcode block and type in the game’s shortcode, [snake_game].
To customize the game’s colors, size, and speed, you can use additional shortcode parameters located on the Plugin’s description page.
We’ll dig in more on how to install and activate plugins at the end of this post.
3. DOOM
DOOM, the “father of first-person shooter games,” came out in the early ’90s and inspired an ongoing video-game franchise.
Players control an expelled space marine who must fight through radioactive waste facilities on Mars and kill enemies in hell to return to Earth.
Part of the interest and lore of the original DOOM is that it used a series of clever programming tricks to make it playable on slow, old computers, which makes it flexible and easy to run.
DOOM for WordPress was created by Rhyse Wynne, a DOOM lover and developer. Wynne built WP Doom as a custom plugin that wraps the 1993 DOOM shareware inside a JavaScript DOS emulator.
How to add DOOM to your WordPress site
This classic shooter isn’t available as a one‑click plugin because the WP Doom plugin wraps the shareware version of the game (and therefore isn’t listed in the plugin directory).
Wynne solved this by setting up a WordPress Playground blueprint that installs the plugin and spins up a demo page.
You can’t embed the game directly into your WordPress.com site, but you can link to Wynne’s demo.
When readers click the link, it launches a new browser tab where DOOM runs inside WordPress Playground.
4. WP Sudoku Plus
Sudoku is a number puzzle game that requires players to complete a 9×9 square of numbers.
Using number clues, players must place the remaining missing numbers into the empty squares, ensuring that every row, column, and small box on the puzzle contains the numbers 1-9 exactly once.
Since Sudoku requires some focus, it could be used to celebrate finishing a long blog post or on an FAQ page for added interest. You could also use it alongside short-form audio content, like a song or podcast clip, to keep users engaged while they listen.
How to add Sudoku Plus to your WordPress site
WP Sudoku Plus is another plugin available through the WordPress Plugin Marketplace.
Once installed, you can add a puzzle to a page by using a Shortcode block with the shortcode [sudoku].
Sixteen is the default puzzle size, but you can adjust it to be bigger (up to 32) or smaller (as small as eight) on the page.
To change the size, expand the short code to [sudoku size=”(number between 8-32)”].
5. Minesweeper
Minesweeper is a classic internet puzzle game from the 1990s. To win, players must click on all the free squares on the board without setting off a landmine.
Numbers next to landmine squares indicate how many mines touch that square on all sides. Using the numbers, you need to figure out which squares are safe to click.
While the rules are relatively straightforward, Minesweeper puzzles range from beginner to expert to suit a variety of player levels.
A casual player is expected to complete a beginner grid in around 3 minutes, which means that adding Minesweeper to your site could more than double the average time visitors spend on your site.
Similar to Sudoku, Minesweeper is a medium-engagement game: it requires users to think deeply, but it doesn’t demand uninterrupted focus. This makes it a good choice to use alongside audio content or as a fun breather between long content sections.
How to add Minesweeper to WordPress with Telex
Telex AI is an Automattic experiment that generates interactive WordPress blocks from natural‑language prompts. You can find an AI-coded block that allows you to add Minesweeper to your site here.
Simply download the code using the Download button in the upper-right corner.
Then, visit your website’s dashboard and click on Plugins on the left side to install the plugin. Then, click the “Upload” button.

Because Telex blocks run inside WordPress itself, the Minesweeper game can then be embedded on a page just like any other block.
You can build other simple games in Telex, which we’ll dig into at the end of this article.
6. Cybersoldier
Live out your 8 Mile fantasies with Cybersoldier, a virtual rap battle.
With Cybersoldier, users can create accounts on your site, design a custom rapper Avatar, and battle with other registered players. Players will be alerted via email when someone starts a battle with them.
If you run a music site or a community of creative readers or writers, Cybersoldier can strengthen relationships between site visitors.
Since users need to return to your site to respond to battles, Cybersoldier also encourages repeat visits and ongoing engagement.
How to add Cybersoldier to your WordPress site
Cybersoldier is another plugin-enabled game that you can install directly from the WordPress Plugin Marketplace.
Once activated, you’ll see a Cybersoldier settings page in your WordPress admin dashboard.
From the settings page, you can set some of the main rules around your battles, including how long each battle lasts and how long each diss can be.
The page also contains directions for adding necessary shortcodes to your site, including one for adding a player’s page and a running Battle List.
7. Personal Dictionary
With Personal Dictionary, students can create digital flashcards, and educators can monitor student progress in real-time.
This plugin allows website users to create and organize personal vocabulary lists right on your site. Once a user has created a dictionary of at least four words, they can practice the words using the tool’s built-in games.
The first game, “Find the Word,” gives the word’s definition or translation with four word options. Users must select the correct word out of the four provided words.
Students can also play “Find the Definition,” “Matching Word,” and “Write the Translation.”
Teachers, tutors, schools, and other learning professionals who have administrative access to WordPress can utilize this tool. On the backend, you can monitor students’ Personal Dictionary usage, including how many words have been saved, view student progress on games, and track leaderboards.
How to add Personal Dictionary to your WordPress site
Personal Dictionary is available for installation in the WordPress Plugin Marketplace.
Once activated, you can add the plugin’s shortcode [ayspd_userpage] to a Shortcode block on any page. This will embed the tool into your site.
8. Scratch & Win
Scratch and Win is a digital giveaway game that helps you capture visitor information and referrals.
With the plugin, you can set up your own giveaways, which will show up to users as a pop-up after they complete specific actions, such as scrolling down the page or clicking on a link.
Users can scratch to win in exchange for their email address, and can get additional scratch cards by referring friends or returning to the site on another day.
Scratch and Win is best for sites looking to ramp up their marketing and lead-building efforts through email advertising. If you sell custom merch through a WooCommerce store or have branded partnership opportunities that involve product giveaways, Scratch and Win can help you build engagement and brand loyalty.
How to add Scratch and Win to your WordPress site
Scratch and Win is available as a Free Plugin via the WordPress Plugin Marketplace.
Once activated, you will see a Scratch and Win page in your Admin Dashboard where you can configure key settings.
However, to launch and manage the plugin, you will need to create an account with the plugin’s creator brand, Appsmav, which has its own dashboard for scratch and win lead management.
How to add games to WordPress
There are several ways to install games on WordPress. Below, we’ll dig into a few ways to get started.
Install a plugin
The easiest way to install a game is by using a plugin.
You can find and install plugins from the WordPress Plugin Marketplace or by downloading a developer’s code file and installing it on the Plugin page with the Upload button.
Game installation and activation can vary, so be sure to read the installation information provided by the publisher.
Embed an external game
Some games aren’t available as plugins, but can be embedded into your site from an external site.
If the game provides a link from a supported WordPress provider, paste it into an Embed block, and WordPress will automatically convert it.
If the game offers an <iframe> or <script> embed, you need to paste that code into a Custom HTML block. Custom HTML blocks are available on WordPress.com’s Business plan and above.
Build a game with Telex
If you’re adventurous, you can try Automattic’s new tool Telex to build a custom game plugin using natural language instructions.
Once you’ve created and tested your game on Telex, you can download the plugin and install it on your site. You can also share a Telex preview link.
Link to a game
If there’s no way to embed a particular game on your site, you can still encourage people to check it out on another website.
Simply use a link or a button to direct visitors to the game in another tab.
Level up your website with games
One of WordPress’s greatest assets is its flexibility and huge variety of developer-created plugins.
WordPress game plugins make it possible to turn a static webpage into a unique, engaging experience.
If you’re interested in adding games to your site, there’s more to explore. Check out the full WordPress games plugin library or cook up something new with Telex.

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By Drewfus · November 19Nov 19
11 Common WordPress Myths vs. Reality

For years, many believed that WordPress was only for blogging: too complicated and too vulnerable to cyberattacks.
These misconceptions spread relentlessly like the viral Labubu dolls.
To debunk the most common WordPress myths, I’ll share real success stories backed by my decade of experience working with this platform.
By the end of this post, you’ll learn more about our platform’s actual capabilities and determine if it fits your needs.
TL;DR: 11 Common myths about WordPress, debunked
MythRealityMyth #1: WordPress is only for blogging.WordPress powers 43.2% of the web, including ecommerce stores, corporate sites, and government agencies.Myth #2: WordPress is insecure.Most vulnerabilities stem from weak passwords and outdated plugins. The core WordPress software is regularly audited, keeping you ahead of cyber attacks.Myth #3: WordPress is low quality because it’s free.WordPress being free doesn’t mean it’s low quality — it’s open-source software built and continuously improved by thousands of expert developers worldwide.Myth #4: WordPress.com is expensive.WordPress.com provides managed WordPress hosting with built-in security, backups, support, and performance optimization. The WordPress software itself is free — you’re paying for the services essential for keeping your site fast, secure, and reliable.Myth #5: WordPress sites are always slow.Properly configured sites load quickly, with 60–70% TTFB (Time to First Byte) improvements possible.Myth #6: All WordPress sites look the same.The WordPress.com AI website builder and Site Editor, 1,000+ customizable themes and plugins, and other customization features enable unique designs.Myth #7: WordPress isn’t scalable.WordPress powers everything from personal blogs to growing websites, thanks to an advanced infrastructure that handles high traffic smoothly.Myth #8: You can’t use third-party themes or plugins on WordPress.com.You can use third-party plugins on all plugin-enabled plans; Business and higher plans also offer granular customization of layouts, styles, and more via custom themes.Myth #9: WordPress is complicated.Anyone can learn WordPress. You can easily build functional sites using the WordPress.com AI Website Builder or Site Editor — no coding required.Myth #10: WordPress.com has limited customization.WordPress.com offers extensive customization, with access to plugins, themes, and AI tools. On Business and higher plans, you can take full control — customizing layouts, navigation, and code — while still benefiting from managed hosting.Myth #11: WordPress.com owns your content.You keep full ownership of your content, and you can migrate your site whenever you want. Now that we’ve got the TL;DR out of the way, let’s debunk each myth in detail.
Myth #1: WordPress is only for blogging
Reality: WordPress powers ecommerce stores, corporate websites, portfolios, magazines, government agencies, and more.
Originally known as a blogging platform, WordPress now runs over 43% of the web, including Fortune 500, government agencies, ecommerce experiences, and national media sites.
With robust design tools, AI features, and thousands of themes and plugins, you can create virtually any type of website.
For example, using the WordPress.com AI website builder, I generated a full business coaching site in minutes — complete with an aesthetic header image, clear copy, and a professional layout:
Bigger companies also benefit from using WordPress, as our features span beyond web building and hosting.
In a notable success story, Endoh Collaborative partnered with WordPress.com to access our agency services, like client management tools and a partner directory referral program.
WordPress.com supports your needs at every stage, with features for whatever website you want to create — be it an ecommerce store, small business, or corporate initiative. All paid plans offer unlimited bandwidth, expert support, managed hosting, and access to plugins and themes.
Launch your site on WordPress.com Myth #2: WordPress is not secure
Reality: Most cyber attacks are caused by weak passwords or outdated plugins. WordPress’s core is audited by thousands of developers, keeping you one step ahead of attacks. For peace of mind, use a managed WordPress host like WordPress.com — site updates, backups, and security patches are handled automatically.
Because WordPress is open source, some folks assume it’s vulnerable to security threats.
As a WordPress user for 10+ years, my websites have remained secure through intentional security practices. For example, WordPress.com updates my site to the latest, most secure version and takes care of plugin safety and performance, so I don’t need to monitor it constantly.
The reality is: even the most robust CMS becomes vulnerable when burdened with inefficient plugins, according to experienced developers.
Note the Reddit comments below where they talk about how poorly coded plugins slow down sites and create security gaps:
Safeguard your website on WordPress.com today. Our managed hosting plans offer complete security through SSL certificates, advanced firewalls, brute force prevention, encryption, and DDoS protection.
Myth #3: WordPress is low quality because it’s free
Reality: WordPress is free for a reason — not because it’s low quality, but because it’s open-source software.
WordPress is built and maintained by thousands of developers and designers around the world who contribute their expertise to keep improving it.
This community-driven model is what makes WordPress so powerful.
Every update, feature, and security enhancement is peer-reviewed and tested before release.
WordPress.com adds managed hosting, security, and performance features to the mix, making it easier to run a fast, reliable site without extra effort.
Plus, our community runs hundreds of WordPress events worldwide.
For example, WordPress.com sponsored WordCamp US, a popular WordPress conference, this year. At WordCamp, thousands of WordPress beginners and experts come together to exchange knowledge on the open source software.
This collaborative culture moves WordPress further. It never stagnates.
Myth #4: WordPress.com is expensive
Reality: The WordPress software itself is free, but building and running a professional website always involves essential costs like hosting, a custom domain, and maintenance.
With WordPress.com, those costs are bundled into simple, transparent plans that include managed hosting, security, backups, and expert support.
You also get access to features like the AI website builder, premium themes, plugins, and 24/7 support.
The best part? It’s also possible to start for free and upgrade when you’re ready to launch your website.
Compared to juggling separate services on self-hosted setups, WordPress.com often ends up being both affordable and easy to manage.
Myth #5: WordPress sites are always slow
Reality: WordPress sites can be fast. Your site speed depends on your hosting, theme, and plugin quality.
WordPress sites load quickly when configured correctly.
On WordPress.com, websites include built-in caching to reduce server load. Combined with our optimized WordPress.com themes, your site stays fast without extra setup.
For example, when LUBUS migrated a client’s site to WordPress.com, it observed a 60% to 70% improvement in TTFB (Time to First Byte), indicating faster page loads and reduced visitor bounce rates.
Tip: TTFB measures how long it takes a visitor’s browser to receive the first byte of data from the server. A low TTFB score indicates faster page loads and better user experience. According to Google, a good TTFB score is 0.8 seconds or less.
We credit our full-stack infrastructure for LUBUS’s massive TTFB improvements.
WordPress.com’s Global Edge Caching uses 28+ data centers across six continents, routing your site content from servers closest to each visitor. This ensures your site loads fast, no matter where they’re located.
Our infrastructure also automatically resizes images via our Site Accelerator CDN (Content Delivery Network). This helps pages load quickly, even during traffic spikes.
Myth #6: All WordPress sites look the same
Reality: You can create unique websites and customize them using the WordPress.com AI website builder, Site Editor, and thousands of plugins and themes. You can also code or upload custom themes if you’re on the Business and higher plans.
Whether you want to pick from 1,000+ professionally designed WordPress themes, enhance your site with plugins, or create something from scratch using AI prompts — customization is simple.
For example, when I built a dog shelter site with the AI website builder, I started by giving it a short brief: the organization’s name, goal, and address.
The tool generated the first draft in seconds — a clean scarlet-red design with a Beagle in the hero image, which fit the “senior dogs” mission of my website perfectly.
From there, I customized.
I asked the AI to swap the Beagle for a pack of six dogs playing in a garden to shift the mood to something warmer and more energetic.
I also had it rewrite the homepage copy in a friendly, second-person tone to nudge visitors to get involved.
In a few minutes, I went from a solid AI draft to a site that felt uniquely mine.
Myth #7: WordPress isn’t scalable
Reality: WordPress powers everything from personal blogs to enterprise-level sites, supported by infrastructure that handles high traffic with ease. On WordPress.com, you also get robust managed hosting that scales automatically, so your site stays fast and reliable as it grows.
WordPress’s performance architecture makes it easy to scale without downtime — especially when you’re using a managed platform like WordPress.com.
For example, after Jelly Pixel Studio moved its client sites to WordPress.com, the agency saw improved stability and faster load times. Even during traffic spikes, uptime remained at 100%.
As the founder put it, WordPress.com’s infrastructure felt “literally magic,” saving him from countless emergency calls about performance issues.
Two core features help keep WordPress.com sites consistently fast and stable:
Global Edge Caching: Delivers content from data centers closest to your visitors. Site Accelerator CDN: Offloads your image and static files to reduce server load and improve overall performance. Myth #8: You can’t use third-party themes or plugins on WordPress.com
Reality: You can use third-party plugins on all plugin-enabled plans. Business, Commerce, and Enterprise plans also let you upload and use third-party themes for full design flexibility.
You can extend your site with any plugin from the WordPress ecosystem, whether you’re adding advanced SEO tools, contact forms, or custom integrations.
Since the core platform includes essentials like security, backups, and performance optimization, you can safely experiment without worrying about maintenance or compatibility issues.
In short, WordPress.com gives you full creative freedom — with the added benefits of managed hosting, automatic updates, and expert support.
Myth #9: WordPress is complicated
Reality: WordPress can feel unfamiliar at first, but anyone can learn how to use it. The platform has a learning curve — like any powerful tool — yet there’s a huge library of tutorials, courses, and community support to help you get comfortable quickly. AI tools like the AI website builder also speed up the process.
You don’t need to be a designer or developer to build a professional website with WordPress.
Once you learn the basics, the Site Editor lets you add and move elements — like headings, buttons, payment blocks, or images — with just a few clicks.
If you prefer extra help, the AI website builder can generate your first site draft in minutes.
For example, remember the dog shelter website I built?
All I needed to do was use text prompts to create the drafts and add visual changes.
With a bit of practice — and access to a supportive community — most WordPress users quickly go from overwhelmed to confident site owners.
Tip: If you need help, tap into our courses, guides, AI assistant, or expert support (for paid plan users of WordPress.com). Our forums, actively supported by WordPress.com staff and experienced users, are also available for all users.
Myth #10: WordPress.com only suits beginners
Reality: While WordPress.com is beginner-friendly, it also offers advanced tools for experienced users.
Many users see WordPress.com as a “lite” version of WordPress and assume it offers limited customization.
Some even claim that WordPress.com locks you into set templates with no plugin access.
The reality is more nuanced:
WordPress.com’s plugin-enabled plans allow third-party plugins, helping you expand your website’s capabilities in various ways. Business, Commerce, and Enterprise plans support fully custom plugins and themes for deeper control. Premium plans and above include custom CSS, so you can adjust layout, typography, spacing, interactions, and more. Business, Commerce, and Enterprise add developer tools like SFTP/SSH, WP-CLI, Git commands, and GitHub deployments for streamlined, professional workflows. Tip: All WordPress.com paid plans include automatic updates, security, analytics, and plugins (e.g., Jetpack Social for social sharing, Akismet for spam protection).
Myth #11: WordPress.com owns your content and locks you in permanently
Reality: Only you control your WordPress content, whether it’s your posts, pages, media, or followers.
You own all content published on your WordPress site. Automattic doesn’t own your data.
In fact, we explicitly mention this in our Terms of Service: “We don’t own your content, and you retain all ownership rights you have in the content you post to your website.”
You can manage your content however you want: delete it, monetize it, sell premium content using the Paid Content block, accept tips through the Donations Form block — or migrate to another host at any time.
These WordPress myths are just that…myths
Now that this post has debunked the myths, you can confidently use WordPress for your website.
Hosting it on WordPress.com is also the best option if you want unlimited bandwidth and “done for you” technical maintenance.
Our pricing scales with your growth. Start free, then upgrade when you need a professional site with advanced features.
All paid plans offer unlimited bandwidth and visits — there’s no traffic slowdown or surprise fees in high-traffic events. Plus, you get a free domain for one year, fast support, 50,000+ plugins, and more.
Launch your site on WordPress.com
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By Drewfus · November 18Nov 18
Black Friday 2025: Get Your Website Built for You — Free with WordPress.com Business

This Black Friday (Nov 17 – Dec 1, 2025), get your website built for you — free — when you purchase a new annual WordPress.com Business plan. Plus, take 10% off.
That’s over $499 in professional design included at no cost, along with savings on our most powerful plan.
Claim your free site build
Terms apply.
Why a website matters more than ever
A professional website does more than put your name online. It builds trust, helps people find you, and sets you up for growth.
Unlike social media accounts or third-party platforms, a WordPress.com site is fully yours: you own your content, control your design, and decide how your audience engages with you.
Whether you’re starting a side project, promoting your business, or sharing your passion, launching a polished website now means you can step into 2026 with momentum — on a platform that you control.
What you’ll get this Black Friday
Here’s what’s waiting for you:
A free, professional five-page site created for you by our team
10% off your Business plan purchase.
A free custom domain for the first year.
Access to premium themes, plugins, and advanced tools like SEO, analytics, and marketing integrations. Why choose the WordPress.com Business plan
The WordPress.com Business plan is built for growth.
You get the flexibility to scale with ecommerce, memberships, and integrations as your goals expand, all on a fast, secure hosting platform.
And whenever you need help, our Happiness Engineers are available worldwide to support you.
How it works
Getting started is simple:
Purchase a Business plan between November 17 and December 1, 2025. 10% will be automatically applied when you purchase via the Black Friday offer page.
Tell us your website goals, and we’ll request the key information we need to create your site. Our design team builds your site.
You launch before the year ends—without the stress of starting from scratch.
Don’t miss out
This Black Friday promotion is only available for a short time — November 17 through December 1, 2025.
Claim your free site build and start the new year with a website that’s ready to grow.
Claim your free site build + 10% off Business Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible for this offer?
This promotion is available only to new WordPress.com Business plan customers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.
How does it work?
After completing your purchase of a yearly WordPress.com Business plan (with 10% off!), you’ll receive an invitation to share your project details with our website design team. We’ll discuss your goals and guide you on how to submit your content using a simple form. From there, our designers will create a custom layout and design based on the information you provide.
What kind of design will I get?
Your website will be built by our experienced design team, which has created sites for thousands of WordPress.com customers.
We use the latest WordPress.com tools and blocks to craft a professional, modern layout — without relying on third-party themes or plugins.
While we don’t build from mockups or external websites, we’re happy to incorporate your preferred colors or fonts to ensure the design reflects your brand.
Once our team delivers the site to you, you’ll be able to add and customize third-party themes or plugins within your Business plan.
Can any website project qualify for the free build?
Our team reviews each project to make sure it fits within the scope of our service. We focus on websites that can be built using WordPress.com’s built-in tools. If a project falls outside of that scope — for example, if it requires advanced custom development or third-party integrations — we’ll let you know and recommend alternative options.
What if I need more than 5 pages?
Additional pages are available for $69 each. Just let us know how many you need, and we’ll include them in your project.
Do I own my website after the work is completed?
Yes. Once your site is finished, it’s completely yours. You’ll be able to edit everything directly from your WordPress Dashboard. The design is built using features included with the Business plan, so keeping that plan ensures your site looks and functions exactly as designed.
Can I use this discount to renew an existing plan?
No. The offer is limited to new annual Business plan purchases between November 17 and December 1, 2025.
What is the refund policy?
All new WordPress.com plans include our standard 14-day refund window. If you decide the Business plan isn’t right for you, you can request a refund within 14 days of purchase.
Terms and conditions
WordPress.com is offering a free, 5-page website build and 10% off with the purchase of a new annual Business plan subscription for users in the US, UK, and Canada. Discount applies to the first payment of an annual plan and does not apply to future recurring payments. Not all website projects will be a fit for our Design Services team. Which projects are a fit will be at the discretion of the Design Services team. This promotion runs from Nov. 17, 2025 to Dec. 1, 2025 and may not be applied to previous purchases, renewals, upgrades of existing subscriptions, or combined with any other offer. We may modify or terminate this promotion at any time without prior notice.

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By Drewfus · November 17Nov 17
12 Cool AI-Powered WordPress Blocks Made with Telex

Did you know you can create custom WordPress blocks with AI — just by describing what you want in plain language?
With Telex, a free, browser-based tool from Automattic, you can type out your idea for a block and watch it come to life right in your browser.
You can then interact with the block, refine it with extra instructions, and download it as a plugin for use on your own WordPress site.
To show you what’s possible, this article lists 12 cool WordPress blocks made with Telex. Each one is accessible via a shared link, so you can explore, remix, and add them to your site.
1. Minesweeper
The Minesweeper is an interactive AI-generated WordPress block that lets you play the classic Minesweeper game on your site.
You can interact with it right inside the post editor or after publishing, whether it’s on a post, page, or any other block area.
Block settings let you adjust the grid’s rows, columns, and mine count.
The puzzle resets automatically on each page load or refresh, and it can be added anywhere blocks are supported.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The Minesweeper block adds a fun, interactive touch to your site and keeps visitors coming back for more.
You can publish it on any post or page to engage your audience — or simply drop it into the editor and enjoy a quick round when you need a break from writing.
2. Rainbow Confetti
The Rainbow Confetti block adds a button to your site that toggles a fun, colorful animation that overlays the entire site.
Its settings let you control the size of the confetti and the speed at which it falls.
You can also switch between random and steady movement styles.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The interactive Rainbow Confetti block adds a fun, eye-catching touch to your site. It’s fully responsive and works seamlessly across all devices.
You can add it to individual posts and pages or even include it in your header template part so it’s always available.
For example, place it at the end of long articles or tutorials so visitors get a playful visual reward for reaching the finish line.
Since these blocks are easy to edit, feel free to remix this one — adjust the confetti’s shape, colors, or animation to match your style.
3. Personality Quiz
The Personality Quiz block lets you add an engaging personality quiz to your WordPress site.
Create your own questions and answers that assign your visitors a personality type or character.
Some of the quizzes you could build include “Which superhero are you,” “What’s your spirit animal,” and “Which TV show character are you?”
You create the cast of characters or personalities and then enter a series of questions and answers. Each question has multiple answers, and each answer points to one of the characters or personality types.
The results are nicely presented and easy to share on social media. Users can retake the quiz with the touch of a button.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The Personality Quiz block makes a great addition to fan sites, entertainment and sports blogs, and any site where characters and personalities are relevant.
This Telex block is perfect if you’re looking for an easy way to add fun, shareable, and engaging interactive content to your site.
4. Accordion Block
The Accordion Telex block helps you add collapsible accordion panels to your content.
These accordions are perfect for FAQs and other question-and-answer-style content.
Multiple accordions can be added to a single post if necessary. Each accordion can have as many panels as needed, and you can add content to the panels through the WordPress editor.
You can also customize the accordions’ colors, font sizes, and border styles through the block settings.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The block works well for any scenario where you want to let visitors control how and when content is displayed, prevent them from being overwhelmed by exposure to too much information, and avoid taking up too much space on a page.
For example, you can use it to create an FAQ or to hide spoilers until visitors choose to see them.
5. Scratcher
The Scratcher Telex block lets you hide text behind a scratchable coating. It supports mouse and touch scratching.
The size of the scratch area, the coating color, and the brush size and shape can be customized. You can also modify the percentage of the coating that must be removed before the content is revealed.
How to use it on your WordPress site
Add an interactive twist to your site with this scratch-off block. It’s perfect for hiding content such as spoilers, special offers, or quiz answers.
6. Pokémon Fun Facts
The Pokémon Fun Facts block adds a button to your site that displays a fun fact about a random Pokémon when clicked.
The block fetches a Pokémon’s name, sprite (its small character image), and Pokédex entry (the short descriptive text shown in the in-game Pokédex) from the PokéAPI each time someone presses the button.
You can use it right away — no API key required.
How to use it on your WordPress site
If your audience would enjoy quick access to random Pokémon facts, this block is for you.
The Pokémon Fun Facts block can be a playful addition to your content or the main highlight of your site — add it wherever you want a bit of extra fun.
7. One More Bite
The One More Bite block lets you conveniently publish recipes on your WordPress site.
It adds a form to the editor with fields covering all of the recipe publishing essentials.
Published recipes include Google Recipe structured data for enhanced search visibility and displaying rich snippets in the search results.
The recipes are all nicely presented and easy to read.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The One More Bite block is perfect for food blogs and for anyone who occasionally shares recipes on their site.
8. Space Dots
The Space Dots block adds floating elements to your site that respond to cursor movement, mouse clicks, and touchscreen taps.
The block settings let you control the number of dots, the height of the block, and the dots’ speed.
How to use it on your WordPress site
You can add this block anywhere on your site — in posts, pages, or template parts.
It serves as both a subtle decorative element and a fun, interactive way for visitors to relieve stress.
9. Weather Forecaster
The Weather Forecaster block fetches and displays a five-day NOAA weather forecast based on a US zip code entered by the user.
It retrieves the forecast using free APIs (Zippopotam.us and weather.gov).
The block then presents the weather information in an accessible, mobile-friendly layout. Visitors can see a day-and-night forecast for today and the next four days.
How to use it on your WordPress site
Any website that features services or activities affected by the weather can benefit from adding this weather forecast block.
For example, sites for local attractions, outdoor events, or travel experiences could use a five-day forecast to help visitors plan their visit or make informed booking decisions.
10. Scroll Indicator
The Scroll Indicator block adds a small animation that invites visitors to scroll down.
When clicked or tapped, it automatically moves the page, offering an easy, interactive way to explore your site.
The block’s animated icon features a smooth bounce effect to gently catch your visitors’ attention without being too distracting.
You can change the icon’s color, size, and text, and set the block to be hidden once a user starts scrolling.
How to use it on your WordPress site
Add this animated indicator to longer pieces of content to give readers another way to navigate your site.
11. Orbit
The Orbit block lets you add animated, circular text to your site.
Add it to a post, enter your text in the block settings sidebar, and watch it rotate around the circle.
You can adjust the rotation speed and control the spacing between the start and end of the text loop.
How to use it on your WordPress site
The Orbit block is ideal for highlighting key pieces of text in an article or adding animated headings to your posts.
12. Chaos Rolled
The Chaos Rolled block adds an animated dice roll to your WordPress site.
Visitors can click the dice to generate a random result with a smooth animation providing visual feedback.
In the block settings sidebar, you can choose from a range of dice types, from D4 to D20. You can also add multiple dice to simulate higher rolls — for example, two D10 dice to create a D100 roll.
How to use it on your WordPress site
Any website that would benefit from random number generation could use this block.
For example, an educational site could make lessons more engaging by generating random numbers for math problems or selecting tasks.
How to get started with Telex
Creating your first block with Telex is as simple as visiting the website and entering a description.
To get started, follow these steps:
Come up with an idea: Your block could serve a practical purpose or simply add a fun, creative touch to your site. Go to the Telex website: Sign in with your WordPress.com account or create a new one. Enter your prompt: Describe the block using natural language. Simple prompts work well, but adding more context helps Telex generate better results. You can easily modify the generated block by providing additional instructions. Click “Build:” Telex will generate a working block in the browser. Iterate and refine: Try out the block and use follow-up prompts to tweak it. Download or share: Once you’re happy with the result, click “Download” to get the plugin zip file that you can install on your WordPress site or choose “Share” to copy a preview link that you can use to show others what you’ve created. You can return to the blocks you create at any time.
Blocks are automatically saved to your WordPress.com account and can be accessed from the Telex page if you need to make changes.
For more information, check out this post on creating AI-generated WordPress blocks with Telex.
Try Telex for Yourself
Ready to build your first AI-generated WordPress block?
Creating custom blocks is faster and easier than ever with Telex.
Whether you want to bring a brand-new idea to life or remix one of the showcased blocks, Telex makes block creation fun and straightforward.
Visit Telex to get started, then share your creations or feedback. We’d love to see what you build.

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By Drewfus · November 13Nov 13
8 Must-Try AI Tools for Web Development (Build Faster & Smarter)

Artificial intelligence excels at automating repetitive tasks and streamlining tedious workflows — and web development has plenty of those.
That’s why using AI tools in your web projects can save you a ton of time and effort.
Still, with so many options out there, which ones are actually worth trying? That’s exactly what we’ll cover in this post.
Below, we’ll explore eight AI-powered web development tools that genuinely stand out.
For each, you’ll see what it does, why it’s useful, and how it can improve your workflow — plus a few quick-start resources to help you put them to work right away.
1. Studio Assistant
The Studio Assistant is our own AI chatbot integrated into WordPress.com’s free local development desktop app, WordPress Studio.
It saves time by letting you do more from a single interface using natural language — no need to browse your site or file system, or learn shell commands.
You can find it under the Assistant tab.
To access the Assistant, you must be logged into your WordPress.com account.
Each user is allowed 200 prompts per month across all of their Studio sites.
You can talk to the Studio Assistant in any language, and it will perform various tasks to help you configure new sites and manage your existing local websites. For example:
Answer questions about WordPress development Give plugin and theme recommendations Create ready-to-copy content Write PHP, JavaScript, and CSS Disable or update plugins Upgrade your local site’s WordPress version (even to beta or RC versions) Open site files directly from the chat interface Run WP-CLI commands If you want to add custom code, the Studio Assistant writes it for you and links to the file where you can add it. The chatbot understands your site’s context (themes, plugins, etc.) and connects to the WordPress.com knowledge base and infrastructure to tailor responses to your setup.
In short, it helps you focus on your goals and ideas instead of clicking around your site.
To learn more, read the documentation. We also have a detailed blog post on the Studio Assistant, and you can download and install WordPress Studio for free here.
Pricing
The Studio Assistant is completely free to use within the WordPress Studio tool. You’ll need to log into a WordPress.com account — free or paid — to access it.
2. Cursor
Cursor is an AI code editor that speeds up your workflow by predicting what you’re going to write next, even across multiple lines and files.
You can simply accept its proposals by hitting the tab button.
In addition, Cursor has an autocorrect function, which means you don’t have to type every colon or apostrophe. The editor fills them in for you.
Another feature is agent mode, which can write and edit code from natural language prompts.
The tool automatically takes your existing codebase into account when creating markup, but you can also provide an instruction file and manually reference files, functions, images, documentation, or the web.
Cursor keeps you in the loop with what it’s working on. You can ask it questions about the code it creates, request revisions, and accept the tool’s output with one click.
Besides, it can run terminal commands and detect and fix lint errors automatically to speed up debugging.
There’s an additional paid feature called Bugbot AI code review, which catches bugs, security issues, and beyond.
This AI web development tool is a real time-saver for anyone who writes a lot of custom code. While not WordPress-specific by default, Cursor lets you set rules — for example, to follow WordPress coding standards or use a specific PHP version.
You can also find and adapt community-made rules in the Cursor Directory.
Check Nick Diego’s detailed video for how to use Cursor for WordPress development with Studio below:
Use the documentation to get started.
Pricing
Cursor has a free plan with limited features.
Paid plans start at $20/month for individuals and $40/month per user for teams (20% off when you go for a yearly plan).
3. Perplexity
Perplexity is an AI‑powered “answer engine” or conversational search tool.
It combines real‑time web access with large language models to generate natural‑language answers and cites its sources.
This makes it really useful for research, unlike static LLMs that may rely on outdated training data.
For example, it helps you quickly find up-to-date information on APIs, frameworks, or error messages through context-aware conversations — much faster than juggling multiple browser tabs. It’s especially useful for troubleshooting, debugging, and discovering additional resources.
Beyond that, Perplexity can do everything you’d expect from an LLM:
Brainstorm ideas Create content Write SEO titles and meta descriptions Generate or refine code snippets Debug and explain code, give feedback Act as a knowledge base Paid users also have access to Perplexity Labs, an AI-powered productivity suite aiming to function as a virtual business or technical team.
It can handle a range of tasks, including data analysis and visualization, content generation, code writing and execution, and building interactive elements.
Overall, Perplexity is better for information gathering and big-picture planning for your website and business than coding.
It’s useful for generating quick code snippets, but since it lacks awareness of your site’s context, it’s less effective as a full development assistant compared to other tools on this list.
Learn Prompting has a great beginner tutorial for Perplexity, and you can also use the official documentation.
Pricing
Perplexity is free to use; its Pro pricing is $20/month (less if you buy an annual subscription).
4. OpenAI Codex
OpenAI Codex is an agent running an OpenAI model optimized for software engineering that integrates with your GitHub repository.
It acts as a “virtual coworker” that you can assign routine work to — e.g., to write code, fix bugs, answer questions about your codebase, run linters and tests, and propose pull requests.
OpenAI Codex exists in two forms:
A cloud-based version accessible via the ChatGPT interface. A local terminal tool called Codex CLI that’s open source and installable via npm. You can access the cloud version from the sidebar of your ChatGPT account.
Once connected to your GitHub account and repository, simply write a new prompt and click on Code to start a coding task or click on Ask to ask the tool questions.
Codex allows multimodal input in the form of text, screenshots, or diagrams to clarify what you want it to do, and you can also provide guidelines in a file.
When it completes a task, the tool shows you exactly what it did so you can review, request additional changes, or open a pull request to merge the changes.
You can find three practical use cases in this tutorial on DataCamp. In addition, check the documentation and, for Codex CLI, the official GitHub repository.
Pricing
Codex is available through ChatGPT’s paid plans, starting at about $25/month for Plus, $250/month for Pro, and $37 per user/month for Business.
5. Claude Code
Similar to our last entry, Claude Code is an agentic coding tool that runs in your terminal. It understands your codebase, and you can prompt it to perform routine tasks, explain code, and manage Git workflows via natural language commands.
Claude Code also integrates with GitHub, GitLab, IDEs like VSCode and JetBrains, as well as external tools like Slack and Jira.
Here’s what it can do:
Build features: Tell the agent what you want to create, and it will write the code for you, including multi-file edits and refactors. Debugging: Share an error message or describe a bug. Claude Code will analyze your codebase, suggest fixes, and implement them automatically after approval. It can also manage Git workflows like commits, branches, and merge conflicts. Onboarding: The AI tool can map the structure of your codebase, explain dependencies, and highlight relevant files for new contributors. It also answers codebase questions and can even pull in context from external sources. Automate testing and code review: Automatically generate unit tests, pull request summaries, and receive code review comments. In addition, Claude Code can help translate functionality across languages and frameworks. Provide documentation: Generate or refine comments, notes, and module overviews to keep your codebase well-documented. Claude Code is designed for developers of all levels who want to speed up their workflow and spend less time on repetitive tasks.
WordPress developers, for example, can use it to generate plugins or themes from simple prompts, debug issues like plugin conflicts or database errors, improve documentation, migrate legacy code to newer WordPress standards, and more.
Check out this tutorial to get started:
Pricing
Plans start at $17/month for an annual individual subscription. Get started with the official documentation, tutorials, and learn how the Anthropic team uses Claude Code.
6. GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered coding assistant developed by GitHub and OpenAI, which supports a wide range of languages and frameworks.
It integrates primarily into popular IDEs like VS Code, Visual Studio, XCode, and JetBrains IDEs, as well as your CLI.
There, it provides real-time, context-aware code suggestions and completions based on natural language prompts and your existing code context.
Copilot also includes a chat interface that helps with coding questions and debugging. It’s available directly on GitHub, as a command-line tool, and in the GitHub mobile app.
As a (WordPress) web developer, here’s what you can use this AI tool for:
Make changes across multiple files from a single prompt (Visual Studio Code, Visual Studio, and JetBrains IDEs only) Write PHP, JavaScript, CSS, and REST API code Get suggestions and explanations for command-line commands Have Copilot review your pull requests In short, GitHub Copilot automates development tasks while remaining context-aware and adapting to your coding style.
It’s like a virtual team member inside your favorite IDE. You can adapt its responses by providing custom instructions.
The documentation has everything you need, and there are separate docs for using it in VS Code.
Pricing
Copilot comes with a limited free plan (50 agent mode or chat requests and 2,000 code completions per month).
Paid plans begin at $10/month (two months free if you pay annually) and include a 30-day free trial.
7. Telex
Telex is an experimental tool from the Automattic AI team that lets you build WordPress blocks. It makes the whole process easier by using natural-language prompts.
It is powered by WordPress Playground, meaning Telex works online in your browser, so there’s no need to install anything to use it.
After logging in with a WordPress.com account, simply describe the block you are trying to build.
The tool will create a usable prototype for you to preview and test. From here, you can refine it with follow-up prompts or by editing the code directly.
When you are satisfied, download the block as a plugin and install it on your site. You can also share it via a link.
How can Telex best help you speed up your development process?
Use it to:
Build quick prototypes or small utility blocks for client projects. Create block scaffolding in a real WordPress context to experiment with and refine. Learn from working examples and the code behind them. Note that Telex is still an experimental AI as the team continues building and improving it. You may run into occasional limitations, but more functionality is on the way. Their team is actively working to enhance the experience and welcomes your feedback and suggestions as you try it.
More information is available in the Telex FAQs, and you can help improve the tool by using the “Send us feedback!” button at the bottom of your project screen.
Picing
Telex is free to use, and you can create unlimited blocks with it. If you don’t know what you should build, use these cool Telex block examples to get started.
8. WordPress.com AI website builder
The WordPress.com AI website builder allows you to use conversational prompts to create entire websites, and you can use it for free for new sites.
To start your free trial, head to the AI website builder page and use the prompt box to describe your website in a few words.
You can get more specific with your prompts once your site has been created.
Once you submit, log in to your WordPress.com account, and answer a few more questions about the kind of site you want to create, the builder will create your site.
From here, you can customize your site using the AI chat in the sidebar. For example:
Customize colors Change page layouts Choose new fonts Add new pages Upload your own photos And so much more… Click on any element to customize it — use one of the suggested prompts that appear above the prompt box or type your own.
Change templates, colors, elements, generate new content — it’s up to you. If you don’t know what to do, you can also ask the AI builder what else it can help with.
Once you’re happy with your site, click the Launch button. Pick your hosting plan, and you are ready to publish your site.
Since it’s all done in WordPress, you can always go back and customize your website further. Go to Appearance → Editor.
The AI sidebar will open automatically so you can easily continue using the AI chat to make changes across your site.
The WordPress.com AI website builder is ideal for anyone who wants to launch a website quickly, including developers who want to quickly scaffold ideas into functional prototypes or fully deployable sites.
It allows you to do so in a few hours instead of days or weeks.
Note that it can’t (yet) build ecommerce sites that need complex logic and features, but we’re constantly improving it. For more information, check the launch post and documentation.
Pricing
The AI Website Builder from WordPress.com offers a free trial and is available on all WordPress.com paid plans.
Use AI tools to level up your web development workflow
Web developers can benefit greatly from AI tools — if you find the right ones.
There’s plenty to choose from, each suited for different jobs, applications, and environments.
They can do anything from generating code snippets and offering context-aware suggestions to answering questions and even building and managing entire WordPress sites via conversational prompts.
The list above is a solid starting point to explore the world of AI web development tools. The key is selecting the right combination that aligns with your specific needs, preferred workflows, and budget.
Sign up for WordPress.com and try out Studio Assistant and the AI Website Builder. Take advantage of powerful developer features like staging sites, SSH access, WP-CLI, and GitHub deployments while you are at it.

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By Drewfus · November 12Nov 12
Top Simple Prompts to Build Your First WordPress Site With AI

WordPress.com’s AI website builder helps you create a site using simple language prompts.
Just type what you need and it’ll materialize your vision (like magic!) — no coding or technical skills required.
In this guide, I’ll share seven prompts you can use to create and customize a website from scratch with our platform.
Let’s assume we’re making a personal blog all about books and publishing. Follow along, then adapt the prompts to suit the site you’re building.
1. Create the first site draft
First, use the AI website builder to create a whole website from scratch.
Think of it as the first draft before you customize each section and page based on your needs.
To create a blog about books, I used this prompt:
“Build a website called “Rochi’s book corner.” It’s a personal blog that will include written and video content about books (reviews and recommendations) and cultural commentary on books & the publishing industry. The style should be fun, welcoming, and modern. I want to have pages for reviews, recommendations, trends, an about page, and a contact page.”
To get a result as close to your vision as possible, include specific and detailed instructions, such as:
The name of your website (if you have one) The type of site you want to build — blog, portfolio, business, or something else How many pages you want to add and what each page should be called The style you’re going for — modern, professional, chic, funny, elegant, minimalistic, etc. The type(s) of content and media you’re looking to publish on the site — like blogs, images, videos, and more For the above prompt, WordPress.com’s AI website builder created this site:
The first draft alone was stellar — something that would’ve taken me hours (if not days) to create were I doing everything from scratch.
2. Customize the site’s design and appearance
Next, customize how you want your site to look: fonts, colors, layouts, and more.
Follow the prompts I’ve shared below to adjust your site’s look step by step.
Change your site’s color
The first draft of the site is great — the yellow and purple contrast pops, instantly giving it a fun and exciting energy (something I requested in my prompt).
However, I would like the color palette to be more subdued. Here’s the prompt I used to achieve this:
“Show me color palettes for my site that are a little more subdued and relaxed without sacrificing the current fun and exciting energy.”
The AI website builder gave me nine color palette choices to choose from.
Each of the colors complemented one another well and matched the requirements of the prompt I gave.
Ultimately, I chose the green palette.
Change your site’s fonts
Next, I wanted to see if a different font looked better on the site. I used this prompt to ask the AI to give me options:
“Show me new fonts for my site that complement the rest of the design. It should be a little bookish (like a typewriter), but easy and accessible to read.”
The website builder gave me eight options of font pairs (one font for the header, another for body text) that go together like cookies and milk. I picked the one I liked the most.
Change your site’s layout
I also wanted to see if there’s a better way to arrange all of the moving elements of the site on the homepage. I asked AI to show me various layout options using a simple prompt:
“Show me different layouts for this page.”
I ultimately liked the original version best, so I simply clicked the backward arrow, which allowed me to restore my website to its last setting.
AI had several unique options with diverse designs and structures, which will come in handy when I update my site and mix up the appearance a little bit.
Change your site’s buttons
Lastly, I wanted all the buttons to be round instead of square or rectangular. So, I gave this prompt:
“Make all the buttons of a round shape.”
AI instantly granted my request, and all the buttons on the whole site were made circular.
Note: Make sure you add the right links to all the call-to-action buttons across your site. You can do this manually or ask AI to link the button back to a specific page on your website.
3. Edit individual sections on your site by customizing WordPress blocks
You can also edit individual sections and WordPress blocks on your site.
Ask AI to add sub-sections, display posts in a different order, rewrite the copy, and even add a brand new section.
Edit a section on your site
I wanted the book reviews section to have different headers and sub-sections. I used the following prompt to accomplish this:
“Edit the “Latest Book Reviews” section. There should be five sub-sections overall: Fiction, Biographies, Self-help, Classics, and Debuts.”
AI reorganized the section based on my input and let me choose the appearance pattern for each sub-section.
Rewrite the text of your site
In each individual block, you can also manually edit anything you wish.
I find it easier to edit the text manually, but you can also prompt AI to change the tone of any text on your site.
For example, you can use this prompt to make your landing page copy more concise and friendly:
“Rewrite the copy on the homepage to be more concise and friendly. Use short sentences and a welcoming tone.”
Add a new section to your site
You can add new sections and pages to your site using the AI website builder.
I wanted to create a separate section for adjacent book-related content, for instance, so this is what I asked it to do:
“Create another section after “Latest Book Reviews” titled “We’ll Talk More Than Just Books.” Include headers with three posts inside them, similar to a sub-section. The sub-headers should be “The Rise of Romance Books,” “Should You Read Books Recommended on BookTok?,” and “The Cult of the Classics.””
The image below is the result generated by the tool.
I also provided specific instructions for each thumbnail so that it accurately reflects the section’s title. Here’s an example of the prompt I gave for the last image:
“Create a thumbnail image for the “The cult of classics” post in the “We’ll talk more than just books” section. This image should have a stack of five books that say “Jane Austen”, “Charlotte Brontë”, “Charles Dickens”, and “Virginia Woolf.”
Note: Select the section or block you want to edit before giving a prompt to the website builder.
4. Update or generate your website images and logos
The AI website builder can also create a logo for your site (if you don’t already have one) and generate images to complement your content.
Generate and update images
You can add your own images to your site by uploading them. You can also ask AI to generate images for your site.
I prompted the tool to create photos for the whole site that match a specific aesthetic:
“Edit all images to have a cozy feel to them. There should be a fall aesthetic and books in every image. The hero image should be of a girl reading in the candlelight, animated.”
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if the images would be up to par (my experience with AI image generators has not been excellent), but the photos were surprisingly good. No six fingers or freaky joint angles.
Create a logo for your site
You can also create your site’s logo from scratch.
Here’s the instruction I gave:
“Create a logo for this website. It should say “Rochi’s book corner” inside an open book.”
You can make the guideline more specific for better results and include details regarding the color palette, shape, etc.
Although I have found the tool creates a pretty decent logo on the first try, too.
5. Add social media icons and sign-up forms to your site
If you’d like to include extra elements — like social media icons, newsletter sign-ups, or contact forms — just ask the website builder to add them.
Add media icons to your site
Here’s the prompt I used to add three social media icons to my site:
“Add social icons to the right side navigation bar with links to Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.”
You can also continue prompting and further customize the icons’ appearance and placement on the site.
Add a newsletter opt-in for your site
I wanted to add a section on my site where readers can subscribe to my newsletter. I used this prompt to create a simple opt-in form:
“Add a newsletter opt-in form after the “We’ll talk more than just books” section. The form should include two fields: Name and Email, along with the “Subscribe” button. The section’s title should be “Never miss a post from Rochi’s book corner.” Add an image of an email opening up to reveal a book inside to go along with it. The order should be image, header, and opt-in box from left to right.”
Here’s the result:
Note: If you plan to send regular updates, use WordPress.com’s built-in Newsletter feature that lets you turn your posts into emails, customize layouts, and monetize your content without extra tools.
6. Learn how to use WordPress
Although WordPress is quite intuitive to use, if you face any roadblocks, you can ask the AI website builder how to navigate it.
For example, I was struggling to understand how to create a slideshow for one of my website sections. I asked the tool:
“How can I add a slideshow to the “We talk more than just books” section? It should display the posts on the page “Beyond books.” Give me step-by-step directions.”
The full response included clear and detailed instructions on how to create the slideshow I wanted.
7. Get ideas to improve your website
The AI tool is also great for generating website ideas — you can ask it to improve navigation, suggest new pages, enhance security, or identify missing elements.
Make your site more secure
I wanted to know what I can do to improve the security of my site, but I can’t invest in paid tools for this website yet.
Here’s the prompt I used to get some (free) solutions:
“Give me some ideas on how I can improve the security of my website. Don’t recommend any paid tools.”
The full list of tips included several suggestions I hadn’t thought of before.
The best part?
The AI tool gives you recommendations tailored to your site’s current setup.
For instance, in my case, it detected that I didn’t have two-factor authentication (2FA) enabled and suggested adding it to improve security.
Brainstorm ideas to improve your site
Next, the AI website builder can provide you with personalized recommendations to improve your site overall.
For instance, I used this prompt to find general big-picture methods to make my site better:
“Suggest some ideas to improve this site. Recommend some additional pages or sections I could add, navigation enhancements, and any other missing elements.”
AI provided me with several detailed suggestions to improve my site, including adding social proof, producing author interviews, creating an online book club, launching reading challenges, and more.
The prompt I used was a bit broad, but you can ask AI for more specific queries to help improve your site as well. The tool is able to understand complex instructions.
Hopefully, the examples above give you a sense of what’s possible with WordPress.com’s AI website builder.
This is all really just the start because you can tweak and customize your site in almost any way you like.
There’s one catch, though: Your AI-built website will only be as good as the guidance you provide.
How to write effective prompts in the AI website builder: five pro tips
While AI can help you create a website in seconds, you’re still in the driver’s seat.
You have complete control over how you want your site to look and function — it all comes down to how you guide the AI with your prompts.
So here are some pro prompting tips:
1. Be as specific as possible
The number one tip to prompt better is to provide specific, detailed instructions. Here’s an example:
Less effectiveMore effective“Make the text in this section better.”“Rewrite the text in the “Book Reviews” section to have a more friendly and casual tone.” This also means not relying too heavily on context.
For instance, tell it to “change the About section’s color palette to sky blue,” even if your last prompt was about the same section.
Be specific, and avoid overusing vague pronouns like “this” or “it” in your prompts.
2. Keep refining until you get the result
Don’t lose hope if the first draft of something that AI produces isn’t close to your imagination.
Continue providing more specific instructions until you achieve the desired result.
For instance, if the homepage’s hero image isn’t the right size, prompt the tool to “Make the hero image smaller so the headline stays above the fold.”
Each new prompt helps the AI better understand your vision, so think of it as a back-and-forth process rather than a one-time command.
3. Ask for help beyond website design
The website builder can do a lot more than design your website.
You can ask how to improve your site’s loading speed, get tips on the best security settings, or explore anything else related to your WordPress.com site.
4. Use it in conjunction with the manual editor
The AI website builder is extremely powerful, but you can also edit things manually to customize them to your liking or for convenience.
For instance, I find it easier to add/replace the links of all buttons myself rather than ask AI to do it.
WordPress.com’s Site Editor is just as sleek and smart as the AI tool itself — use it alongside the website builder to make your site exactly as you’ve imagined.
5. Take it one section at a time
Specific, detailed prompts work great with AI, but only when they focus on a particular section.
Avoid giving multiple directions about different sections on your site simultaneously. Instead, break that request into smaller parts.
For example, instead of asking the tool to “Put the hero image above the headline and make all the buttons on this page blue,” break it down into two steps.
First, ask to resize the hero image. Then, enter the command for changing the color of the buttons.
Start building your WordPress site using these AI prompts
With WordPress.com’s AI website builder, creating your site takes minutes instead of days or weeks.
The prompts in this guide give you a starting point.
The next step is adjusting the details — such as content style, layout, colors, fonts, and everything in between — to match your unique vision.
Remember: Be specific, refine as you go, work on one section at a time, and use AI alongside manual editing for the best results.
Your first iteration might not be perfect, but with just a few tweaks, it’ll be exactly what you need.
Note: Using the AI website builder from WordPress.com enters you into a free trial so you can build your site before purchasing. To publish your site, you’ll need to purchase a Premium or Business plan.
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By Drewfus · November 10Nov 10
How to Build a Multilingual Website on WordPress.com

Have you ever wondered whether having your WordPress website in multiple languages is worth it, and how much effort it actually takes?
During my recent trip to the Netherlands, I found myself navigating local websites for everything from restaurants to train schedules.
As a non-Dutch speaker, it was such a relief when I could switch to English versions without fumbling with translation tools.
That experience reminded me that a multilingual site isn’t just about translating text — it’s about making people feel included and welcome.
As a website owner, offering your content in different languages opens you up to a wider audience and invites more connections, opportunities, and even sales.
If that piques your interest, let’s explore why you should consider a multilingual website and how to create one on WordPress.com.
Benefits of having a multilingual website
Is my experience in the Netherlands not enough to convince you about turning your website or store into a multilingual one?
That’s okay!
Consider the following benefits you’ll gain if you do it anyway.
1. Sell more to a global audience
Having a multilingual website instantly expands your customer base beyond local language speakers.
During my time shopping online in the Netherlands, I skipped sites without English versions and gave my business to those that offered language options.
This simple choice applies to all website owners — your potential customers include not only locals, but also expats and tourists who might not speak the local language.
The same applies if you serve customers and ship internationally. It removes purchase barriers, gives you a competitive advantage, and builds trust with your audience.
Why should you create a multilingual website when visitors can use their browser to automatically translate? Your visitors may have Google or other forms of translation built into their browsers, but not everyone has the plugins, and they’re not always reliable. You risk losing potential customers or readers simply because their browser failed to translate, or the translation wasn’t accurate. Besides, all areas of your website may not function properly when an extension takes over. That’s why it’s always better to offer multiple languages instead of relying on browser tools.
2. Share your passion with a wider community
A multilingual blog increases your potential readership and community engagement.
If you’re blogging about news, crafts, technology, or something you’re passionate about, it’s second nature to stick to the language you speak.
Adding another language version, however, opens doors to entirely new communities.
This is especially true if you currently write in a language other than English.
Since the internet is global and language reaches across borders, offering English versions of your posts means someone from another corner of the world might discover your content and become a follower.
Sounds far-fetched? It really isn’t.
That’s exactly why I started blogging in English alongside my native language back in 2008.
Have I met people from all over the world? I most certainly have.
That’s why I recommend considering going global, even if you’re primarily writing for yourself.
3. Rank in local search results in different regions
Multilingual content also improves your search visibility in different regions.
When I was Googling in the Netherlands, most search results appeared in Dutch — including links to Dutch websites, even when those websites had an English version available.
This was clear proof that if you want to reach people in a particular region, there’s no better way than to write in their language.
By doing so, you allow search engines like Google to index your content in that language, giving your website an SEO boost.
So, when your target audience searches for something, your website has a higher chance of showing up rather than getting lost in the digital void.
Will a multilingual website really help you get more sales and traffic? In many cases, yes! Remember when I chose one website over another for shopping online simply because it was offered in a language I understood? This behavior is more common than you think.
How to create multilingual websites
Now that you know you may be leaving traffic (and money) on the table by not offering your website in more languages, your next question is likely: How do I create a multilingual website?
Let me share three different ways you can create a multilingual website (or turn your existing website into one).
Each option has its pros and cons, which I’ll explain.
Tip: Did you know you can translate the content of your posts and pages using our built-in AI Assistant? Click here to find out!
Option 1: Create multiple websites for each language
This is exactly what it sounds like: You create different websites for each language you want to offer. While it requires some effort, the payoff is definitely worth it!
This approach is best suited for:
Large-scale business and organization websites Multinational companies that operate in different countries Benefits:
Each website can have its own content and design language. You can optimize each website separately for maximum SEO benefits. It’s much easier to tailor the tone, voice, and overall design of each version of your website while keeping true to your brand. Drawbacks:
A little more time and effort are required to manage and update multiple websites, especially for online stores with frequent product updates. This approach involves higher costs. It can be harder to maintain brand consistency across all versions of the website and benefit from the existing authority of your original site. How to create multiple sites on WordPress.com
The best part: You can easily create multiple websites using the same WordPress.com account.
Whether you have different websites or the same one in multiple languages, you can have all of them in the same account, saving you from the hassle of having to log in separately to each site.
1. Create or copy an existing website.
If you’re using plans like Free, Personal, and Premium, click here and start creating a new website.
Or, if you have the Business plan or higher, use our Copy a site feature to effortlessly copy your entire site into a brand new one.
Click the W logo at the top left of your screen to see your Sites.
Then, click the three dots next to the website you wish to copy and click Settings.
Scroll down to the “Actions” section and click the “Duplicate” button.
Next, give your new website a domain name.
You can opt for a completely different domain name, like my-website.com on the primary website and mon-site.com for the French version.
Or you can use a subdomain like fr.my-website.com to keep all versions of the website on the same domain name.
Not ready to set a domain name yet? No worries! You can type a name for your new website and pick the free address option that will appear in the list.
Then, choose a WordPress.com plan for your new website.
Not sure which plan is right for you? Check out our plans and pricing to learn more.
In most cases, you can purchase the same plan you have on your primary website for your localized ones.
For example, if you have the WordPress.com Business plan on your main site, you can choose the Business plan for the other version, too.
Keep in mind that each website will need to have its own plan.
2. Sit back and wait
You’ll see a progress bar as our system starts copying your website.
This means you can safely navigate away from the screen.
We’ll email you once your new website is ready.
You can then edit the content and translate it as needed.
Option 2: Publish multiple versions on the same site
If you’d like to stick to a single website while offering your content in multiple languages, you’re not out of luck!
With a bit of planning and organizing, you can have multiple versions of the same posts and pages on the same website.
This approach is best suited for:
Personal and company blogs Local businesses Benefits:
It’s relatively straightforward to set up — you won’t have to manage multiple websites. You’ll be able to use one dashboard to manage all of your website’s content. Perfect for growing blogs and small, information-oriented websites. Drawbacks:
Pages can look cluttered if multiple versions are in the same place. The audience of one language may unintentionally land on a page written in a different language, causing confusion. Search engines may struggle to recommend your website to a specific audience, especially if they detect multiple languages on the same page. How to implement this approach on WordPress.com
If this option best suits your needs, I recommend creating different pages and posts for each language rather than adding all translated copies on the same page.
This provides a better user experience with clear separation between languages.
When readers land on your website, they can continue reading content in their chosen language. You can add internal links to other posts written in the same language, reducing the “bounce rate” and keeping visitors on your website longer.
For navigation between languages, add a language switcher to your menu. For example:
Although language switchers work best with third-party plugins (more on this in Option 3), you can create a simple version by:
Creating multiple pages in different languages (including separate homepages) Adding links in your menu to the corresponding pages in other languages This way, visitors can easily switch between language versions of your site while maintaining a clean, organized structure.
Option 3: Use a multilingual plugin
Using a plugin (developed by third-party developers) can be a fantastic choice if you want to have your website in different languages without having to show different versions on the same page.
One of the most popular plugins for creating a multilingual website in WordPress is Polylang.
It lets you create multiple versions of every post and page, as well as add a language switcher to the navigation menu of your website, so that visitors can choose their language and see all content in their selected language.
This approach is best suited for:
Ecommerce websites that manage stocks of their products Professional websites that need content in multiple languages Content-heavy sites with lots of pages to translate Benefits:
Visitors can switch languages easily with a toggle or menu. Strong SEO support. Plugins help Google index each language separately. You keep one single website, but with structured management for translations. Good scalability for larger sites or businesses. Drawbacks:
Initial setup can take a bit of time. Some plugins are premium (extra cost). Needs a consistent translation workflow to avoid confusion. How to implement this approach on WordPress.com
Each multilingual plugin has its own specific setup process and guidelines.
For example, if you choose to use Polylang, you’d follow their documentation for the most up-to-date instructions.
I’d suggest checking out the Polylang plugin description to get started. You can also browse other multilingual plugins for your website.
Bonus: Use our AI Assistant to translate your posts and pages
I know you’re wondering, so I figured, why not sprinkle it in, too!
If you have an existing website, getting help from AI can be the fastest way to translate all the content into a new language.
The methods I mentioned above are all for creating different versions of your website in multiple languages.
You still have to manually translate the content.
However, you can use our AI Assistant block to complete this task.
One of the coolest things it can do is it can access the content of the entire page you’re editing.
So, if you open up one of the pages that was written in English, you can insert the AI Assistant block at the top or bottom of your page and ask it to translate the content automatically for you.

For example, I used the following prompt: “Translate this page into Spanish.”
In seconds, you’ll get your copy translated and optimized.
Once the AI Assistant block has finished generating the content, click the “Accept” button to insert it into the editor.
You can then add a separator or simply copy the translated version and paste it into the other page.
As you can see, the AI Assistant block is a powerful tool to speed up the translation process for your website.
However, for accuracy, I’d still recommend performing a human review, especially if you have a business website.
Ready to reach new audiences with your multilingual site?
The bottom line is: Going multilingual with your online store, hobby blog, or professional website doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Since WordPress.com gives you the flexibility to choose, pick the right method based on your time commitment, goals, budget, and audience.
Are you still in doubt about going multilingual with your WordPress.com website?
Let us know what kind of website it is and what’s preventing you from offering it in more languages in the comments below.
For WordPress.com websites on a paid plan, you can also reach our support team to discuss your multilingual needs directly.
We’re ready to help you choose the right method!
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By Drewfus · November 6Nov 6
Let’s Grow Together: Introducing Recommended Blogs

Building an audience is one of the most challenging aspects of creating online content.
You pour your energy into writing, publishing, and refining your work, but finding readers who genuinely connect with what you create takes time and effort.
What if your readers could help your blog grow? What if the writers you love could introduce their audience to yours?
That’s the idea behind recommended blogs, a feature now available in the WordPress.com Reader that lets you share the blogs you enjoy most with your own audience.
Where to see recommended blogs in the Reader
When you find a blog you genuinely enjoy, you can add it to your personal recommendations list.
Your subscribers and readers can then see these recommendations when they visit your profile in the Reader or hover over your gravatar anywhere in the Reader.
Recommended blogs on the Reader user profile This creates a network effect — bloggers recommending other bloggers, helping each other discover new audiences authentically.
Rather than relying solely on algorithms or paid promotion, you can grow through the trust of fellow creators.
How to recommend a blog
There are several ways to recommend a blog.
First, you can add or edit your recommendations in the Reader by visiting Lists > Recommended Blogs.
Alternatively, visit your Subscriptions page in the Reader and recommend a blog using the Recommend toggle.
Or, use the “Recommend this blog” button that appears on the blog page in the Reader.
You can recommend any blog shown in the Reader and update your recs as your interests evolve.
This includes blogs on WordPress.com, Jetpack, or any blog with an RSS feed.
If someone recommends your blog, you’ll receive a notification — a small reminder that your work is resonating with other creators.
Connect with creators who inspire you
If you haven’t spent much time with the Reader, it’s the place where you can discover new blogs, follow your favorites, and engage with people from across the WordPress.com community.
You’ll find personalized streams of posts from sites you subscribe to, can browse by topic, and interact with other creators.
It’s designed to help you stay connected to the sites you care about while discovering new voices that align with your interests.
Unlike sites that feel like social media, the Reader is built to be a calm platform where you can read what you like and find a community with similar interests.
Time to hand out the recs
Ready to make a recommendation? Visit the Reader and share the blogs you love with your followers.
We’re continuing to refine how recommended blogs work based on your feedback.
It’s all about building a network where creators support each other’s growth, one thoughtful recommendation at a time.
Visit the Reader
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By Drewfus · November 5Nov 5

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