We live in a tech-savvy world where the spoken word is no longer the only means of communication. Many forms of media have taken over, and one among them is blogging.
Blogging is a platform for anyone who wants to be heard. It started very personally as a means of self-expression and has become a web journal of reputed individuals and organizations. Some blogs are just personal diaries of individuals, and others are authoritative and reliable sources of information for the niche they write about.
At an individual level, blogs are a means to connect with the community, reach out to help others, promote your expertise in a particular area, or stay connected with a close circle of family and friends. In addition, blogs help commercially advertise and brand, reaching out to an internet-friendly population.
Key Features
A quarter of the world’s websites use WordPress as their content management system. This is not surprising, given the great advantages that WordPress offers.
- The platform needs no coding knowledge at all, but even coders and developers go for it, as it is open source and highly customizable.
- It is also easy to download and install.
- Comprehensive tutorials are available at Codex as well as across the web.
- There is solid community support for WordPress, and it is kept constantly updated based on feedback from users and developers.
- WordPress has a user-friendly dashboard to manage your blog or website.
- You can incorporate your favorite theme, both free and premium, to give your blog a distinct appearance. You can also extend functions by adding plugins.
- WordPress is SEO friendly, with many plugins to aid search engines.
- It is scalable, and your blog can also be monetized as it grows in readership.
You should also be aware that not everything will be smooth sailing with WordPress. Normally, WordPress operates without a hitch. But in case you do encounter an error, you will end up berating yourself for not picking up a little WordPress knowledge. This is where Codex, the WordPress Support forum, web-based tutorials, and other WordPress resources can bail you out.
If you want to check out alternatives available to you, learn about other Content Management Systems from this helpful article on Colorlib.
WordPress is used as the CMS in many popular and top-ranking blogs. And you can take a closer look at 25 such blogs here to see WordPress in action.
TechCrunch
TechCrunch is a technology news blog that doubles up as a guide for all tech stuff. It keeps you up-to-date on events in tech companies, whether large or small. The site also carries opinions about and analyses of these companies. Whether Yahoo is slashing its workforce or you want to find out about tech companies’ earnings or breakthrough advances in technology, this is where you will find the news. You can tap data on funding for tech companies and startups here. Here you can also access TechCrunch Daily and Weekly Newsletters and interviews with big names in technology.
Reuters Blog
The blog of Reuters News Agency covers a great deal of ground by way of information. There are many geographical editions to this blog. Its high Alexa rating places it among the most popular blogs. It also has a solid reputation as an authoritative news source and is widely followed all over the globe. The blog is brimming with highly readable information.
The Cranky Flier
The Cranky Flier is the blog of Brett Snyder, who has allowed a childhood fascination for air travel to grow into a full-fledged blog. He keeps close tabs on the trends, events, and happenings in the airline industry. He has also gained deep insider knowledge of the industry, making his blog a must-read for airlines and air travelers.
After Ellen
Originally started by Sarah Warn, After Ellen takes a closer look at the feminist LGBT community and its representation in the media. It gets the name After Ellen as it was started right after Ellen DeGeneres came out on her popular show Ellen. It is a one-stop forum to fathom the views of lesbian and bisexual women, especially in entertainment.
Perez Hilton
This is the blog to beat all blogs for celebrity gossip. Its author, Perez Hilton, earlier called Mario Lavandeira, was named the Number One Web Celeb for 2007, 2008, and 2009 by Forbes Magazine. Like it or not, this blog is raking in the greenbacks for Mario. You now know where to look for truth or gossip about your favorite celebrity.
The Sartorialist
The idea of this blog is so simple; you’ll wonder why it never occurred to anyone before. This blog is only a scroll down of full-length photographs of people worldwide who have taken a little care to be well dressed. Others have tried it out but have not been so successful. But they have caught the eye of fashion designer Scott Schuman and have found a place in his ‘street fashion’ blog.
Spoon and Tamago
Japanese design in all forms – from fine art to product design – has caught the fancy of Johnny Strategy. It is a favorite read with designers, artists, and architects. This blog is not simply a place for showcasing design. It is much more; it provides a context to the design regarding its significance, relevance, and unique content.
Darren Hardy
This is the blog of the author/publisher of SUCCESS Magazine, Darren Hardy, who is a successful mentor to CEOs. He has interviewed many highly successful people like Richard Branson, Jack Welch, Elon Musk, and Mark Zuckerberg. You can read inspirational posts and watch motivational videos on his blog.
The Positivity Blog
You can use Henrik Edberg’s blog to make your life simpler, happy, and fulfilling. He experiments with his own life and shares the tips, tricks, and knowledge he gains from it in his blog. For Henrik, both he and his blog are a work in progress. You will also find tons of practical and easy-to-adopt and follow tips that can truly turn your life around.
My Nintendo News
Nintendo is the world’s largest revenue-earning video game company. The blog My Nintendo News has regular updates, with the latest news on the company’s various consoles.
PlayStation Blog
For thousands of fans and gaming enthusiasts, PlayStation Blog is the place to meet the PlayStation experience creators. The blog gets content updates on an almost daily basis. Each game commands its post and the blog actively promotes two-way conversations with fans.
The Martha Blog
The Martha Blog is where you will find posts from Martha Stewart, an American businesswoman with various interests in writing, cooking, and television. Her blog covers wide-ranging recipes, holidays, family, gardens, pets, etc. One of her best offerings is a wedding guidebook that will help couples plan for their big day.
Matt Mullenweg
The WordPress community would be well aware of Matt Mullenweg, the founding developer of WordPress. He is an avid speaker, ready to share his thoughts and knowledge at many conferences worldwide. His blog is teeming with many personal thoughts, quotes, and photographs that he likes to take. Also, the blog posts some videos of his interviews in languages other than English.
Windows Blog
Windows Blog is the official blog for Windows and Microsoft devices. Their blog page shares the latest products available at the Windows Store, trailers for various games, an Insider Preview of Windows 10, etc. The blog is a window to the happenings at Microsoft and has a robust following among the tech-loving crowd.
The Mozilla Blog
The Mozilla Blog is the place to go to for all information, news, updates, opinions, and events at Mozilla. With informative articles on Firefox and its added features, you can get the maximum from your Firefox Browser, be informed of corporate events, or educate you on data privacy issues.
Rafael Nadal Fans
Rafael Nadal is among the top-ranking professional tennis players. Though not an official site of the player, this is a popular blog brimming with information and inspirational quotes from the famous Spaniard. The blog also follows all his matches and off-court action.
The Official Rackspace Blog
The official blog of this America-based Cloud computing company keeps readers updated on their latest offerings and the latest news and announcements. The posts are neatly arranged with small images against them and a sidebar that carries the more popular posts. Posts are also categorized, so browsing and finding what you want is easy.
The Last Refuge
The Last Refuge is a blog that follows elections in the United States and politics in general. Calling itself the Conservative Treehouse, the blog undertakes exhaustive research and analysis to bring facts before the readers. Their stand on political issues is well established, and their predictive analysis is often on the dot. The blog is intended to substitute for a conversation on a porch among friends.
Watts Up With That
Watts Up With That was started by Anthony Watts, a television meteorologist for 25 years, to present data about climate and weather so that readers can grasp and appreciate. He does not merely preach green living; he also practices it in his daily life. The blog contains original articles on science news from Watts and other writers dealing with weather, technology, and climate change.
Boing Boing
Boing Boing writes about seemingly unimportant stuff. It acts as the voice of a small blogger, taking up issues that they may find too huge to handle, such as the Homeland security legislation that was introduced post 09/11. But by doing this, it stresses the role of the Internet as a global medium that governments or corporations should not control.
Dooce.com
Dooce.com is the personal blog of Heather Armstrong. She earns sufficient income from this blog to run her family of two girls and two dogs. She is completely honest with her audience, which has led to her loyal fan base. After being fired from her job, Heather and her website became well known for writing about her place of work in not-so-flattering terms. Now, do you get what being dooced means?
Hello Fashion Blog
Christine Andrew started Hello Fashion in 2011 to reach out to, inspire, and advise the everyday woman on fashion. You can tap the blog for fashion tips and ideas.
TED Blog
TED has one simple mission: to spread ideas. The goal is to make ideas accessible to all and generate a spark. The ideas are usually packed into less-than-eighteen-minute speeches delivered at TED Talks. You can read their posts and dig into their archives on this blog for a world of ideas.
Official LinkedIn Blog
LinkedIn is a forum for professionals worldwide to connect and be more successful. With an Alexa ranking of 16, it has 400 million members worldwide. The blog contains information relevant to professionals in their career. LinkedIn aims to provide a level playing field for professionals.
The Change Blog
The Change Blog is a forum where more than 50,000 members share their experiences with change. Started by Peter Clemens, it has evolved into a community blog as Peter realized that he was not alone. He reached out to many others like him who had gone through bad patches in their lives. You can find solace in the more than 800 stories shared in this blog.
And Finally
Now that you have seen top-quality blogs publishing content via the WordPress Content Management System, any doubts about WordPress as the CMS for your blog must have vanished. However, if any of it remains, feel free to write about it.
