I used to be an avid blogger, and it was such a cathartic release for me. I started blogging about 20 years ago, and it was one of my favorite things to do. But after taking a brief hiatus to process an abusive relationship, I recently tried to get back into it, and wow…I feel like Wordpress has gone down the drain…
It’s not as user-friendly as it used to be; it feels cumbersome and frustrating. I’m starting to wonder if I’m just getting old and can’t keep up with the tech, or if there’s some truth to the idea that Wordpress is becoming a less appealing platform.
Has anyone else experienced this shift? If it’s not just me, what blogging software would you recommend as an alternative? I want something that captures the ease and joy of blogging I once had.
I stopped using Wordpress almost two years ago, and I haven’t regretted it. I really disliked managing the plugins. Sometimes, my blog would break after a plugin update. Now, I just use the blogging option from my hosting provider, Hostinger. It’s not perfect, but it’s easy and looks pretty good. These days, ease of use is the most important thing for me.
I’m in a similar situation. I blogged 12 years ago and had a lot of engagement back then. I returned to WordPress two months ago because there’s a built-in audience and good support.
To be honest, the audience isn’t as engaging now, but my blog has changed since then. I’m studying what grabs their attention the most. While I want to write whatever I like, I also want to monetize, so I’m focusing on a couple of topics to see how it goes. Consistency is key for me now, which is something I’m doing differently from before.
I plan to add a store to my blog after a year, but for now, I’m focusing on creating content to better connect with and grow my audience. Years ago, I had people pay to post articles on my blog, and companies reached out to me, so I’d like to get back to that.
The problem with WordPress is plugin bloat. Even many ready-to-use hosting options come with 7 or 8 plugins, which can slow things down. I think of it like hiking: you should only carry what you need and leave behind anything unnecessary.
Nothing beats WordPress for creating websites. It offers tons of plugins and themes to help you build the site you want—just think and create.
I’ve tried different scripts to make websites, but I ran into many issues, like search console errors and problems with features like author profiles, tables of contents, and breadcrumbs. For those of us who don’t know coding, setting all that up is really tough.
WordPress simplifies everything. It provides almost every feature you need, and for any idea you have, there’s likely a plugin available to support it.
To me, WordPress and other platforms have become too focused on social media and complicated. It should be about blogging and providing a creative outlet for aspiring journalists and writers. I loved the time when LiveJournal, Blogger, and Tumblr were huge. Everything felt more authentic and simpler back then, especially before 2017.
I hate the new editor, so I use the Classic Editor plugin for my long-form blog posts. It makes everything much easier and faster. Don’t give up on WordPress…just install the plugin…
Now, I just use the blogging option from my hosting provider, Hostinger. It’s not perfect, but it’s easy and looks pretty good. These days, ease of use is the most important thing for me.