I began using WordPress in 2009, six years into my blogging journey. I’ve grown to love the WordPress community, the flexibility of the code, the beauty of the themes. And while I encourage my friends to choose the blogging platform that best suits them, I couldn’t imagine using anything else than self-hosted WordPress for my own sites.

I’ve compiled here some of my most popular posts about WordPress, as well as other links and resources to help you use WordPress well.

WordPress & Blogger

• The Differences Between WordPress.com & WordPress.org
• 6 Things I Tell My Friends About WordPress.org
• Why Friends Let Friends Use Blogger and WordPress.com
• 5 details not to miss when you move from Blogspot to WordPress

WordPress Plugins & Themes

• The 5 Minute Guide to WordPress Themes
• WordPress Plugins for Authors & Bloggers
• The 5 Minute Guide to WordPress Plugins
• Why Your WordPress Site Needs an SEO Plugin
• Why Your WordPress Site Needs a Cache Plugin

WordPress Settings, Security, & Analytics

• 6 Simple WordPress Security Tips
• How to Track Visitor Statistics in WordPress
• How to Back Up a WordPress Site

Become Savvy Inside WordPress in 5 Minutes a Day

For more WordPress tips and tricks, visit my #31Days series “Become Savvy Inside WordPress.” Some of the most popular posts from the series were:

• 5 Things You Should Know About Your WordPress Username & Password
• 5 Things You Should Know About Your WordPress Dashboard
• The First 5 WordPress Settings I Change
• Is the Jetpack plugin good for my blog?
• 5 Things You Should Know About WordPress Comments

WordPress Resource Sites

Everything I needed to know about WordPress, I learned from Google. Seriously.

• WPBeginner
  I always laugh when my Google search leads me to WPBeginner. I’m learning to start there with my WordPress queries. They are knowledgeable and helpful!
• Amy Lynn Andrews
  Amy Lynn makes WordPress simple. She’s responsible for thousands of bloggers feeling confident enough to set up self-hosted WordPress sites. Her tutorials are great for all beginning WordPress users!
• WP Sites
  Lots of great tutorials for adapting StudioPress themes!
• WPMU Dev Blog
  Lots of interesting and informative blog posts about WordPress (themes, plugins, security, and more).

WordPress Hosts

Looking for a good host for a WordPress site? I review the hosts I’ve dealt with–and heard about–here:

• WordPress Hosting Reviews