WordPress Fan Interview – LAJ
Who are you?
I’m LAJ a writer and American expat living in The Hague, Netherlands with my family for almost three years.
Tell us about your WordPress website(s)
My website Adventures in Expat Land uses WordPress software. The tagline is ‘living abroad and sharing the good, the less good and the just plain odd’ since I chronicle building a new life in a new country. While I explore the full range of issues, emotions and developments that come with living in a different culture, I tend to include upbeat observations, personal insights and situational humor.
When did you start using WordPress?
Recently I celebrated my website’s one year anniversary. In that year, I’ve been very pleased with WordPress, so much so that I’ll be launching a second site there as well in the near future! It is called Voices Abroad Project.
What are the 3 best things about WordPress?
It’s hard to limit myself to three best features of WordPress, but I guess I’d go with:
1) easy-to-install plug-ins and widgets with automatic notification whenever updated versions of your plug-ins are available.
2) the ability to not only pre-schedule your posts in advance of publication, but also to get the post URL and shortlink as soon as it’s scheduled (This has been fabulous when swapping guest posts as you can schedule the guest post, give the post URL to the guest blogger, and then use the shortlink to pre-schedule tweets. If I guest on some sites that don’t use WordPress, they can’t provide me the post URL or shortlink.)
3) if you need help, WordPress offers both documentation and support forums to quickly find assistance and answers.
How long do you spend updating and maintaining your website(s)?
I spend only a few minutes a week maintaining my site. If I’m looking for a particular upgrade or plug-in to enhance my site, I may do a little research to see how to do it with WordPress. Occasionally I may need to ask someone for help, but WordPress is so popular that I can usually get an answer very quickly.
What advice would you give to first time WordPress users?
I’d tell first-time bloggers that it’s relatively easy to start a WordPress blog. They have a great series of modules to walk you through the process, and you can work with them to purchase your domain name if that’s what you want to do (via WordPress.com). After you’ve begun blogging, you can start to learn more about various features and enhancements to make running your site easier and to upgrade it.
More LAJ: Adventures in Expatland / Twitter / Facebook Page
