Poliflw

My Condolences, You’re Now Running a Billion-Dollar Business

A few things I’ve learned during my interim role of running WordPress.com

Daniel Bachhuber

Halfway through a relaxing winter break with my family, I opened Slack for a quick dopamine hit. The message I saw waiting from Matt, Automattic’s CEO, was quite the surprise:

“Would you be interested in running WordPress.com while I’m on sabbatical?”

In honesty, my initial reaction was “No, not really.” It seemed like a lot of work, stressful, etc. But, I named my last team YOLO for a reason: the answer is always “Yes,” because you only live once.

Many teams at Automattic use the “red / yellow / green check-in” as a communication tool. At nearly the one-month mark of running WordPress.com, I can safely say I’ve experienced the entire rainbow of emotional states. Today, I’d like to share a few of my learnings with the hope that they help you during your leadership journey.

Also, one pro tip: don’t open Slack on vacation.

Problem #1: I’m receiving 50x more pings

My former team is largely based in Europe, so their day started much earlier than mine. When I signed on for the morning, I’d usually have a few things to respond to before I dived into work.

These days, I drink from the firehose. I wake up to dozens of P2 mentions, Slack DMs, and other communication threads. I clear them out, and then they just pile up again.

Solution: Delegate, delegate, delegate

Ideally, I’d like to run the business while skiing fresh powder. In order to do so, I need a great team whom I can trust to get the job done.

For our recent efforts, the WordPress.com leadership team traveled a collective 160 hours to meet in NYC. While there, we focused on identifying goals that answered the question: “If we did this in the next 90 days, would it be transformative to the business?” Everyone went home with a specific set of goals they own. Knowing what we’re trying to do and who is responsible for what are two key elements of delegation.

Additionally, I also encourage the team on a daily basis to:

Actively work together before they come to me. On a soccer field, the team would get nowhere if they had to ask the coach before every pass.

Come to me with “I intend to,” not “What should I do?” Actively acting on their own and reporting progress represents the highest level of initiative.

Ultimately, I should be the critical point of failure on very few things. When something comes up, there should be an obvious place for it within the organization.

Problem: Something is always on fire

I am a very “Inbox Zero” type of person. Running WordPress.com breaks my brain in some ways because there’s always something broken. Whether it’s bugs in our code, overloaded customer support, or a marketing email misfire, entropy is a very real thing in a business this large.

Even more astounding is the game of “whac-a-mole”: when making a tiny change to X, it can be difficult to detect a change in Y or take Y down entirely. There’s always something!

Solution: Focus on the next most important thing

When dealing with the constant fires and the constant firehose, I’ve found a great deal of comfort in asking myself: “What’s the most important thing for me to work on next?”

Leadership is about results, not the hours you put in. More often than not, achieving these results comes from finding points of leverage that create outsized returns.

At the end of the day, the most I can do is put my best effort forth.

By default, nothing will ever get done in a large organization. There are always reasons something shouldn’t be done, additional feedback that needs to be gathered, or uncertainties someone doesn’t feel comfortable with.

If you’ve gotten to the point where you’re a large organization—congratulations! You must’ve done something well along the way. But, remember: stasis equals death. Going too slowly can be even more risky than making the wrong decision.

I think “70% confident” has been kicking around for a while, but Jeff Bezos articulated it well in his 2016 letter to shareholders (emphasis mine):

Most decisions should probably be made with somewhere around 70% of the information you wish you had. If you wait for 90%, in most cases, you’re probably being slow. Plus, either way, you need to be good at quickly recognizing and correcting bad decisions. If you’re good at course correcting, being wrong may be less costly than you think, whereas being slow is going to be expensive for sure.

In leadership, I find “70% confident” to be a particularly effective communication tool. It explicitly calls out risk appetite, encourages a level of uncertainty, and identifies a sweet spot between not enough planning and analysis paralysis. Progress only happens with a certain degree of risk.

I’m excited to start sharing what we’ve been working on. Stay tuned for new developer tools, powerful updates to WordPress.com, and tips for making the perfect pizza dough. If you’d like some additional reading material, here is a list of my favorite leadership books.

Original illustrations by David Neal.

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February 27, 2024

Thanks for sharing “behind the scenes info.” I always value the Happiness Engineers!!

This is a great and highly relevant post Daniel. Do you blog about this topic regularly, I mean when you don’t have a billion dollars to watch over, of course?

returning to writing for my WordPress blog after some months, I find that the editing has totally changed, and become far less intuitive. I also find that when I finally managed to open the editing toolbar, there was no entry for changing text colour. This is serious enough to interfere with my work, and I know of one well esteemed blogger of several years standing who has just given up ln the face of the challenge.

Why, why, why?

H! Please reach out to our support team at https://wordpress.com/help. We’re here to help you navigate through these changes, find the tools you need, and make sure your blogging experience is as intuitive and rewarding as possible.

Congratulations!!!

I worked for 30+ years for a Fortune 500 company that made multiple billions every year. As a mid-level manager, I learned the hard way about the kinds of solutions that Daniel mentions. They all worked for me and helped me and my teams be successful. Thanks for sharing these insights. I hope new and early-career managers reading this piece will try them and adopt them.

Hi Daniel,

first of all my best wishes to Matts sabbatical. Thank you for the thoughts on leadership and these nice illustrations by David Neal.

Of course, running a billion dollar business demands dynamic, presence and speed sometimes. As far as I am concerned, I would like to put forward a thought on slowliness. Of course, there are things to do or decide immediately, in case of emergency or substantial goals and processes.

In my experience, many problems tend to solve themselves and don’t need over-re-action.

All the other questions may and can be sorted out with patient consideration and deliberation.

Good wishes to you and all the wordpress teams

Interesting point, Arnold. I’m inclined to agree. I’m quite a slow, considered person, but I also know the power and value of making a decision based on the knowledge and information you have at the time and rolling with it. I produce a lot of live programmes and work in and around live events, mostly in a media production capacity. Timeliness is crucial in that world. We can’t afford to be slow. We have to do a lot of problem-solving and make decisions quickly. I’m a fan of the fail-fast, fail-forward ethos of the software development world, which I think the creative industries (certainly in the UK) could do with adopting more. But, all that said, on a macro level, there is a place for slow, considered thought.

I am loving the illustrations so big up to David Neal on that! All the best to Matt on his sabbatical and all the best to you, Daniel, on your stint at the helm of WordPress.com. I agree, when an opportunity like that comes along the answer has gotta be yes! It must be exciting and intimidating all at the same time. You may not know it, but I plan on being at the helm of a billion dollar company one day too (she said from her tiny cubicle doing mundane tasks). I’m pretty sure this information will come in handy for when I get there – and even on my journey there – so thank you for sharing.

Thank you for taking on the challenge and for posting this, Daniel.

That’s funny! Congratulations though!

This article is interesting and outside the usual theme for this blog, because this article talks about behind the scenes at WordPress.com. “Running WordPress.com breaks my brain in some ways because there’s always something broken.” Yes, I am aware of that, as a user I occasionally pay attention to Automattic’s Github and actually find various issues that need to be resolved, but on the surface or to the user, everything almost always seems smooth and fine. This is a great thing. Congratulations!

Our Deepest Sympathies… 😁

I like the “something is always on fire” observation. I find it’s true across a wide spectrum of situations.

Fascinating, I completely concur

Absolutely awesome expression ☺️

Elementor will not send me the verification code to access my account HELP

I am sure my account has been HACKED!!!!!

Hey there! You will need to reach out to Elementor directly for support with their software, as it is a third-party service and we are not able to provide support for account access. Hope this helps!

Great post, Daniel. I appreciate and admire your honesty. The way you present your problems and approach to solving them is really valuable too. Thank you. I think the Bezos quote is a good one, although I think ehat you and Matt Mullenweg have done with WordPress has immeasurably more integrity than what that man has done with the way he runs Amazon and behaves in general, but that’s a debate for another time.

Good luck to you, a great post, if your team can do anything about You Tube videos it would be great. They used to work fine, however, when I now share a you tube video on WordPress the views don’t count anymore. It’s not just WordPress, if you share from facebook via my blog the views only register as one even if thousands watch.

Hey there, you will need to reach out to YouTube directly for support with video view count as YouTube is a third-party service. Hope this helps!

Nice to read about highlights inside your firm. Great stuff from wordpress.com team

I love the fact that you gave a solution to each problem from your perspective. This is such a helpful piece for me because I have huge aspirations, and I would love to run my own business in the near future.

Thanks Daniel!

I may not own or work for a billion-dollar business, however I did my all your information very insightful. The overwhelming thought of receiving endless notification pings scares me, however, your expertise on focusing on the most important task really gives me insight not to panic and what to prioritize in. Also, the idea that although ideal to have all the information, that is not always the case. Sometimes you have to make decisions based on the information that is currently provided, so you have to be confident in your decision and just go for it. I will definitely apply this at work. Thank you for sharing.

I’m just starting out opening a VERY small business and I can’t tell you how reassuring this post was. It’s a great reminder to prioritize and delegate. Thank you.

The WordPress project team is continuously improving the Site Editor—your one-stop shop for editing and designing your site.

The latest batch of updates—Gutenberg 17.4 and 17.5—include a handful of small but powerful changes designed to improve both your WordPress experience and that of your site’s visitors.

Let’s take a look at what’s new.

When you’re in the zone making changes to the look and feel of your site, you sometimes hit a dead end or realize that the version you had three or four font and color tweaks ago was a bit better. The updated style revisions pane gives you a robust, detailed log of the design changes you’ve made and makes turning back the clock easier with a one-click restore option to take you back to that perfect design.

Newly added pagination and more granular details make this feature even more powerful.

You can access style revisions from the Site Editor by clicking the “Styles” icon on the top right of the page, and then clicking the “Revisions” clock icon.

It’s now much easier to manage your site and post-editing preferences, which have been combined and enhanced in the latest update. In addition to familiar settings, you’ll find new appearance and accessibility options, and an “allow right click” toggle which allows you to override stubborn browser defaults. You can access your preferences by heading to the three-dot menu at the top right of the editor and clicking “Preferences” at the bottom.

The Gallery Block’s always been a great way to show off a collection of photos or images. And now there’s a fun new setting to randomize the order in which those images appear every time the page or post is loaded by a new visitor.

You can turn this setting on with a toggle found at the bottom of the block settings pane:

Not everybody knows about the Site Editor’s List View, but it can make editing your site, posts, and pages significantly faster and easier. A new addition to the List View makes editing even more convenient: just right-click any item in the list to open up the settings menu for the selected block.

Even small changes can make a big difference to your workflow, and your site visitor’s overall experience.

We’d love to hear what you think about the new features when you’ve had a chance to take them for a test drive!

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If one of your 2024 goals is to take your career to the next level, it’s worth taking a hard look at your resume. In a world where bots are scanning resumes for keywords, doing something unique—like creating a website just for your resume—is perhaps risky, but can help you stand out from the pack. And even if you aren’t actively looking for a new workplace, having a resume-focused site is great for your personal brand.

Today, we’re going to show you how to use (nearly) any WordPress.com theme to create a stellar resume website.

An example using the Bibliophile theme.

For the purposes of your resume site, think less about the structure of the theme and more about the overall aesthetics. Whether you’re going for fun and retro or more buttoned-up, think about your industry and what represents you most clearly. As you’re scrolling through our showcase, pay attention to any theme that stands out before you even really think about it—the one that makes you say, “Ooh, that one is cool.”

2. Publish your resume items as posts.

Once you select a theme, start adding content. Turn each section of your resume into its own post:

Career objective and personal statement

Education

Work experience #1

Work experience #2

Work experience #3

Certifications, memberships, and additional skills

Depending on the theme, it may make sense to publish them in a specific order that reads the best on a visual level. For example, put your career objective at the top, then your most recent work experience, etc. You can also edit publish dates to move things around in the way that fits best with the theme you choose.

In addition to utilizing posts that list out your resume items, you should also include at least two pages:

About

Contact

On the “About” page, feel free to tell your story in a slightly more casual way—while still maintaining an appropriate level of professionalism for your industry. On the “Contact” page, you can either use our built-in Contact Form block or simply provide your email address. (We don’t recommend putting your phone number directly on your site.)

If you hit the “Preview & Customize” button on any theme page, you’ll be brought to our site preview feature, which shows your site using that theme. Try it out! This is an example with the Pixl theme.

You might also want to add additional pages, depending on your career.

If you’re a writer or artist, including a “Portfolio” or “Work Examples” page is a good idea.

For a software engineer, a showcase of projects or code snippets you worked on may be a valuable addition.

If you have LinkedIn recommendations or other testimonials of your work, a “Testimonials” page may be in order.

Finally, no matter your field, pages like “Hobbies” or “Volunteering” can add some personal flavor and show prospective employers that you’re more than just an automaton.

This is an example using the fun and nostalgic Dos theme.

Once your posts and pages are published, share your site with the world! Or, as we say around here: ship it. Share your shiny new site on social media, include the URL in any doc/PDF resumes you send out (cover letters, too), and add it to your email signature.

Whether you’re searching for a job or not, be sure to actively update your site with any new jobs, roles, achievements, etc.

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WordPress.com + Your New Year’s Resolutions = 25% Off All Paid Plans

Sounds weird but the math checks out. Subscribe and save before the end of the year.

Ben Sailer

With just one week left in 2023, time’s running out to lock in a 25% savings on making those New Year’s resolutions happen for your site in 2024. If you saw our last announcement, you’ll know that we’re offering 25% off all annual paid plans until the end of year. So now’s the time—as soon as the clock strikes midnight on January 1st, this deal will be as done as 2023.

As always, your domain name is free for the first year too.

Whether you’re starting your first blog or launching an ecommerce empire, there’s a plan that will help you make it happen. Our upgraded plans are designed to help you take your site to the next level, opening up features that let you:

Give your visitors an ad-free experience

Reach new audiences around the world with unlimited social sharing

Give your site some extra style with expanded customization options and third-party themes

Open up new ways to earn with our exclusive ad network, WordAds, and advanced but intuitive commerce and payment features

Add superpowers to your site by unlocking access to 55,000+ plugins that handle everything from next-level SEO to interactive forms and integrations with the tools you already use

Need a little inspiration for that resolution? How about:

Writing a blog post every week for an entire year

Starting a newsletter to share your passion, hobby, or cause

Launching that new business website or portfolio you’ve been thinking about

Wherever you want to take your site in 2024, we want to help you get there, and save some cash along the way. Lock in your savings now before this deal expires on December 31st.

We’d love to hear what you have planned for 2024 in the comments below.

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Hey WordPress, while your plans are looking as timeless as ever, maybe it’s time for a New Year’s resolution to update that business strategy playbook! 😉 Still, can’t resist a good deal – count me in for some 2024 magic! 🚀 #NewYearNewStrategy.

I need help in my site..

.. There is no way to delete the box of ( gift the author wordpress plan )

My general sitting had no option to delete this

Can you help ?

Stop emailing me anything you email me. Thanks!

You can manage your subscriptions here, or use the unsubscribe link in your email.

Love them

Done..

How do we get 25% off an existing wordpress blog?

Hey there, are you having any trouble with the code?

What is this?

ITS NOW OR NEVER

I have requested twice that my site be deleted [Millpond Plants]. I am renewing Nothing. Unsubscribe.

You can manage your subscriptions here, or use the unsubscribe link in your email.

Excellent

Awesome..!!

Welcome to all young, brave, incremental wage earners. I add a plea for those on fixed incomes: the frail, disabled and elderly, those at home with the insight of experience and decades of knowledge. Such reader/writers do not have the flexibility to opt for special offers whilst lower costs across the board would apply to everybody.

Thanks for the feedback! We do have free options as well. Let us know how we can help!

I need to know when my membership renews and the price. thank you Honey

Sent from Gmail Mobile

Hello! To check your plan’s renewal date, you can visit your Purchases page at https://wordpress.com/me/purchases.

It’s worth noting that the renewal price should remain consistent with what you paid last year.

I hope this information is helpful! 🙂

So nice.

Awesome deal

I love it

nice

As you look ahead to 2024, if you’ve been thinking about launching a new business, sharing your passion with a blog, or building an audience with a newsletter, now’s the perfect time to get started.

To give you a jump start on your goals for the new year, we’re offering 25% off every annual paid plan when you create any new site or upgrade an existing free site before Dec. 31, 2023. Whatever you’re planning to build, there’s a plan that will help you go further, faster—from adding a personal touch with a custom domain to taking your monetization options and site design to the next level.

Your custom domain name is free for the first year too.

We’re all about making WordPress.com the best platform to launch and grow your projects on the web. Whatever plan you’re on, with WordPress.com you get:

Intuitive design and publishing tools so you can go from idea to launch in no time

Unmatched performance so your site is blazing fast and always available

Fully managed hosting so you can focus on your goals instead of maintaining your site

And when you choose a paid plan, new opportunities open up, too:

Give your visitors an ad-free experience and set your site apart with a custom domain

Take monetizing your content further with our ads program and range of payment and shipping features

Or unlock a universe of 55,000+ plugins and themes that cover everything from ecommerce to advanced SEO

Whether you’re ready to start a new website, migrate a site from elsewhere, or upgrade a free site you’ve already been working on, we can’t wait to see what you’ll make happen with WordPress.com in 2024. We’d love to hear what you’re planning to build in 2024 in the comments.

And be sure to grab your 25% discount any time from now until the end of year to make it happen for less. Pick your plan and get started now.

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A great business name is essential for building a strong brand. It needs to immediately catch the attention of potential customers and become something that stays top-of-mind for the long term.

You could wait until you have a flash of inspiration and stumble upon an excellent brand name. But what if you want something to spark your inspiration right now? Perhaps a tool that could get your creative juices flowing and start you on the path toward success?

That’s where our Instant Business Name Generator comes in. We’ve recently revamped this free tool with the power of AI so you can uncover dozens of great ideas in seconds.

Start the process by visiting the Instant Business Name Generator and entering a keyword or phrase for your business idea:

Next, you’ll be presented with several options to choose from:

Want to see more options? Try the same keyword or phrase again or enter a different term to get a new set of ideas.

If you see a name that you like, click “Next” to purchase the domain name. You can choose from over 350 extensions to find the one that’s best for your new business.

The Business Name Generator will only suggest business name ideas that match an available domain name.

Once you have a domain name, there’s no better place to host and build your website than WordPress.com. Choose any paid annual plan and you’ll get your domain name free for the first year. If you need help building your website, Built By WordPress.com, our own website design service, has you covered—and you’ll still get your domain name free.

3 tips for choosing your business name

While the Business Name Generator is helpful for effortlessly spinning up tons of ideas, you’ll still need to choose just one that’s going to represent your business. Here are a few tips to choose a name that sticks:

If your name has too many words, or is hard to understand, people might not remember what your business is called. Or they might be reluctant to recommend your business to others. Choose a name that isn’t likely to require repeating several times in conversation.

Once you have a handful of ideas that you like, try sharing them with a trusted friend or two. Then, see if they can remember your ideas a day or two later.

It’s not a perfect system, but as long as your friend is willing to help with your market research, it might help you determine which of your ideas has staying power.

Once you have settled on your business name, buying the domain name is a clear next step. In addition, you should also make sure matching social media usernames are available across networks that your business might use.

Be quick to create accounts and claim those handles, even if it might be a while before you’re ready to promote your business. It could save you some disappointment later on.

If you’re planning on starting a business soon, then take the Business Name Generator for a spin. And if your big idea becomes a world-famous brand and people ask where you found the name? Well, we won’t even ask for any credit. We’ll just be glad we could help.

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The best Black Friday deal isn’t a disposable gadget or a trendy clothing item. Instead, consider something that will help you grow and will grow along with you. Your website isn’t just about your online presence—it’s the foundation for everything you hope to achieve.

From today through Cyber Monday (November 27), we’re offering unbeatable deals on website plans and domains.

For a limited time, both our monthly and annual website plans are on sale:

Get half off the first month of any monthly plan when you use the code bf23monthly at checkout.

Get 25% off the entire year when you purchase any 1-year plan. Use the code bf23annual at checkout.

Three simple steps for taking advantage of this Black Friday discount:

Choose “Monthly” or “Annual” at the top of the page

Pick your plan

At the checkout page, click “Add a coupon code”

Here’s what you get with all paid plans

Stunning design options: dive into a sea of themes and find the perfect one.

Monetization tools: set up payments and donations in a flash.

Expert support: our dedicated team is here, anytime you need.

150+ premium domain extensions up to 90% off

With over 150 domain extensions on sale, you have unlimited opportunities to express yourself or memorably brand your business. With some domains starting at under $1 for the first year, owning your identity online won’t break the bank.

The most popular domains—.com, .net, and .org—are always available for just $12 per year.

These deals are valid for new website and domain purchases only (no renewals or upgrades). The offers are good through the end of the day Monday, November 27, wherever you are in the world.

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Site Profiler is a fast, accurate, and ad-free tool designed to provide WHOIS and hosting information about any domain. Whether you’re a domain owner or just curious about where a site is hosted, Site Profiler is a fast way to pull up the details you need.

Just drop in any URL and you’ll have the hosting and domain registration details right at your fingertips. It’s free, simple, and user-friendly.

Fast and accurate: Get precise domain information fast.

Ad-free experience: Focus on what matters without distractions.

Free to use: Absolutely no charge for using Site Profiler.

Check for domain availability: You can enter any domain, check if it’s available, and register it immediately through WordPress.com.

With Site Profiler, you can drop in a URL, check the details, and make the switch all from one place—whether you’ve moving a domain over or an entire website. Google Domains customers can transfer their domain(s) to WordPress.com for free, and if you decide to add a paid website plan, too, your first year of domain fees is on us. And if you’re considering moving your entire site, please take advantage of our 7-day free trial for a risk-free, seamless site transfer. Learn more at wordpress.com/move.

We’re not done with the Site Profiler just yet. Stay tuned for additional features like performance and security scans to make this tool even more powerful.

What other site analyses would you like to see in the Site Profiler? Let us know in the comments.

Check a site, transfer your domain, and find all the details for any domain under the sun, with Site Profiler. Explore the tool here.

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NaNoWriMo, or National Novel Writing Month, is an annual event where writers from all over the world challenge themselves to write a novel in just one month. It’s a celebration of creativity, determination, and the power of storytelling.

In addition to sponsoring NaNoWriMo, WordPress.com is offering a special gift to this year’s participants as a way to reward your efforts in this exciting challenge. Read on for more information.

WordPress was born from the desire to help anyone tell their story, so we’ve always had a close bond with authors. Below are a number of ways a WordPress.com site can help you on your writing journey.

Write your novel on your WordPress.com blog

WordPress pages and posts are flexible enough for you to write the entire novel on your site. Here’s how you can structure your site to make the writing process seamless. See this guide for step by step instructions.

Define how and where your content will be organized. Whether it’s chapters, characters, settings, or any other category, WordPress.com provides the flexibility you need.

Each post can represent a chapter, and you have full control to edit or re-order your content as you see fit.

Let the world read your masterpiece or only share it with a select audience. You decide! Utilizing a paywall or newsletter setup may work well for your goals.

But what if you don’t want to write the actual novel within your blog? How can a WordPress.com blog help in that case? In plenty of ways, actually.

Build anticipation with your website

One of the most powerful tools an author has in their arsenal is anticipation. Building excitement and intrigue around your book, even before its release, can be a game-changer. And what better way to do this than with a WordPress.com website? Here’s how:

Everyone loves a well-developed character. Use your blog to discuss the backstories of some of your characters. By giving readers a deeper understanding of your characters’ motivations and histories, you can get them invested in their journeys even before they pick up your book.

Keep your readers in the loop by announcing your progress as you write. Whether it’s hitting a word count milestone or completing a particularly challenging chapter, sharing these moments can build a sense of community and excitement.

Allow readers to sign up for newsletters or alerts. They can be the first to know about your novel’s release date, receive exclusive content, or even get special discounts.

Book signing and event announcements

If you’re planning book signings, readings, or other events, your blog is the perfect place to let your readers know. It’s a great way to meet your fans in person and build a stronger connection with them.

Use the comments section of your blog to engage with your readers. Answer their questions, discuss plot theories, or simply thank them for their support. This two-way interaction can foster a deeper connection between you and your audience.

In essence, a WordPress.com blog isn’t just a platform for sharing your work; it’s a dynamic space where you can engage with your readers, build anticipation, and create a community around your novel. So, as you embark on your NaNoWriMo journey, remember that your website can be an invaluable companion, helping you connect with readers every step of the way.

Our special offer for NaNoWriMo participants

To support all the budding authors out there, we’re offering a special 20% discount on the first year of an annual plan. So, if you’ve been thinking about starting a blog or website, now is the perfect time. Check out our Plans & Pricing for more details, and use the coupon code nanowrimo2023 to claim your discount.

Whether you’re a seasoned author or just starting out, WordPress.com is the perfect platform to support your writing journey. We’re excited to be a part of NaNoWriMo 2023 and can’t wait to see all the incredible stories that will emerge from this challenge.

Happy writing!

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New to WordPress.com: Earn More By Adding a Paywall

The brand new Paywall Block can be easily added to any post or page, making it easier for creators to monetize and diversify their content.

Cris Busquets

While there are many ways to monetize your website, there’s one strategy that stands out for its potential and simplicity: the paywall. We’re excited to tell you that this feature is now available on all WordPress.com sites.

Let’s explore why and how to use the new Paywall Block.

What is a paywall and what are the benefits?

A paywall allows you to restrict certain pieces of content on your site or newsletter, requiring your readers to subscribe in order to access your work.

Generally, you’ll insert a paywall partway through a post, allowing all visitors to see a portion of the content, but then incentivizing them to subscribe in order to read the rest of it.

If you’re wondering whether this strategy is worth considering, here are the three key benefits:

Revenue generation: By offering premium content behind a paywall, you open a new revenue stream and diversify your income.

Audience loyalty: Paying subscribers are committed to your content, and are more likely to share your content and contribute to your site’s growth.

Content versatility: You can now offer a mix of free and premium content, and adapt it to each situation. For example, you can upload a podcast and put the transcript behind the paywall, or write a detailed case study and put the downloadable content and resources behind the paywall. These limitless opportunities make it easier for you to attract a wider audience—you can use your free content to draw in new users, and then entice them to subscribe for access to premium content.

You can add the Paywall Block anywhere in your posts or pages:

In the editor for any post/page editor, type “/” or click the inserter (“+”) button to add a new block.

Search for “Paywall,” insert the block, then drag it wherever you want.

From the toolbar or the right sidebar, choose the audience segment who will have access to the content below that paywall—and you’re all set!

You can also add the Paywall Block to previously published material.

Amplify an existing site with newsletter features

Whether you already have a well-established site or you’re starting from scratch, at WordPress.com you have all the tools you need to start a newsletter. With the Subscribe Block and Newsletter Patterns at your disposal, you can get a publication up and running in no time. With the new Paywall Block, we’ve added another piece to your newsletter toolbox.

WordPress.com is ever-evolving, and we’re always refining the design, experience, and offerings for writers, creators, and publishers like you. We’re all ears for your ideas to make it even easier for more people to publish and earn from their work.

Try out the Paywall Block and let us know what you think in the comments. We’re always listening to your feedback.

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I’m really disappointed that podcast transcriptions was listed here as a use case for the paywall block. While transcriptions may be a convenience for many, they’re absolutely essential for people who may not be able to hear the podcast (e.g. someone who may be deaf or hard of hearing). I love the flexibility that the Paywall block can offer, but would hate to see it used in a way that inadvertently shuts people out completely which is what would happen if it is used on podcast transcriptions.

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I just want to say thank you so very much for all of the information because I just last night well or this morning however you want to put it was telling people on my blog that I don’t know how to do that I haven’t figured out how to monetize my site yet and boom I turned my phone on and there’s your article so I’m following you and I’m going to probably gobble up every word you say. I will of course screw it up here and there and maybe I could ask you a question or two once in awhile if I get really messed up but either way thank you so much for writing that I needed to know that information you rock

So glad you’ve found this!

This isn’t working for me. I’ve just tried it

I had to check into this: have you connected Stripe yet so that you can accept payments? You can connect a Stripe account here.

Perfect. Do you see the paywall option now?

If you don’t, please contact support directly with a link to the affected post and any further context you have.

I will try to add it to my blogspot.thanx for the info

This is specific to sites that use our services. Let us know if you need help getting started!

I have also some sites that I’ve been working on here which I have paid for but now everything has all disappeared. i just wished we’ve got some trustworthy people who run these sites. Thank you and Goodbye

Were you hosting your own installations elsewhere? You’re welcome to set up your sites here on our managed hosting services. Here’s a little info about the difference between that and managing your own copy elsewhere.

great post

I can not continue with WordPress without my paid plan website

Do you need any help? If you want to share more context we can point you in the right direction.

Nice

Hearts

Monetise ones site, increasing subscription numbers and to create content that people are sufficiently interested in getting are three very desirable outcomes when writing content so the paywall sounds very interesting . The responsibility lies with the content writer to make sure that the viewers want to see more.

I think that this is a viable option for wordpress. It works on some sites, X.com, however, has the worst implementation of a paywall I have ever seen.

I just need to understand how this works

Let us know what questions you have and we can point you in the best direction for help!

I have come across something similar to this on a recipe site you get maybe 3 free recipes and then a taster of some others which you have to subscribe and pay for to access if you wish to have those recipes 🙂

That’s a great example!

Sounds really nice!

how would you add a login and sign up page?

Hi there, there is no need to set up a login page, since anyone who is a subscriber will see the message to log in to their WordPress.com account at https://wordpress.com/log-in/

Once they are logged into their account they can view subscriber content without the need to log in a second time directly on your site. You can learn more about setting up a membership-driven site by checking out our free self-guided course here: Membership Sites 101 | Learn WordPress.com

How do you add this to a blog?

If your site is here with us, the steps in this article will work! You will also need to create and connect a Stripe account. If you need help, let us know!

thank you for suggesting this

thanks

I don’t understand.

Do tell

Super updates

Good

Super updates

High genaration

i really like that the paywall feature is being integrated into the wordpress system to offer us creators more flow. i have been using it recently but the tiers do not offer us the ability to create content for the highest and allowing other tiers to access that same content. this would be a similar setup to patrons tier options. i would really like to offer similar content to multiple tiers without needing to repost. the convenience would be great!

I like it too but duck on it I’ve tried three different times and I can’t make it work I’m not very technologically savvy and of course I never have a pair of glasses so since I do it on my phone it never works out one of these days I’m probably going to find myself in the IRS office if I don’t find somebody to help me so if you know of anybody let me know please

I love this . Please help me. I can’t see people’s reactions on my post. I can’t see their likes and comments. But they are actually liking it but I can’t see it

If you’ve reached out to support, you’ll likely hear back on this soon. Cheers!

Great news! WordPress.com now offers a paywall feature, providing content creators with a new way to monetize their work while delivering valuable content to their audience.