News about

Widget Visibility and You

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:00:58 -0400

Since the dawn of time, humankind has yearned for control. While we can’t give you more control over most of your life, we can give you more control over your widgets. And today, with the new widget visibility tool, you can configure your widgets to be shown or hidden only on certain pages. Widgets are […]

Websites for the Greater Good: Non-Profits on WordPress.com

Tue, 14 May 2013 14:47:57 -0400

All kinds of organizations make their home on WordPress.com: small businesses, municipalities, religious organizations, schools, community groups. We also provide an online HQ for quite a few non-profits, from the global to the hyperlocal. They turn to WordPress.com for an easy-to-use, low cost solution that gets them an effective web presence without diverting thousands of dollars […]

Five Minutes with Philip Arthur Moore

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:30:16 -0400

Every few weeks, we’re sitting down with an Automattician to help you get to know the people who work behind the scenes to build new features, keep Automattic running, and make WordPress.com the best it can be. This week, we’re very pleased to introduce you to Mr. Philip Arthur Moore: Theme Broker, global nomad, and […]

A Special Sunday: A Mix of Mother’s Day Blogs

Sun, 12 May 2013 12:00:28 -0400

In some parts around the world, this Sunday is dedicated to the mothers out there. For Mother’s Day, we’ve rounded up sites on motherhood, parenting, and family. On WordPress.com, you’ll discover mothers on all paths: new moms, stay-at-home-moms, single moms, mothers who are full-time writers, and more. (Even mommy men, as you’ll see below.) We […]

National Strategy for the Arctic Region Announced

Fri, 10 May 2013 17:41:49 -0400

The Arctic is rapidly changing. While the Arctic region has experienced warming and cooling cycles over millennia, the current warming trend is unlike anything previously recorded. As sea ice diminishes, ocean resources are more readily accessible. This accessibility, along with recent scientific estimates indicating the presence of significant energy and other resources, have inspired strong interest for new commercial initiatives in the region, including energy production, increased shipping, scientific research, tourism, and related infrastructure development. As an Arctic nation, the United States must be proactive and disciplined in addressing changing regional conditions and in developing adaptive strategies to protect its interests. An undisciplined approach to exploring new opportunities in this frontier could result in significant harm to the region, to our national security interests, and to the global good.

Today, we are releasing the National Strategy for the Artic Region. Through this strategy, we are setting the United States Government’s strategic priorities for the Arctic region. These priorities are intended to position the United States to respond effectively to emerging opportunities – while simultaneously pursuing efforts to protect and conserve this unique environment.

Freshly Pressed: Friday Faves

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00:08 -0400

This week’s three selections address some of our favorite topics: reading and writing. If you’re looking for inspiring and thought-provoking posts, you’re in luck. From the hunger that develops when a reader can’t find the time to read, to the power of the dictionary and your own memories, we’ve got something for everyone. We are […]

New Themes: Handmade, Untitled, and On a Whim

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:07:01 -0400

Theme Thursday is here, and I’m excited to announce the three fantastic new themes we’ve wrangled for you this week. Handmade is a beautiful retro-styled blogging theme for foodies and crafters, designed with love by the folks at Obox Themes. Focusing on an amazing attention to detail and gorgeous typography, everything in Handmade has had […]

Meet a Forum Volunteer: Lorraine Murphy

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:00:39 -0400

If you’ve ever had a question about WordPress.com, chances are you’ve visited our Community Support Forums. Forums are a great place to search for solutions and get answers. While our Happiness Engineers help out in these forums, WordPress.com enthusiasts — people who are passionate about WordPress.com and helping fellow users — provide the majority of [...]

Customizing Sight: distraction no. 99

Mon, 06 May 2013 15:18:40 -0400

Customizing your blog’s theme is one way to show off what makes you you. Young adult novelist Nova Ren Suma does a beautiful job of this at distraction no. 99, using both free and premium options to make Sight her own. (Once inspired, you can get busy customizing your own blog!) To start, here are [...]

Freshly Pressed: Friday Faves

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:00:12 -0400

This week’s three posts all explore a similar topic — being comfortable in one’s own body — yet diverge on that theme in markedly different ways. Bikini Body This, friends, is a cultural phenomenon that confounds me. In Los Angeles specifically, and the whole of America more generally, we are confronted again and again with [...]

Want a Comfortable Retirement? Move to Australia

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:39:00 -0400

DailyFinance.com: Alamy Australia is not only the home of the koala, the kangaroo, and the duck-billed platypus, but may also be home to that other rare and exotic animal: the secure retirement. What does Australia have that America lacks? For starters, its retirees ... Read more

New Themes: Newsworthy and Visual

Thu, 02 May 2013 13:32:39 -0400

Happy Theme Thursday, all! Today I have two fantastic new themes for you to enjoy. First up is Newsworthy by WP Themes, a brightly-hued theme designed for news, magazine, and personal blogs. Its striking colors are sure to grab your readers’ attention at first glance! Newsworthy supports multiple authors, post formats, widgets, custom colors, and [...]

NaPoWriMo 2013: Five Favorites

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:51:23 -0400

There are just a few hours left in NaPoWriMo 2013 — that is, National Poetry Writing Month, which asks participants to write a poem every day in April — and hundreds of resident WordPress poets are pressing “Publish” on their final stanzas and sighing with relief and satisfaction. We’ve loved reading all the verse that [...]

A Story for Generations: Home Front Girl

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:00:56 -0400

Imagine this: you have access to the diaries of your mother or father: Windows into your family’s past. Snapshots of moments of history. What would this process be like? To sift through documents, to piece together a life — and, ultimately, your own family history? Susan Morrison, the blogger and author at Home Front Girl [...]

Weekend Reads: WPLongform Picks

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:00:02 -0400

Last month Cheri took a look at longform writing on WordPress.com, and how tagging your over–1000-word posts WPLongform can help fellow bloggers, readers, and the editors of Freshly Pressed to discover longer, more in-depth material in the WordPress.com Reader. Since then you’ve shared a huge variety of work under the WPLongform tag, and in today’s post, [...]

New Themes: Flora and Fauna, TheStyle, and Fanwood Light

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:42:01 -0400

Greetings and Salutations! Another Thursday has arrived and you know what that means … more themes! The theme machine here at WordPress.com has been cranking out few fresh, new designs that I am happy to present to you. Flora & Fauna is a colorful, illustrated premium theme designed by Aline Yamada. It’s perfect for your [...]

New Theme: Twenty Thirteen

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 20:40:47 -0400

If you’re a WordPress aficionado you’ll know why one of the most eagerly awaited announcements each year is the arrival of a new default theme. Wait no longer, friends. I’m thrilled to introduce the newest addition, Twenty Thirteen. This gorgeous theme is colorful, opinionated, and ready to give your blog a warm, welcoming vibe. An [...]

Customizing Forever: Prada for Breakfast

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:07:29 -0400

Think you need to be a graphic designer or buy a bunch of upgrades to make a sweet-looking, custom blog? Think again: Prada for Breakfast stands out from the other 214,699 blogs using the Forever theme with creative use of text and simple tweaks that are accessible to any blogger: Forever was originally designed as a [...]

In the Spotlight: Go Green With These Bloggers for Earth Day

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 15:00:53 -0400

Today, we celebrate Earth Day. Perhaps you’re marking the occasion by attending a volunteer clean-up event in your neighborhood, talking with your children about recycling, or choosing to bike to work, all in the name of environmental stewardship. Here in the WordPress community, we’re lucky to have bloggers covering everything from sustainability, to homesteading, to [...]

Showcase Your Property with a Hotel Site

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:00:07 -0400

If you want to promote your hotel, inn, or bed & breakfast with a stylish and functional website that looks and works great on mobile devices, look no further than WordPress.com/hotels. An online property for your property You’ve worked hard to create a comfortable home-away-from-home for your guests, and now, we can set you up [...]

Freshly Pressed: Friday Faves

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:00:57 -0400

WordPressers, day in and day out, you entertain us, you make us think, you make us laugh, and you make us grateful to be exposed to so many voices all over the world. It’s a pleasure to read what you’re writing. Like everyone in the community, we value that feeling of connection that comes from [...]

Preview the Future Design of the WordPress Dashboard

Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:00:12 -0400

Though nothing stays still for long with WordPress, the design of your blog’s dashboard hasn’t changed much lately. While we’ve added new features and made some adjustments along the way, the dashboard has been looking forward to a refresh for some time. With that in mind, seven weeks ago, a scrappy gang of web designers [...]

New Themes: Bon Vivant, SemPress, and BonPress

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:00:04 -0400

It’s Threeme Day! I’m proud to present three new awesome themes! Meet Bon Vivant. Bon Vivant is a quirky restaurant-oriented theme designed by Denise Chandler. With a unique custom header information area, food menus support, Open Table registration widget, and a prominent space for your business’ phone number, Bon Vivant is the perfect choice for [...]

The WordPress for Android App Gets a Big Facelift

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:03:35 -0400

We’re constantly working on updates to our mobile apps to make your WordPress.com experience on the go the best it can be. Today, we’ve jubilantly released version 2.3 of WordPress for Android to Google Play. After updating, you’ll see right away that this release includes very exciting updates to the user interface. Let’s dive in [...]

Save the Date: WordCamp San Francisco

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 17:47:43 -0400

The dates are set, the call for speakers is open, and the website is up: WordCamp San Francisco returns this July 26-27 (with Contribute Day — formerly known as “Hack Day” — on the 28th)! WordCamp San Francisco was the first-ever WordCamp and is the official, annual WordPress conference. It’s a great place to come meet [...]

New Theme: Truly Minimal

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 12:00:01 -0400

Happy Theme Thursday! It’s spring in some parts of the world, which for many means tidying and redecorating their homes. Today we have a new free theme to help you do the same for your blog! Truly Minimal, designed by FlareThemes, lives up to its name for its clean typography and elegant simplicity. The theme [...]

Improved Menus, Autosave, Revision Tracking, and Post Locking, FTW!

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:50:24 -0400

At WordPress.com, we’ve launched a collection of improvements to smooth your editorial workflow, and save you time writing posts and organizing your content. Here’s what’s new: Improved Menus let you organize content more easily. Post Locking prevents accidental changes in a multi-author environment. Revision tracking lets you see who changed what, and revert as necessary. [...]

New! Send to Readmill Widget

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:46:55 -0400

If you’re an author or an independent publisher, check out our new Send to Readmill widget, which makes it easy to get your prose into your readers’ iPads and iPhones. Readmill is an ebook reader that not only offers a clean, elegant reading experience, it allows you to highlight and share passages with others and [...]

Five Minutes with Sara Rosso

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:39:11 -0400

Every few weeks, we’re sitting down with an Automattician to help you get to know the people who work behind the scenes to build new features, keep Automattic running, and make WordPress.com the best it can be. This week, we’re very pleased to introduce you to Ms. Sara Rosso, the ultimate WordPress fan, and World [...]

Greater Security with Two Step Authentication

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 16:28:03 -0400

We know your blog is important to you, and today we’re proud to announce Two Step Authentication: a new feature to help you keep your WordPress.com account secure. For those of you who use Two Step Authentication with your Google account, you’ll know how useful this feature is for keeping your account secure. Two Step [...]

Freshly Pressed: Friday Faves

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:35:18 -0400

Where I live, it seems winter is refusing to loosen its grip, holding back a long-awaited spring. With two feet of snow still on the ground and frigid, breezy days, it’s nice to sit inside (by the fire) and lose myself in the delights of the Reader. Forget Calgon. Reader….take me away! Here’s just a [...]

Hit It Out of the Park with MLB Themes

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:00:31 -0400

You know what I love? The sound of the first pitch on Opening Day. As a huge baseball fan, I’m thrilled about the start of the season, and as a WordPresser, I love the Major League Baseball themes — Fan, Modern, and Retro — that you can activate on your own blog to get you in [...]

New Theme: Adelle

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:36:26 -0400

Happy Theme Thursday! I’d like to introduce you to our newest free theme, Adelle. I hope you’ll make her feel welcome. Designed by BluChic, Adelle would love to adorn your blog. It doesn’t matter what you write about — technology, arts, crafts, food, fashion — Adelle can handle it, with elegance and sophistication. Adelle comes [...]

Congrats to all the 2013 Bloggie Finalists and Winners!

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:09:41 -0400

The 2013 Bloggie winners were announced on March 24, and we were excited to see eleven WordPress.com bloggers among the finalists and winners. Now in its 13th year, the Bloggie awards accept blog nominations for everything from Best Craft Weblog to Best-Kept Secret Weblog, winnowing down the nominees through rounds of voting until five finalists [...]

Customization Made Simple

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 18:08:32 -0400

Your blog’s design should reflect your personality, and we want to make that as easy as possible. That’s why, today, we’re releasing three big upgrades to the Theme Customizer on WordPress.com that make customizing your blog faster and easier. 1. A more-focused Customizer. We’ve made the Customizer more compact; open it via Appearance → Themes [...]

30 Poems, 30 Days: NaPoWriMo Has Begun

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 11:08:52 -0400

Calling all poets! April is National Poetry Writing Month — NaPoWriMo for short. Modeled after National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), NaPoWriMo is an annual project encouraging poets to write one poem each day in April. We love discovering poetry in the Reader and are proud of the poets who call WordPress.com their online home, like Pushcart-nominated poet Kellie Elmore. [...]

United States Ranks as 19th Best Country for Retirees

Mon, 01 Apr 2013 01:00:00 -0400

DailyFinance.com: (Alamy) By MANDI WOODRUFF For retirees hoping to live long and prosper in their golden years, the U.S. is only the 19th best place to be, according to a new index by the NGAM Durable Portfolio Research Center. The humbling report, called the ... Read more

Mobile theme gets a facelift

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:00:12 -0400

If you use our default mobile theme, you’ve noticed that we recently gave it a new design. We’ve also added two new options to the theme to give you more control over your mobile site’s appearance. (Not using the mobile theme yet? To activate it go to Appearance → Mobile and select “Enable mobile theme.”) [...]

Freshly Pressed: Friday Faves

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 11:15:03 -0400

I’ve been on vacation the past few weeks, playing under the sun on the beaches of Hawaii. But that didn’t stop me from keeping up with the latest posts in the Reader. (Yes, I was the gal lying on the sand, absorbed in a good read on her iPad, in between snorkeling dips in the sea.) I [...]

New Themes: Full Frame and Ryu

Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:14:06 -0400

Image lovers and creative bloggers unite! Two new themes have launched today that I think you all will absolutely go gaga over. Full Frame, designed and developed by Graph Paper Press, is a single column, full-width theme for showcasing your beautiful images, galleries, and videos from edge to edge. It’s responsive and adapts to different [...]

A Look at Photographers with Portfolios

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:01:06 -0400

If you missed Michelle’s announcement about the launch of WordPress.com/portfolios, or Cheri’s round-up of WP.com Painters with Portfolios, you might still be in the dark about the range of portfolio themes we have on offer for visual artists and bloggers. Today I want to take a look at a small handful of the hundreds of amazing photographers using WordPress.com, and the [...]

All About SEO on WordPress.com

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 11:00:14 -0400

We get a lot of questions about SEO here on WordPress.com, and no wonder — you work hard on your site and want to get the word out! SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. SEO recommendations are intended to help your site rank higher and more accurately in search engines, like Google. Say you write a blog [...]

New Themes: Little Story, Scrollider Express, and Pachyderm

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 13:04:05 -0400

Howdy all! We have a bunch of awesome new themes for you today, so let’s dive right in. First up is Little Story, a premium theme with design elements and inspiration from the talented Laura Amiss. Little Story supports several post formats in different styles, large featured images on Sticky posts, a mobile-friendly layout (including [...]

A Look at Longform on WordPress.com

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:33:10 -0400

We dive daily into the Reader of WordPress.com just as many of you do, sifting through the latest posts like we’re foraging in a vast forest. One of the things we love about this community is the diversity: from brave pieces of memoir to political commentaries to observations on overseas experiences, there’s something to read for [...]

Host a WordCamp in Your Living Room with WordPress.tv

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:00:01 -0400

Do you find yourself looking for more resources on making the most of your WordPress.com blog? Maybe you’ve always thought about going to a WordCamp, but don’t have one in your area (have you checked?) or are worried that the topics will be over your head. Maybe you’re more of a visual or auditory learner, [...]

Blogger Profile: Poet and Author Kellie Elmore

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:00:25 -0400

We’re thrilled that American poet and author Kellie Elmore has made WordPress.com her home on the web. A Southerner at heart, Kellie grew up in a small town and is inspired by love and loss, nature, and “the humble surroundings of her backyard” of Southeast Tennessee. Kellie’s debut collection of poetry and prose, Magic in the [...]

Freshly Pressed: Friday Faves

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 18:00:13 -0400

As always, the editors at Freshly Pressed Towers have enjoyed the sheer range and breadth of thoughtful, entertaining, or just plain challenging content you’ve been publishing to WordPress.com. Our Readers have seen everything from Cthulhu cookery to to grimdark feminism passing through, and as always, we’ve been more than impressed by the results. If you’re looking for three [...]

Import-ant News for Google Reader Users

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:25:54 -0400

The big news on the internet the last couple of days has been that seminal RSS reader Google Reader will be shutting down on July 1, 2013. Google Reader had lots of fans, including many of us here at Automattic, but it’s time to move on. Speaking of moving on from Google Reader, did you [...]

Asetek Liquid Cooling To Support EU Initiative

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:30:35 -0400

Thanks for another great SxSW — see you next year!

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:55:23 -0400

After handing out 2600 WordPress 10th anniversary shirts and tote bags, animating 500+ festivalgoers, helping dozens of WordPress users, and consuming several pounds of brisket, we’re headed home from the 2013 South by Southwest Interactive festival. For those of you we connected with: it was great to see you! We love hearing about all the [...]