Parents' Guide to

WordPress.com

By Amanda Finkelberg, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Slick source for blogging; watch out for adult content.

Website https://wordpress.com/
WordPress.com Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this website.

  • Users can key text directly into fields on the site to create a blig post.
  • Users can make posts with a mobile device using the app.
  • The tool makes publishing blog posts fairly simple.
  • Users can monitor blog activity.
  • Kids can post comments or read ones people have left regarding their posts.

Community Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 4 parent reviews

Amanda G.
Amanda G. Adult
March 15, 2017
age 18+

Not what it's cracked up to be! Beware!!

I had to learn Wordpress.com for work, and after taking a course, I decided to post my own blog on here. However, I quickly found that Wordpress.com is extremely frustrating!!! I am all about formatting and neatness in my writing. However, Wordpress.com changes the formatting, colors, fonts on you! It will look fine when you write it, but when you preview what others see, it's completely different! This is because Wordpress.com had very few aesthetic features. There is simply no way to make it look the way I want! Extremely frustrating & not worth my time!!! USE WEEBLY.COM!!! You can do everything you need there!!!!
Koriander B.
Koriander B. Adult
June 16, 2023
age 18+

Parents Beware

Parents beware. WordPress is allowing extreme content from user tracymillosovich on this platform. Her blogs are rife with sexually charged stories about children and animal abuse. WordPress is aware of it, but their customer service agents either ignore takedown requests or they send emails standing by it, claiming falsely that slander and child abuse is "free speech" and they now encourage you to host debate blogs and get into arguments with these people via their blog hosting site. Keep your children away from this website, it is unsafe.
See all 4 parent reviews

What’s It About?

WORDPRESS.COM is the current gold standard for DIY blogging, geared primarily toward pretty tech-savvy adult users. But teens can definitely use the basic features to choose a free theme to customize the look of a page; post blog entries with text, photos, or video; approve comments; and manage a blog. Multiple posters can write for the same blog within the app, and they can also use the Reader tab to follow blogs or search for ones on subjects of interest from within the app.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (4 ):
Kids say (3 ):

Easy blog setup and account activation lets kids start blogging quickly, but mature content may be too much for some. Customization options in WordPress give more tech-savvy students the ability to create more elaborate sites, and a great step-by-step tutorial helps newbies get their first posts online with only a limited set of options. The WordPress app can be an easy way to update and add posts when away from the computer. The updated layout is very user-friendly, giving kids the option of posting in WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) format or HTML. Photos and videos are very easy to post using the Quick Post feature with no uploading required. Users also can post by using voice-recognition dictation, which is pretty fun and easy.

Controlling posts and customizing content, however, can be quite complicated. Users may find the dashboard menu options overwhelming. Also, be advised that many of the upgrades for customization cost money. Overall, this is a great choice for blogging and self-expression, if used wisely by mature teens who want something solid with a lot of options for control -- but know they'll have to put in the work to have the site look exactly the way they want it.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Have a talk with your teens about validity and blogging using WordPress. Whose opinion can you trust? What makes someone an expert?

  • Help your teens come up with a topic for their blog and then brainstorm ideas for post topics. Make a schedule to help them stay focused -- for example, Picture Mondays and Poetry Wednesdays.

  • Spend some time with your teens looking at blogs in your community. Comment on, share about, and get involved in a discussion on someone else's blog. Talk about online conversations and how they're different from real-world ones. Refer to our Social Networking Tips for guidelines.

  • Have a talk with your teens about validity and blogging. Whose opinion can you trust? What makes someone an expert?

  • Help your teens come up with a topic for their blog and then brainstorm ideas for post topics. Make a schedule to help them stay focused -- for example, Picture Mondays and Poetry Wednesdays. Or spend some time with your teens looking at blogs in your community. Comment on, share about, and get involved in a discussion on someone else's blog. Talk about online conversations and how they're different from real-world ones. Refer to our Social Networking Tips for guidelines.

Website Details

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