julianclot

Choosing the platform

For my website I chose WordPress.com. My university, Universidad Fidélitas, provided an education coupon that included a premium plan and a free blog domain. I created julianclot.blog. I liked that WordPress.com manages the hosting for me so I could focus on the content of configuring a server. We set up the site together in class with our mentor following each step.

Challenges

The first challenge came at the beginning: after opening the education page, the site asked for an invitation code that we were not expecting and not even our mentor had seen before. We had to wait a minute until she shared the correct code in the chat, and then we could continue. The second challenge was at checkout. The page asked for a payment method. At first I thought I would need to enter a credit card. Then I learned that I could choose the option to assign a payment method later, and the coupon covered the plan. I also had to fill in my contact information, which was not shown in the demonstration. I used my university email to keep everything consistent.

What I learned

One thing I learned is the difference between WordPress.org, the open-source software and community where I take the courses and build my profile, and WordPress.com, a hosted service where setup and hosting are managed for you. Before this program I thought they were the thing. I also learned how a domain is assigned to a site and how posts and categories help keep content organized in one place.

Useful decision and advice

The most useful decision I made was using the same university email for every account: WordPress.org, Gravatar, Slack, and WordPress.com. This made it easier to connect everything and avoided confusion with confirmation emails. If I had to give advice to a WP Credits student, I would say: start early and follow the steps in order. Some steps depend on confirmation emails or support teams, and those can take time, so leaving everything for the days is risky.