By default, WordPress has 1 example post with the title “Hello World.” A lot of people delete the post. I’m going to tell you how to take advantage of using your Hello World post to your advantage.
How To Use Your Hello World Post to Your Advantage
Typically, in the programming world, Hello World is used as a basic teaching tool. In WordPress, this is the initial post that teaches you how to create a post.
A lot of people just delete it from their WordPress site. That’s understandable as it’s just an example blog post. I admit that even I have removed it in the past. However, I decided to restore my old Hello World post, and alter it to benefit my site. Having a post that says Hello World on a new site seems really warm and welcoming, at least in my own opinion.
You can use this post as an opening for your website. Let people know about who you are and what you’re doing. Let people know who you’d like to connect with, and encourage them to respond back by introducing themselves, much like a open to a friendly conversation.
It doesn’t matter what type of website you plan to run, whether it’s for entertainment, to be informative, or for a business, anyone can take advantage ot the Hello World post.
In fact, going further with this idea, for websites that are being developed. The Hello World post would make for a great opportunity to use it as an introduction, and allow interested visitors to stick around. It may even be in your favor to do something like an introduction article or using the Hello World post to encourage people to optin to your email newsletter. This is great for making your visitors anticipate the upcoming changes to your new website, rather than just having a Coming Soon post, or dropping in just a simple optin form.
The point is that if you plan to start blogging, and already know what you want to write about, you should never wait for a perfect time. If you do, it may never happen, or you could miss out on all the potential awesome blog posts you could be writing. For example, if you plan to run some type of pop culture or celebrity news site that relies on time, the design can always come eventually. The news in that world is flying by like crazy, so you can’t wait for the perfect words, or the perfect website design.
You can build your site navigation, reorganize your taxononmies, add other content, and apply a website design as you go.
Have you used your Hello World Post, or did you delete it? If you did, what did you write in it?
Using the hello world post as an introduction is a good idea. There is an issue with doing that for blogs though – after you blog is established very few people will go looking for your introductory post. But, including the information that goes in a hello world post makes perfect sense for a about page also. So putting whatever you put in the hello world post on an about page makes sense to me.
I’ve used it as an intro post a couple times, but normally I don’t think I really have. I normally put the introduction stuff in about.
I’d have to disagree about putting the same thing on your about page. Your about page should have different aspects to it, like about the website, and about yourself, all wrapped up professionally in a summary. The about page would also be the area for accomplishments, and if you’re a company, terms of service, and other information can be made.
The introduction blog post is simply that, an introduction. Of course, you may want to link from your Hello World post, to your About page… but it’s meant to be a warm welcoming when you begin your website. If your information on the post rings true down the road, you can still share it… which you should be re-sharing older published content that is still evergreen.
That is a fair opinion, I think I understand where you are coming from.
To me the purpose of the hello world post and the about page share a great deal. They are meant to provide a reader an introduction to what this blog would offer and entice them to add it to their RSS feed if that matches what they want.
I do agree the about page has extra that it can do over time. I believe it is very wise to include links to a few popular and/or representative posts on the about page (which doesn’t really make sense on the hello world page – because no other posts exist yet). And as you say the about page can include more things.
I also agree the about page for a company can have quite a bit already in conveying things you mention and history etc. and so becomes less of a good match.
But on your about page, for example, I could see that content worded a little bit differently as a good hello world page – telling about you and what you plan on the blog being about (while on about it says who you are and what the blog has been about).
Anyway that is how I see them with quite a bit of overlap to my way of thinking about it.
Great post, Thanks for this amazing post, your strategies are really mind blowing…Absolutely masterpiece article.Looking forward to see more useful and informative post in future. Thanks for giving knowledge about this post…
Thanks James! I think a lot of people don’t know how this post could be helpful. It could definitely be used as an icebreaker. 🙂
@ Nile Flores
Many people simply erase it from their WordPress site. That is reasonable as it’s only an illustration blog entry. I concede that even I have uprooted it before. Be that as it may, I chose to restore my old Hello World post, and change it to advantage my site. Having a post that makes proper acquaintance World on another site appears to be truly warm and inviting, in any event as I would like to thin
regards
rakhi
Great idea! I am agree with you mostly people delete it. But after reading your post now we know about the advantages of hello world post.You have a good Blog and great content on your blog.Always keep sharing with us.I am waiting for your next post.
Wow thanks for sharing your post on WordPress default example post Hello World. Yes it is right many bloggers delete this post.
Best use of Hello World wordpress example post. Thanks for sharing Nile Flores
Hi Nile ..
I had also written the first Welcome to my blog post but as time goes i thought no one is interesting in reading my Hello world post so i deleted it. But In my personal view, everyone should write first post to tell their visitors what are they getting by visiting a blog and what topics will be covered.
I mentioned all such details in my first welcome post.
Well, Nice Article Nile. You Remind me my initial days of Bogging
Hi Nile,
Thanks you for your clearly understanding hello world and this is the first step to post anything in blog. This is awesome for people who those needed. It’s great that you make a new post.
Great post Nile 🙂 I’ve used it as an intro post a couple times, but normally I don’t think I really have. I normally put the introduction stuff in about.
Hi Nile,
Super creative way to make this basic page work for you. Hadn’t even thought it through. Thanks for the super smart share.
Ryan
Thanks Ryan!
I’ve hinted to this idea in the past, so I thought I’d expand on it. 🙂
What a truly awesome idea Niles!
I definitely have not previously heard of that particular strategy being
done before.
Nor has anyone ever shared such a practical use for the defaulted WordPress post.
I think live the vast majority, I simply deleted mine and thought nothing of doing so!
Thanks!
I’ll have to share at least the possibility with future clients!Thanks!
I usually delete the hello world post. Being a newbie blogger, I followed the advice of seasoned blogger that deletes the hello world and the hello dolly in default wordpress installation. I may perhaps use it next time I do a wordpress installation for a new wordpress blog.
I don’t think uninstalling Hello Dolly is really great advice, and I’m probably more seasoned than most bloggers (14 years), unless you don’t plan to use it. I use an alternative that I coded called Hello WP User, which rotates WordPress tips.
It would seem deleting the post could be a solution, but I find it as an advantage. Let me know on the next site that you’ve set up, if you’ve taken advantage of altering your Hello World post. 🙂
Hi Nile!
As a web developer I totally understand what ‘Hello Word!’ means when you’re just trying to make some script finally work. :))
As an Internet marketer and a blogger too, I usually don’t delete any post.
I simply edit them. The ‘Hello World’ post’s id number is 1 and I always like to keep it.
I actually did what you recommend on my newest blog.
Edited the #1 post and wrote some introductory text explaining what the blog was about.
Later on, I even updated it to include links to the most important content.
So it’s kind of working like an index of the blog for the ‘must read’ posts.
Cheers,
Louie
P.S.: Love your blogs’ names: Blondish and Pixelled.
Hi Nile sister,
Couple of time before i read the article about comment luv in your blog. And found this article later now. The picture of the “HELLO WORLD” got me inside the post and got some knowledge which is unique and not found this kind of post anywhere. The sad thing about me is i permanently deleted the post.
Now am felt very bad for deleting that permanently after i found this article..
Anyway thank you for this wonderful post. may help everyone i gave a share for this..
Looking forward for future blog related articles..
I never really thought about Hello World. I delete it as soon as I setup a new blog. But now I think that Hello world is a good thing to have considering it can create engagement between our readers and us.
Thanks
Hi Noor! Not a lot of people think of it… and while you could delete the Hello World post, you can also use it. I know some people who even rename the post, the slug, and just go with it.