Even though I’m a poor college student, I handed over $96 to try WordPress Premium. Originally, I was going to wait awhile longer because I know my site won’t be getting a lot of readers. It seemed irresponsible to spend that amount of money on something that might not benefit me too much. Then I realized that I started this blog to improve myself. My mindset changed from this being irresponsible spending to this being like purchasing a college textbook. This isn’t going to be something just for fun (even though I am excited to try out all of the features), it’s also furthering my education and building my portfolio. So I spent that money, and this is what I’ve learned so far.
My blog can have advertisements
I have so many mixed feelings about this. Right now, you can see that my main page has advertisements. I think this is an amazing option to have, as you might have a chance to make back the money you spent on getting the plan. However, it does clutter up your page and ruin the “aesthetic.” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do the advertisements, but I wanted to make sure I learned as much as I could through this experience.
First off, it’s going to take a long time for me to make money off of it. I’m not sure how many visitors or clicks I need to get $100, but I know it’s enough that I’ll be lucky when/if I do. Here’s how it works: After you earn $100 from ads then you get the money. Before then, I assume, you don’t get anything. I’m okay if I don’t make money off of my blog, because the money is already spent. Lastly, I learned that you can keep track of how much money you make off the ads. If you’re wondering, I’ve made a whopping $0. I’m going to keep tracking it and see if anything changes. If nothing does, I’ll probably take the ads off. Even without the ads though, there’s many parts of the Premium plan I’m excited for.
My website domain is just “.com” and that feels great
This was a big selling point for me. When I imagined putting “Website: www.emilylauinger.com” on business cards, it got me excited. I’m not sure if this makes me full of myself, but seeing my name as a website feels really good. Not only that, but it tells employers that I’m dedicated to my craft and it looks professional. It also makes it easier to find through Google, which is my next point.
I get to play with Google Analytics
This is what made me fork over the money more than anything else. I haven’t gotten any hands-on experience with Google Analytics through my college courses, and I knew I probably wouldn’t unless I got a job working on it specifically. Since I see this in a lot of job descriptions, I really wanted to work with it on my own before entering the workforce.
The most exciting part is that I get a free introductory course for Google Analytics. I just started it, so I don’t really have much to say about it besides the fact that I’m excited to learn about it. I also get a certificate at the end of the course, so that’ll be something to put in my apartment’s place of honor (on my fridge).
The design choices and customization
If I’m being honest, this feels like a lame note to leave off on because I had just gone into what I could do with Google Analytics. Even so, it is a lot of fun to play with all the new theme options. Right now, I’m really enjoying the theme I chose. These themes are also easier to customize, at least it seems that way, so it is a nice way to make your blog feel like your own.
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In general, you probably don’t have to pay $96 to get the experience of having a blog. Because I wanted the experience of Google Analytics, more design choices, and testing out the advertisements, it was worth it for me. I’m also glad I have a year to test this out before I have to renew it. I’m going to enjoy it while I can.
Emily Lauinger 