Creating my own WordPress site helped me understand what happens under the hood of a website. Up until now, my interactions with websites were limited to being a user, but creating this site gave me some insight into how much power the site owner has over it. I managed to delete all the default pages and media that was there from the template, created an About Me page, selected a different theme and customized the look of my site. I specifically had trouble with navigating the content that was there previously and then choosing the right template for what I wanted to present.
There is quite a bit of potential with this platform. I could create a portfolio for myself, a place where I will display projects or ideas that I have. I can also use this site to group things that interest me together, as well as control the image of myself on the internet.
There are many benefits to having my own website, and the most important is the fact that I have control. I can choose the look of the website, the content, and even the way things are done on there. But this is also an area where I have to take full responsibility. One major drawback though is that I have to manage everything. Any issues or problems can only be fixed by me. It is much more responsibility than I have had on other platforms, such as social medias.
I definitely agree that trying to find all of the previous content was annoying. I didn’t even notice that the blank blog post was still there until I was an hour in to messing with other parts of my site. I also worry about the upkeep because–as you pointed out–we have to do everything ourselves–but hopefully because there’s not too much going on, we won’t need to do a ton to make sure nothing breaks.
Your experience building the WordPress site sounds really similar to mine. It’s interesting how much control you realized the site owner has, and I get why navigating the default content was tricky. I agree that the platform has a lot of potential, even if managing everything can feel overwhelming.