The WordPress community is a vast ecosystem of websites, forums, blogs, social media, and everything inbetween. WordPress.org is not yet suited to handle a large userbase of groups with varied interests. I call areas of the community where these groups congregate, watering holes. One example of such a place is Reddit.
Casual WordPress News and Support
Reddit.com, a popular news sharing website is more than just technology news. The site covers a number of topics called subreddits. One of those is dedicated to WordPress. Over the past few months, I’ve noticed this is a popular hangout for WordPress developers and community members. I’ve seen everything from support questions answered to developers creating a plugin in their spare time because someone requested it. This watering hole is filled with helpful people. I’ve yet to see a WordPress thread filled with bashing or derogatory statements towards an individual.
Advanced WordPress Topics
If you’re interested in more advanced WordPress topics, Brad Williams created a subreddit called ProWordPress. The list is moderated by Brad Williams, Travis Northcutt, and Michael Beckwith. All three are respected members of the WordPress community. Please don’t submit WordPress support questions to this subreddit. Instead, use the WordPress.org support forum.
I asked Brad why he created a separate WordPress subreddit instead of using the existing one.
Because I wanted a smaller, focused subreddit for these advanced topics. Beginners won’t stumble into r/ProWordPress and if they do they will quickly realize it’s not the subreddit for them.
Does Using Reddit Equal More Traffic?
I’ve rarely seen an increase in traffic due to Reddit with one exception. When Sarah Gooding published an article announcing WordPress had adopted the Sass CSS Pre-processor WPTavern experienced a large bump in traffic. There were over 20 upvotes on the WordPress subreddit along with a few comments. Because of the technical nature of the article and the technology focused users of Reddit the article did well. For the most part, content submitted to the site averages 1-5 upvotes amounting to very little traffic.
Subreddits Are Like Forums
Reddit is an enormous community of activity. Subreddits provide a place for like minded individuals to gather and discuss a particular subject without the crowd noise from the Reddit front page. I’ve never been a fan of Reddit but since I’ve discovered areas dedicated to WordPress, I’ve become an avid user. The thing I like most about subreddits is that they’re similar to forums. I love the community atmosphere of well run forums and I feel a similar vibe from the WordPress subreddit. If you’re going to participate on Reddit, I encourage you to read their reddiquette page. This document outlines how to stay within the good graces of the community.
The Tavern As A Watering Hole
My hope is when the WPTavern forums make their return, they will once again be a friendly watering hole where people can relax and talk WordPress. The community surrounding WPTavern is one of the primary reasons the site has been so successful.
If you’re looking for a good place to hang out and talk WordPress, consider both WordPress subreddits. Just make sure to follow the rules and don’t even think about using Reddit for self-promotion.
Where are your favorite places on the web to hangout and talk WordPress?
Sorry Jeff
Nothing to add but I had to come over and find out what a “Subreddits” is.
Now I know.