Categories: Web

WordPress.com adds a new Follow button

Hosted blogging platform WordPress.com has today, Wednesday, launched a new feature that they hope will help blog owners increase pageviews and retain site visitors – a Follow button.

A small Follow button now appears in the bottom right-hand corner of WordPress.com websites to visitors who are not logged in. When users click on the button a small ‘Follow this Blog’ form appears, allowing users to subscribe with their email address and receive updates whenever new content is posted.

A small Follow button appears in the bottom right-hand corner

Users can then subscribe to blog updates with their email address

Some may wonder why name the button Follow and not Subscribe? WordPress’ Scott Berkun describes how user testing revealed that visitors were more likely to click the Follow button rather than a Subscribe button, as the latter contained connotations of a paid-for service.

“Although the functionality is similiar to the Email subscription widget, after testing various prototypes, we learned more people clicked on the button and signed up if it were called Follow rather than Subscribe. We also know subscribe suggests to some its something you pay for, whereas follow has no such connotation.”

The new Follow button can easily be turned off in users’ WordPress.com settings.

Albizu Garcia

Albizu Garcia is the Co-Founder and CEO of Gain -- a marketing technology company that automates the social media and content publishing workflow for agencies and social media managers, their clients and anyone working in teams.

View Comments

Recent Posts

Prezent partners with Tom McCarthy to bring powerful AI-communication coaching avatars to market 

For startups the world over, the ability to master the art of a good pitch…

21 hours ago

The mind-body metrics revolution: building smarter health plans for longer lives

As the global population ages, the burden of degenerative disease rises, including a higher prevalence…

1 day ago

Brazil’s breastfeeding laws exposed a gap- a biotechnology startup just secured $5.9 million to fill it 

Since the 1980s, when the number of families in Brazil headed by women almost doubled,…

3 days ago

DARPA ‘Generative Optogenetics (GO)’ seeks to program biology using light, could aid in ‘extended human spaceflight’

Apart from 'extended human spaceflight' for what other purposes could DARPA GO serve? perspective DARPA…

4 days ago

Competing in the post-gatekeeper era: How the DMA is rewiring platforms, security, and market access

The Digital Markets Act (DMA) has joined the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as one…

7 days ago

Horasis India Meeting to Spotlight India’s Global Ascent At Singapore Summit This Month

Amid several years of shifting global dynamics, it’s become increasingly clear that we are entering…

1 week ago