My name is Hugh. I live in the city of Swansea, South Wales, in the United Kingdom.
My blog covers a wide range of subjects, the most popular of which are my blogging tips posts.
If you have any questions about blogging or anything else, please contact me by clicking on the 'Contact Hugh' button on the menu bar of my blog.
Click on the 'Meet Hugh' button on the menu bar of my blog to learn more about me and my blog.
I’ve been contacted by several bloggers asking the question in the title of this post.
In March 2023, the WordPress app that many of us are familiar with will lose many key features. For example, you’ll no longer be able to access the WordPress Reader or view your blog’s stats.
But fear not because all the features the WordPress app bring have been transferred to the new Jetpack app.
Which app should I use?
Which app should I use?
If you want access to all the WordPress features you’re used to, switch to the new Jetpack app.
If you only want to focus on the basics of writing and publishing and have no interest in your blog stats, notifications of comments, menus and the WordPress Reader (to name a few), stick with the WordPress app.
Can I use both apps?
It’s not recommended that you use both apps. Managing your blog across both apps is unsupported and may lead to issues such as data conflicts. So I’d recommend sticking to one.
What features does the Jetpack app have?
Posts
Pages
Media Library
Comments
Site Settings
Stats
WordPress Reader
Notifications
Activity Log
Jetpack Social
Jetpack Backup
Jetpack Scan
Menus
People
Themes
With the Jetpack app, you’ll benefit from powerful tools to manage and build your blog.
Is the Jetpack app free?
Yes. There are no additional costs for using the Jetpack app.
What features does the WordPress app have?
From March 2023, only the features listed below will be available on the WordPress app.
Posts
Pages
Media library
Comments
Site Settings
How do I make the switch to the Jetpack app?
First, ensure you have the latest version of the WordPress app installed and are logged in to it.
If you’ve had (or get) an email from WordPress asking you to choose which app to use, click the link in the email to download the Jetpack app. If you’ve not had the email, click here to download the Jetpack app.
Once the app has been downloaded, open it, and you’ll be automatically logged in with all your data and settings in place. All your posts, pages, media library and anything else you have on your blog will also be transferred.
Remember to delete the WordPress app.
Any questions about switching to the Jetpack app? Leave them in the comments section.
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February 13, 2023, prompt: Write a story about a smear of jam in 99 words (no more, no less). Is it across a slice of toast, a white shirt, or something unexpected? The jam could be the focus or detail that ads a twist. Who are the characters with the jam, and where are they situated in space and time? Go where the prompt leads!
All It Took – by Hugh W. Roberts
AI recommended the jam and put it on her shopping list.
Two days later, she spread a smear of the sticky jam on her toast and took little notice of the tiny handprint on the side of the jar.
Spitting out the toast’s remains, she drank a glass of water to eliminate the awful taste of the jam.
Moments later, she felt a strange sensation in her mouth, looked down and saw something moving in the jam.
In the instant before she craved human flesh, she knew the smear on the jar wasn’t a handprint; it was a warning.
Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’
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32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.
February 6, 2023, prompt: Write a story as a love letter to nature in 99 words (no more, no less). You could reach back to more pastoral times of writing or enter into the future. Who is writing the letter — an ant or an aunt? Is it a lifetime of love or aeons? Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.
Natural Ways – by Hugh W. Roberts
Written in blood, the script of the love letter was unsteady.
Addressed to ‘Nature, my one true love,’ the writer spoke of a deep, abiding affection, a need to be near the earth and its creatures.
As the police read on, chills ran down their spines. The writer spoke of desires to be one with nature, to shed their human skin and live as wild things do. It was clear the author was unstable. The authorities feared the worst.
Searching the woods, they found a campsite, abandoned but for a single, chilling clue: a neatly arranged pile of bones.
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Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
January 30, 2023, prompt: Write a story about the dishes in 99 words (no more, no less). It can be an every-single-day activity, a precious collection, or any other interpretation of dishes as objects or activities. Who is stuck with the dishes and why? Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.
The Bread Plate – by Hugh W. Roberts
While daydreaming, admiring the dishes on the table, Madeline watched the dapper servers rush by holding trays of plates covered with metal domes. Nobody would miss a small bread plate if she secretly hid one in her purse, would they?
She’d add a dinner service like this, without the name, to her upcoming wedding gift list.
An unexpected rattling of the dishes, cutlery and glasses made as they shuddered broke her daydream.
“What’s causing everything to clatter, Madeline?” asked her mother.
“I don’t know, Ma-ma,” Madeline replied, wondering if the word ‘Titanic’ would easily rub off her bread plate.
Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’
***
32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.
January 23, 2023, prompt: Write an optimistic story in 99 words (no more, no less). Feel free to explore optimism in all its forms, from a positive mindset to toxic positivity. Is it a heartfelt story or a devious one? So much wiggle room for the optimistic writer. Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.
Futures – by Hugh W. Roberts
Jackie was optimistic that she’d see at least one more Christmas. She wasn’t going to allow a dodgy heart to beat her.
When her mother’s last days arrived, they celebrated Christmas in February. Her mother’s wish was to celebrate Christmas optimistically before she departed this world.
Everyone was shocked when Jackie’s heart finally gave up in April when Jackie joined her mother on the next adventure.
In December, Jackie’s husband celebrated Christmas with his new wife. While her optimism for never getting caught for what would be a triple murder gathered momentum, she knew she had the best sanguinity.
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Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘Glimpses.’
***
Glimpses
28 short stories and pieces of flash fiction take the reader on a rollercoaster of twists and turns.
Wordless Wednesday – No words, just pictures. Allow your photo(s) to tell the story.
How do you workout in winter?
Not sure what Wordless Wednesday is or how to participate? Click here for full details.
Are you participating in Wordless Wednesday? Although I am not hosting this challenge, you can leave a link or pingback to your post in the comments section to help promote it to other bloggers.
Follow Hugh on Social Media. Click on the links below.
How easily can all visitors engage with you on your blog?
Is it as easy as you think it is?
Did you know that you could be preventing some visitors to your blog from leaving you comments?
After receiving an e-mail from Jean, who blogs at DelightfulRepast.com, who had seen one of my posts at the Senior Salon Pitstop weekly linky party hosted by Esme and Julie, I was somewhat concerned when she mentioned that it wasn’t easy for her to engage with me on my blog.
Jean explained that she didn’t want to leave her e-mail address, create a WordPress account or use social media to be able to leave me comments. I understand why she didn’t want to leave any of those details. After all, our information is private and shouldn’t be given out if we don’t want to give it out.
WordPress offers ‘Discussions‘ options where users can decide how easily readers can engage with them without leaving any personal details. I thought I already had this option switched off, so nobody needed to leave any personal details, and I was right, but it didn’t explain why Jean thought she had to leave her personal details if she wanted to comment on my posts.
Upon further checking my discussion settings, I saw where the confusion was coming from and want to highlight it so those who wish to engage with me without personal details can still leave comments knowing they do not need to give any personal information.
Let’s Look At The Discussion Settings On WordPress.
Ensure you’re viewing your blog’s dashboard in the Default view. To do this, click on the View button in the top right of the screen when viewing your blog’s dashboard.
Go to Settings – Discussion.
Make sure you’re viewing your blog’s dashboard in the Default view.
On the Discussions Settings page, look for the Comments box.
Look for the comments settings box.
As you will see from the above screenshot, I have turned off both the ‘Comment author must fill out name and e-mail‘ and ‘Users must be registered and logged in to comment‘ options. So why wasn’t Jean able to leave me a comment?
It seems that, for whatever reason, in their wisdom, WordPress has decided to still show visitors a login box when these options have been switched off. This is what Jean and visitors who are not logged in see.
The log in box tricks visitors into believing they have to leave personal details to be able to leave comments.
And this is what WordPress say –
Comment author must fill out name and e-mail: When this setting is on, anyone leaving a comment will be forced to leave a name and a valid e-mail address. If the setting is off, visitors can leave anonymous comments. While your commenters do not have to fill in the e-mail field if you’ve turned this setting off, it will still be visible to them when they comment.
So I understand why Jean thought I wasn’t making it easy for her to engage with me.
If you only want readers to engage with you who must leave their name and email address, ensure you have this option switched on.
If you only want comments from readers who are logged in and registered, ensure you have the ‘Users must be registered and logged in to comment‘ setting switched on.
If you want comments from both, ensure both settings are switched on.
However, if, like me, you’re happy to allow anyone to leave you a comment, then switch both of these settings off.
Don’t forget to click the ‘Save‘ button in the Comments settings box if you make any changes.
Are There Any Disadvantages To Switching These Discussion Settings Off?
The main disadvantage is that it could open the gates for spammers and trolls to leave you comments. However, the Akismet antispam software on WordPress catches and places the majority of spam into your blog’s spam folder, so you’ll never see it unless you check what’s in it.
Further down on the Discussion Settings page, there is more help to filter out spam and troll comments.
Look for the ‘Before A Comment Appears‘ box, and you’ll see these two options.
Comment must be manually approved: If this setting is on, all comments will go into moderation, and they will need to be approved by you before appearing on your blog.
Comment author must have a previously approved comment: If this option is on, any visitors that have had a comment approved on your blog in the past will get a free pass through approval and only comments from new visitors will go into moderation.
As you will see from the following screenshot, my blog is set for manually approving all comments before they appear on any of my posts.
Decide which level of protection you want to stop the comments of spammers and trolls from appearing on your blog posts.
This helps me stop unprofessional, rude, nasty comments from appearing on any of my posts, even if they’re from somebody who has previously left a friendly comment.
My thanks to Jean for contacting me about discussion settings on blogs. And apologies for the confusion WordPress causes in insisting a login box shows when visitors do not need to leave any personal details when wanting to engage or leave a comment.
If you see a login box or are asked to leave your name and email address when leaving a comment, try leaving a comment without filling in personal details or logging in. If the blogger you’re engaging with has switched off the ‘Comment author must fill out name and e-mail‘ and ‘Users must be registered and logged in to comment.‘ options, your comment will go through.
If either or one of those options is switched on, you’ll need to follow the instructions to be able to leave a comment.
Let’s wrap it up.
Check the discussion settings on your blog to see if you’re preventing visitors from leaving comments.
Decide whether you want only certain visitors to be able to leave comments or if you’re happy for all visitors to leave comments.
The majority of spam comments will go straight to your spam folder. Remember to empty your spam folder regularly.
To stop comments from trolls appearing on your blog posts, switch on the ‘Comment must be manually approved‘ setting.
Consider whether comments from those who have previously left you a friendly comment do not need to be manually approved by you.
If you have questions about the discussion settings on your WordPress blog, leave them in the comments section.
Layout, content, settings, and format might differ on self-hosted blogs.
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January 16, 2023, prompt: Write a story about a lady shadow in 99 words (no more, no less). Who is this person, and why do they lurk in the shadows. What is the tone and setting for your story? Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.
Shadow Talk – by Hugh W. Roberts
I followed the lady’s shadow on her journey. She took me around the house and waited for me when I fell behind.
If rooms were dark, I’d flick on the light to see her. She talked to me on our journey and reassured me that everything would be okay.
When I heard the key in the front door, she had to leave, but another shadow took her place.
As I quickly took off my mother’s dress, pearl necklace and high-heeled shoes, my father’s voice called out.
“Are you ready, William? Time for you to hit the under-elevens football pitch.”
Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’
***
32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.
January 9, 2023, prompt: Write a story that includes rabbits in 99 words (no more, no less). Is it a family? A strange planet? Some crazy bunny person’s pets? Who are they, and what are they doing? Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.
Year Of The Rabbit – by Hugh W. Roberts
As she carefully avoided stepping into any blood on the blood-splattered, white-tiled floor, she thought she’d ask the question again.
“So nobody was here at the time of the murder?”
“Not according to the CCTV footage from outside the room. The murder occurred six to eight hours ago, and nobody came in or out until Professor Doebuck discovered the body.
“Inspector. Hop to it! Bring the forensics out here now, please,” yelled her boss.
Nobody noticed the unlocked door to the cage containing a new rabbit breed as they left the animal-testing laboratory.
The case, now closed, remains unsolved.
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Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘Glimpses.’
***
Glimpses
28 short stories and pieces of flash fiction take the reader on a rollercoaster of twists and turns.
January 2, 2023, prompt: Write a story about a sabbatical in 99 words (no more, no less). Who needs one or has had one? What kind of tension could a rest create? Where can a break take your story? Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.
How To Take A Long Break – by Hugh W. Roberts
Some think I have one of the most straightforward jobs in the world. It may look like that, but I still need a sabbatical.
Some think my job is one of the toughest, so I deserve a sabbatical.
Rain, shine, blizzards or gales, I have to do my job. I pledged that I’d never let anyone down. Some think I have too many days off, but people need to learn what goes on behind closed doors.
What’s the best thing about my job? Tearing the date ‘December 24th’ off the calendar and starting my sabbatical for another 364 days.
Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.
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Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’
***
32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.
Hugh's Views & News 