From what I've played, the best starting word in Wordle for getting a solid hint is something with a couple vowels and common consonants. Words like "adieu," "raise," or "media" are classics because they've got lots of the most-used letters. I remember once starting with "grape" and I was shocked when almost the whole word lit up yellow or green—turns out, starting with versatile words makes a huge difference!

A bunch of guides online mention that the New York Times and Mashable recommend words with at least two vowels and letters like R, S, T, L, and N, 'cause they show up all the time. If you open with something like "crane" or "table," you usually get a good idea which letters are in there and your next guesses are way easier to figure out.

I always try not to repeat letters in my first word, 'cause it's better to check as many different ones as possible. Give one of those words a shot, and you'll probably get a better hint right away, even if you're not into searching for outside help!