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Not Everyone Is a
WordPress Expert
Sallie Goetsch
WordCamp Sacramento 2015
Slides at https://speakerdeck.com/wpfangirl
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So who am I and why am
I giving this talk?
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East Bay WordPress Meetup
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Inspired by My Clients
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“WordPress isn't easy
to use until you learn
how to use it.”
—Mike Little, Co-founder of WordPress
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The Developer-Client Disconnect
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Real User Complaints: 2011
“CONFIGURING AND USING WORDPRESS IS
NOT FUN. Every single step of the way
causes confusion, is overly complicated...
EVERYTHING is an effort to find and
comprehend.”
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Real User Complaints: 2015
“I tried to learn WordPress in 2012. I spent
two to four+ hours a day for 4 months
trying to understand and use this
nightmare of an app. I ran out of time and
stopped using it… It’s still a nightmare to
get it to do anything useful.”
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It’s All About Your
Frame of Reference
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Some people say
WordPress is “intuitive.”
It isn’t.
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The Only Thing Humans Know
how to Do Intuitively
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So why do we find some
things easier to use than
others? Familiarity.
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Easy Transition
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Difficult Transition
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What software is most
familiar to your clients?
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We have different
expectations.
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Back in the EarlyDays…
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Blogger in 2005
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Dreamweaver Templates, 2007
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WordPress seems easy
when you compare it to
itself.
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WordPress 2.1
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How We See WordPress
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How Our Clients See WP
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Here’s What People Know
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WP Doesn’t Work Like That
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WP Features Word Doesn’t Have
• Widgets
• Shortcodes
• Comments
• Excerpts
• Custom Post Types
• Categories, Tags, & Custom Taxonomies
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And let’s not forget
>40,000 Plugins!
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Here’s what our clients
have to compare
WordPress with today.
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Wix
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SquareSpace
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Medium
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LinkedIn
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Facebook Notes
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Adobe Slate
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Before you say it…
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How Do We Make WP Easier?
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First and Foremost
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Set Clear Expectations
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Beware of the phrase
“Without Knowing
Code.”
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Perform Surgery
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Fly a Jet
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Win the Olympics
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Some possible solutions
(and their drawbacks)
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Maintenance Services
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Customizer All the Things
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Simplify the WP Admin
// Remove specific menu items
function remove_menus(){
if ( !
current_user_can( 'manage_options' ) ) {
remove_menu_page( 'tools.php' );
}
}
add_action( 'admin_menu',
'remove_menus' );
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Provide Inline Help
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Provide Training Videos
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Provide One-to-One Training
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Simplify Content Entry with ACF
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Page Builders
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Front-End Editors
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Conclusions
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We Can Make It Better
• None of these solutions is perfect, but
they can make life easier for clients.
• If we take the time to educate and
inform our clients, they will be happier,
and so will we.
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Get in Touch
http://wpfangirl.com
http://eastbaywp.com
Twitter: @salliegoetsch
Phone: 510-969-9947
[email protected]
Slides at
https://speakerdeck.com/wpfangirl
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