Is WordPress the Best Tool for This Job?

WordCamp Los Angeles 2016 presentation. Learn to identify the projects that are right for WordPress, right for the client, and right for you.

Transcript

1. Is WordPress the Best Tool for This Job? Sallie Goetsch WCLAX 2016
2. Learn to identify the projects that are just right—not only for you, but for WordPress
3. First thing you need to know: WP is not the baby bear.
4. Just because you can…
5. Doesn’t mean you should Even if you’ve never used anything but WordPress.
6. Is this the right type of project for WP? https://wpshout.com/when-to-use-wordpress-flowchart/
7. Bet you still can’t read that
8. Here’s the idea WordPress does a lot of different things pretty well.
9. Sometimes you need to do just one thing, spectacularly And the client is willing to pay the cost of the custom development.
10. Sometimes WordPress is overkill. (I couldn’t find a photo with a fly.)
11. Two Examples to Illustrate
12. Website 1: Perfect for WordPress • Articles • Reviews • Event Listings • Organized by date & topic • Multiple authors • Editorial review process
13. Just one problem. It was 1994.
14. Matt Mullenweg was 10 years old. Not the real Matt. Or the real 1994.
15. Here’s what I built instead.
16. 2016 and it’s still not WordPress! What are they thinking?
17. What makes Didaskalia a good fit for WP? This is the interactive quiz part.
18. Website 2: Not a good fit for WordPress •Static content •Tiny budget •Non-technical client
19. But because WordPress was my default tool, I built them a WordPress site.
20. That means maintenance.
21. What they really needed: basic HTML •Small number of pages. •Small budget. •Cheap hosting. •Just has to sit there. •Content never changes.
22. How to identify these projects (and clients). Not only is their old site a Yellow Pages ad, that’s all they want for a new site.
23. Then there are these cases… The project would fit WordPress, but the client doesn’t.
24. They want the features, but not the responsibility. Sorry, Spiderman is trademarked.
25. Hosted services have a place Wix Squarespace
26. The advantages of hosted services • UI easier for many people to grasp than WordPress • Different types of sites available • Updates and security handled for you • TCO less than a similar self-hosted WP site.
27. The big dis- advantage? https://medium.com/@anildash/prince-transformed- eab793c75757#.xk6ttt6js
28. Not much data portability, either.
29. Signs your project is a good fit for WordPress
30. Client believes a website is a business investment & budgets accordingly. • Multiple types of content that require regular updates • Needs custom design or functionality not available from hosted services. • Ownership & data portability matter • Site needs to do many different things (blog, portfolio, LMS, etc.)
31. When a project is too big or too small… You have two choices
32. Learn to use a new tool… (Because you didn’t have enough to do learning JavaScript)
33. …or send the prospect somewhere else Make friends with people who do Squarespace, Wix, Shopify, etc.
34. Success is at the intersection Right for You Right for WP Right for the Client Don’t take it on if it doesn’t meet all three criteria
35. https://speakerdeck.com/wpfangirl Look me up Twitter: @salliegoetsch Web: wpfangirl.com Meetup: eastbaywp.com Email: sallie@wpfangirl.com Phone: 510-969-9947