Not Everyone Is a WordPress Expert

WordCamp Sacramento 2015 presentation by Sallie Goetsch. As developers, we think of WordPress as easy, even "intuitive." But our clients find WordPress difficult. Here's why, and what we can do about it.

Transcript

1. Not Everyone Is a WordPress Expert Sallie Goetsch WordCamp Sacramento 2015 Slides at https://speakerdeck.com/wpfangirl
2. So who am I and why am I giving this talk? 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 2
3. East Bay WordPress Meetup 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 3
4. Inspired by My Clients 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 4
5. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com “WordPress isn't easy to use until you learn how to use it.” —Mike Little, Co-founder of WordPress 5
6. The Developer-Client Disconnect 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 6
7. 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.” 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 7
8. 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.” 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 8
9. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com It’s All About Your Frame of Reference 9
10. Some people say WordPress is “intuitive.” It isn’t. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 10
11. The Only Thing Humans Know how to Do Intuitively 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 11
12. So why do we find some things easier to use than others? Familiarity. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 12
13. Easy Transition 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 13
14. Difficult Transition 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 14
15. What software is most familiar to your clients? 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 15
16. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 16
17. We have different expectations. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 17
18. Back in the EarlyDays… 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 18
19. Blogger in 2005 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 19
20. Dreamweaver Templates, 2007 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 20
21. WordPress seems easy when you compare it to itself. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 21
22. WordPress 2.1 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 22
23. How We See WordPress 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 23
24. How Our Clients See WP 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 24
25. Here’s What People Know 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 25
26. WP Doesn’t Work Like That 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 26
27. WP Features Word Doesn’t Have •  Widgets •  Shortcodes •  Comments •  Excerpts •  Custom Post Types •  Categories, Tags, & Custom Taxonomies 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com And let’s not forget >40,000 Plugins! 27
28. Here’s what our clients have to compare WordPress with today. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 28
29. Wix 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 29
30. SquareSpace 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 30
31. Medium 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 31
32. LinkedIn 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 32
33. Facebook Notes 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 33
34. Adobe Slate 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 34
35. Before you say it… 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 35
36. How Do We Make WP Easier? 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 36
37. First and Foremost 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 37
38. Set Clear Expectations 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 38
39. Beware of the phrase “Without Knowing Code.” 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 39
40. Perform Surgery 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 40
41. Fly a Jet 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 41
42. Win the Olympics 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 42
43. Some possible solutions (and their drawbacks) 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 43
44. Maintenance Services 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 44
45. Customizer All the Things 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 45
46. 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' ); 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 46
47. Provide Inline Help 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 47
48. Provide Training Videos 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 48
49. Provide One-to-One Training 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 49
50. Simplify Content Entry with ACF 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 50
51. Page Builders 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 51
52. Front-End Editors 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 52
53. Conclusions 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 53
54. 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. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 54
55. Get in Touch http://wpfangirl.com http://eastbaywp.com Twitter: @salliegoetsch Phone: 510-969-9947 sallie@wpfangirl.com Slides at https://speakerdeck.com/wpfangirl 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 55