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
   

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2. So who am I and why am
   I giving this talk?
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3. East Bay WordPress Meetup
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4. Inspired by My Clients
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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
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6. The Developer-Client Disconnect
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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.”
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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.”
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9. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com
   It’s All About Your
   Frame of Reference
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10. Some people say
    WordPress is “intuitive.”
    It isn’t.
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11. The Only Thing Humans Know
    how to Do Intuitively
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12. So why do we find some
    things easier to use than
    others? Familiarity.
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13. Easy Transition
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14. Difficult Transition
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15. What software is most
    familiar to your clients?
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16. 11/5/2015 www.wpfangirl.com 16
    

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17. We have different
    expectations.
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18. Back in the EarlyDays…
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19. Blogger in 2005
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20. Dreamweaver Templates, 2007
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21. WordPress seems easy
    when you compare it to
    itself.
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22. WordPress 2.1
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23. How We See WordPress
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24. How Our Clients See WP
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25. Here’s What People Know
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26. WP Doesn’t Work Like That
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27. 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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28. Here’s what our clients
    have to compare
    WordPress with today.
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29. Wix
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30. SquareSpace
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31. Medium
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32. LinkedIn
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33. Facebook Notes
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34. Adobe Slate
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35. Before you say it…
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36. How Do We Make WP Easier?
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37. First and Foremost
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38. Set Clear Expectations
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39. Beware of the phrase
    “Without Knowing
    Code.”
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40. Perform Surgery
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41. Fly a Jet
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42. Win the Olympics
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43. Some possible solutions
    (and their drawbacks)
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44. Maintenance Services
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45. Customizer All the Things
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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' );
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47. Provide Inline Help
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48. Provide Training Videos
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49. Provide One-to-One Training
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50. Simplify Content Entry with ACF
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51. Page Builders
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52. Front-End Editors
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53. Conclusions
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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.
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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
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