One of the gifts that WordPress offers website owners is the freedom to create unique content and easily publish it for anyone to access. WordPress offers a do-it-yourself option that is limited only by a website owner’s time and desire to do it alone. But after a while it’s easy to forget that there are times you need to reach out for WordPress support.
I find that the more I learn WordPress, the easier it is to try to tackle new challenges like customizing themes and editing source code. When I get stuck, I can usually find a step-by-step tutorial online. Often I find solutions in online forums where I discover that someone else has had a similar problem and the community has helped find a solution.
So last week, after banging into numerous walls and not finding answers online, I finally reached out for support. I tried to piece together a few plugins but I was not getting the exact solution my client needed. I even tried to tweak the code in one plugin and almost got there. Finally I discovered a WordPress developer who had come up with an “add-on” to a plugin that did what I was looking for. Well, almost what I was looking for.
This time, instead of giving up and trying another route, I reached out to this developer and asked if there was a way they could help. Later the same day, I received a reply that they had been considering adding a feature to their product that would do exactly what I was trying to do on my own.
A few life lessons learned from asking for WordPress support
- When you run into a problem, there is someone, somewhere who has already been through pretty much the same thing. And either they can help, or they can point you in the direction of someone else who can help.
- Don’t be so proud as to think you need to be the one to come up with a solution. Just because you can do it yourself, that doesn’t mean you should. Or that do-it-yourself is the most cost effective or efficient path.
- There are incredible resources in the WordPress support world. Be willing to recognize the wealth of talent and pay these developers for their work. If you’re willing to partner with them and give them due credit, you can do great things. I have a quote stuck to my computer: “There is no limit to the good you can do if you don’t care who gets the credit.” (General George C. Marshall)
How to find WordPress support
If you’re looking for WordPress support, I encourage you to contact the specific developer. If their plugin, theme, or app does not do exactly what you need, there’s a good chance they would be willing to work it into a future release. Or they might provide a custom solution for you. Sure you would need to pay for it, but that’s often better than spinning your wheels for hours on end and getting no where.
For general WordPress support that most small business owners can access (i.e. not too techie), I’ve compiled a short list of expert knowledge that has helped me along the way. You might find longer lists elsewhere, but these will give you hours and hours of high quality WordPress support. With this treasury of knowledge, you almost don’t even need to use Google to search for answers.
Official WordPress Community Support
The official WordPress.org documentation site
WordPress.org Forums for community support
General WordPress Support Blogs
WP Beginner hosts a wealth of easy-to-follow guides covering a variety of topics, from basic WordPress setup to detailed guides on using specific plugins.
WPMU support site is a deep resource to help you connect with WordPress developers and general support.
BobWP is an excellent, growing WordPress resource. Start with the blog; you’ll get hooked when you see Bob’s accessible teaching style.
WordPress Tutorials and Guides
Easy WP Guide is a thorough yet easy to read WordPress user manual that is kept up-to-date.
WP101 is subscription based but full of high quality video tutorials.
iThemes tutorials cover general WordPress themes as well as their own products.
For help with editing CSS, check out W3 Schools or CSS Tricks.
Where have you found WordPress support? Please comment below.
About Steady Digital
We provide a WordPress maintenance plan to ease concerns like:
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- What if my website gets hacked?
- How can I get up-to-date, professional training so I can use my website better?
- Who can I trust to do the updates that are beyond my technical or creative abilities?
Tired of trying to maintain your own website? A WordPress maintenance plan might be the solution for you.
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