I recently got an interesting email reply after I sent out an email alert telling everyone on my list about the upcoming price change for my WordPress Home Videos. Basically the email stated, rather bluntly, that they don’t need the video library as they are a trained designer that makes “real” websites using PHP, SQL, Dreamweaver, etc and they would never use WordPress as it’s such a beginner’s tool. The email went on to state that I must be a poor designer if I use WordPress to build my clients’ websites with and I’m cheating myself out of work by encouraging others to do so.
Well, I get a lot of interesting email throughout the course of my day, but this one stood out to me as rather condescending…and unfortunately bit uninformed. It also struck me that attitudes like this is one reason why so many people are wary of web designers.
I’m not the type to brag about how good of a designer I am, but as for me being a poor designer because I use WordPress and recommend my clients to do so, this is uninformed thinking for several reasons.
One, I’ve been building websites since 1996 before there was any such thing as Dreamweaver, Expression Web, or even FrontPage. My first website was built using straight HTML written on Notepad. Over the years I picked up other stuff like Photoshop, Javascript, Flash, SQL, Perl, ASP, C#, and a bit of PHP. And every time a new technology or web programming language came out, it was always touted as “THE” way to build websites among all the designers and developers I worked with because it has this feature or that feature. I actually sat through debates where developers argued with each other about one technology or programming language vs another. That’s how geeky we designers and developers can get.
After working with these methods and watching how fast and how much the Internet has changed since 1996, it’s pretty ignorant to state that there’s only one way to build a website. I got over that brand of designer snootiness a long time ago.
And this attitude doesn’t take in account the needs of the client. Could a huge website like CNN or Yahoo! run just on WordPress? Well, actually CNN does use a form of WordPress…but depending on the website, there are some cases where I wouldn’t recommend it because it’s the wrong fit. But if you’re a small business owner with a limited budget, simple needs, or a desire to easily maintain your own website, WordPress may be just the ticket for you.
Second, I enjoy working with small or solo businesses a lot better than with larger companies or corporations where building a website was “design by committee” and changing the color of a button meant that I had to sit through a two to three hour meeting to discuss it. Been there…done that…hated it.
Often small business people don’t need stuff to be overly complicated, they need things to work…yesterday…sooner if possible. Plus they need to be able to run some aspects of their online presence themselves. After trying various web building methods, I found that WordPress is currently the easiest and best method for most of the folks I work with, which is why I’ve been recommending it. There’s really no need to have to pay me to remove some punctuation or a misspelled word from your website if that’s something that you could do yourself. It saves you money and reserves my time for something more complex.
As far as “cheating myself out of work”, I’ve found that recommending WordPress has had the opposite effect. I’ve recently started teaching WordPress and building the video library because I found myself showing my clients the same things over and over again. It’s a smarter use of my time and my students to teach in groups and to build this library. And it’s a smarter use of my clients’ time because then they can easily get answers to their questions without having to make an appointment to talk to me or without having to search everywhere for the answers themselves. Everyone wins.
The bottom line is that you have to use the method for building your website that works for you. In some cases, that might be WordPress…in some cases it won’t be. But don’t let any fool you into thinking there’s only one way to create a “real” website.
Getting off my soapbox now….
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Nicolette, no need to defend your work and your name. The free video on Wordpress speaks for itself. Your material is so detailed and helpful. Thank you! Besides my current site, I’m looking for guidance on a couple of new sites. This is why I watched the video. Hoping to decide by the end of the day. This post may have just helped me decide.
Keep up the great work!
My website runs on WordPress and I love it! Besides being able to make changes easily (and by yourself), there are tons of plug-ins to help you manage your content.
It sounds like the person who wrote to you feels better keeping customers under her thumb. It’s people like her who scare people away from getting websites in the first place.
About four years ago, I needed a website. I finally paid someone, who charged me a very nice chunk for hardly ever updating the website. I decided that I would do it myself, how hard would it be? Oh, boy. Then, my computer crashed. Then, I took a DreamWeaver class at the local college for my day job’s website. Then, I priced out what it would cost me to buy software to build my website. Deciding against spending over $1000 for CS3 (the new name for DreamWeaver at the end of 2009), I searched for freeware to build my website to find a LOT of junk. After a few months of all this research, I finally bought a MacBook Pro and I am the owner of a great website designed by me. Any mistakes, etc. in the website are MY fault…and I can work on it when I can. My sister recently went through all this pain, too, and after over a year joined the ranks of Apple users.
That all written, I think YOU and WordPress should have come to my attention way back then!!! Oh, well. I have lots of artist friends that need a website, but cannot afford a Mac. I refer them to you. Some use freeware sites…and the sites are abandoned. I keep nudging them to you…but all I can do is nudge. If I did not have my iWeb, I would be buying any and all your WordPress tips. Who knows? I might use WP to supplement my website!
As for the big company coming around to bully you, file their email away for a rainy day and perhaps send a copy to those WP developers. DreamWeaver is cumbersome, painful, expensive, and an all around difficult piece of software to use and they are jealous of the beautiful results obtained with a FREE software!
Keep the information coming! You are appreciated!
Nicolette, I have a website and I have a Wordpress blog, and *I’m” jumping at the bit to try your workshop!
First of all, what Angeline Marie said, says it all. My DH built my website and updates it for me. But not all people have that luxury AND I always have to go through him for any changes and updates. I love that my Wordpress site is as easy for me to manage as….well, I’d say easy as pie but pie ain’t easy. :^D
I see so many people who have a beautiful website that cost them plenty, and they can’t even update it. Their designer moves, or doesn’t return phone calls, or charges them up the wazoo for every little change. The website stands as a very nice billboard. But it doesn’t reflect the vibrant, lively, active CHANGING nature of their business, activities and offerings. BAH!!!! A website that’s not under our control works against everything the Internet can do for our businesses.
Tell me you have a way for me to host my own shop/e-commerce on Wordpress, and I’ll pay you RIGHT NOW!!!! (DH looked into it but it looked they’re not quite “there” yet….)
Like you, Nicolette, I’ve been building websites since 1996, and my first websites were built with straight HTML in Notepad. Currently I am completely responsible for my own two websites, mostly responsible for a third, and collaborate on several others. Web design/programming is not my main job by any means, though — it’s strictly an essential sideline.
About five years ago I moved my blog from LiveJournal to a self-hosted WordPress install. I’ve been so satisfied with it that I’m in the process of moving ALL those sites mentioned above to that same self-hosted WP install, now set up as a network. I’m always looking to make my life easier, not more difficult; that’s why WordPress is now my tool of choice for my websites.
Hi Nikki,
I’m getting requests from folks to move FROM their ‘static’, old fashion websites TO a blog all the time now since blogs have all the benefits of fixed web pages plus a lot more…. more dynamic, more modern looking, more functional, more cost effective, more user-friendly… Well, you get the picture! So many benefits!
I’m currently using Typepad but feel like moving up to WordPress is the best way to go. Very interested in your WordPress video library though I still have some questions for you that I’ve sent to you privately. Can’t wait to hear your answers!
Thanks for offering this resource.