The basics of how to get the best help possible for your WordPress site, from vetting a developer/designer, picking a place to get your theme/plugin, what kind of info to include in support requests, and what the support agents need to help you.

1. Getting Help with your WordPress Site
Andrew Wikel - WooThemes
@slash1andy

3. About WooThemes
• We make the #1 e-commerce
plugin for WordPress.
• We currently power approx.
30% of every online store.

4. I Like Legos.
And Star Wars.
And Star Wars
Legos.

6. My Background
• I love WordPress
• I’ve been working with it since 2008
• I work in WooCommerce Payment Gateways
Support for Automattic

7. –Pippin Williamson
“Support is hard, really hard, and it’s not something that
most people are naturally good at.”

8. Spoiler Alert
• Support agents typically are in the support field to
help people.
• We actually enjoy it, and really want to help you
succeed online.

9. BAD Requests
• “Doesn't work, white page, see attached. Very easy to
understand, just not working.” (no attachment)
• User: “When is someone going to reply to me?”
Me: “Well, Jerry replied to you on June 3, but you haven’t
answered his questions yet.”
User: “Well, sorry, I didn’t realize Jerry was the one-stop-
shop for support.”
• “Would you please check on what your problem is”
• “Send me instructions for using your software or I will delete
it.”

10. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
–Me after getting one of those responses

11. Sometimes It Goes Like This
• You’re cruising along in your site setup. Everything
is going smoothly, and then:
• Something breaks.
• You go through all the basic debugging steps, but
you are left with no other option.
• You have to contact the maker of the theme/plugin
that you are using.

12. So, You Submit Your Support
Request
• You tell the support agent about your issue, but you
haven’t sat through my talk all the way yet, so you
don’t know how best to do this.

13. Slow It Down
• Just breathe. It’s best for all of us. Being snappy or
mean is NEVER the best way to get someone to
help you.
• “HELP!” is an email subject that will definitely grab
attention, but it’s not going to get your issue fixed
more quickly.

14. So *How* Do I Get Good
Support?
• The easiest way to think about submitting your
support request (ticket/email/chat/phone/however) is
to give as much info about the problem as possible.

15. Sandwiches; We All Love Them
• Imagine trying to order a sandwich, stepping to the
counter and blurting out “HOAGIE!”. Would you
expect that worker to intuitively build a chicken
bacon sub with spinach and pickles? We need a
little more information before we start making that
sandwich.

16. Before You Start Typing
• When exactly did you first notice the problem?
• Have any updates been applied to your website recently?
• Have you changed themes or made any design changes?
• Have you installed any new plugins?
• Can the issue be replicated on multiple devices?
• Is your problem happening in one browser, or all of them?
• Do you see any specific error messages?

17. Describe Your Issue
• If you want a quick helping hand, and a thorough
resolution, then please describe to us your issue.
Describe it in-depth. Tell us *exactly* what is
happening.
• Your subject line or first chat is super important to
give us info right away.
• The easiest way to tell us is to walk through exactly
what you were doing when the issue happened.

18. Screenshots!
• The single easiest way to show us how you got the
error, and what page you are on, etc.
• There are a lot of free solutions out there for taking
and sending screenshots. https://cloudup.com/
• When I see a ticket with a screenshot, I do a happy
dance. We all love happy dances.

19. Videos!
• Possibly even better than a screenshot.
• Might make me do an even more intense happy
dance.
• If you are on a Mac, you can use QuickTime, and on
Windows, I think you can use Windows Movie
Maker. Also, a lot of the screenshot programs you
use will also do screencasting videos.

20. We Need This Info:
• Please, Please, Please send your site URL.
• Send us your site login if it’s for a plugin or theme or
something similar that’s misbehaving.
• Send us links to your issue.
• Do not send us a 5 page Word document attached
to the ticket, with 6 embedded images. I don’t own
Word.

21. There is No Such Thing as
Too Much Info
• There really isn’t.
• Not sending us enough info will delay your
ticket/chat being helped, and likely require us to
request more info from you rather than do what we
both want and actually solve your problem.

23. Getting the Info We Need
• http://supportdetails.com/

24. Make Sure You are Sending
What the Tech Needs:
• A lot of times, there are very specific things that you
need to include in your request that aren’t in any
general list that I can put up here.

26. Say Thanks
• We love hearing thanks. We are human too!
• Typically you will end up talking to the same person
more than once, so it’s in your favor to be on their
good side, not the customer from hell.

27. Finding a Good Place
to Get Good Help

28. You Have Options:
• There are a *lot* of quality places to get some
awesome additions for your WordPress site
(themes, plugins, services, etc.)
• The quality of WordPress add-ons in general has
been on a steady climb since I have been working
with WordPress.

29. Let’s Dive Into Plugins
• The best place to find or start looking for plugins
(when you are starting out) is WordPress.org
• The code has been reviewed by volunteers, and
should be safe to add to your site. You still need to
check and verify your site doesn’t have code
conflicts.

30. Here are Some Things to Look
for with Plugins:
• Make sure that the plugin is licensed under the GPL
(as is legally required, since they are building off
WordPress)
• Look around at what other people are saying. Ask at
the Happiness Bar after this about plugins you need.
• Read articles about plugins, and plugin authors.

31. Plugin Checklist:
• Has the plugin been updated recently to be
compatible with the latest version of WordPress?
• Does it have a strong rating (at least 4 stars or
better) from the WordPress community?
• When you visit the plugin author’s website, does it
appear current? Does it offer support?

32. “Plugin Theory”
• Plugins should only be installed on an “as-needed”
basis, not on an “as-wanted” basis. By keeping this
simple tenet in mind, your plugin strategy will
already be much more solid than most.

33. Here’s How to Find a Good
Theme:
• Make sure that the theme is licensed under the GPL
(as is legally required, since they are building off
WordPress)
• Look around at what other people are saying. Ask at
the Happiness Bar after this about a theme you
need.
• Read articles about themes, and theme authors.

34. Theme Checklist:
• Has the theme been updated recently to be
compatible with the latest version of WordPress (or
plugin that they integrate with)?
• Does it have a strong rating (at least 4 stars or
better) from the WordPress community?
• When you visit the theme author’s website, does it
appear current? Does it offer support?

35. Does That All Sound Familiar?
• Plugins and themes are both just code.
• They both have many resources around the web on
picking good ones, and many places you can check
for recommendations.

36. Some Other Issues with
Themes and Plugins
• I would try to get your code from somewhere that
does only or mostly WordPress stuff.
• Personally, I would avoid the large conglomerates of
code. There are a lot of good things on the big sites,
but you need to know exactly what you are looking
for.

37. Plugins Vs. Themes
• Don’t buy a theme that bundles in plugins. It’s an
extremely bad practice that leaves you open for
hacks and also conflicts.
• Another thing to avoid is themes that add
functionality. Functionality is for plugins.

38. Developers are a Bit Different
• Sometimes you don’t need to hire a developer. Sometimes a
service is better for you if you just need a bit of help with your site,
not something made from scratch.
• WP Curve
• Maintainn
• WP Site Care
• If you need a dev for a larger project than maintenance or small
tweaks, then check out Codeable
• For a large project, you can look at http://directory.codepoet.com/

39. WordCamps are Amazing
• For more than one reason, obviously, but finding
someone or something to take your site to the next
level is not something to take lightly.
• I, or other speakers would *love* to get the chance
to talk to you about our favorite themes, plugins, or a
great developer or agency for you.

40. Ask the People You Already
Trust
• If you have an awesome host, ask them what themes they
recommend, or plugins.
• If you are in love with plugins from one place, ask them
about themes (a lot of times, like at WooThemes, we
actually do both.)
• When you find an awesome theme, a lot of times there are
plugins or plugin companies that work well with the theme.
• Your developer should have a recommendation for almost
all these things as well!

41. More Info on the Good Guys
• http://wptavern.com/
• http://torquemag.io/
• https://managewp.org/
• http://wpbeginner.com
• http://sellwithwp.com

42. 2 Things to take away from this session:
1. Give the support agent as much info as possible.
2. Use high-quality code and people.

43. @slash1andy
@WooThemes
@Automattic