This document discusses the challenges faced by aspiring WordPress web designers and developers. It describes a learning curve process from unconscious incompetence to unconscious competence. The key stages are unconscious incompetence (not knowing what you don't know), conscious incompetence (knowing how much you don't know), conscious competence (knowing what you know but it takes effort), and unconscious competence (expertise comes naturally). It identifies seven core competency areas that professionals must develop including client management, user experience, design skills, online marketing, WordPress skills, and technical skills. Examples are provided for client management approaches, developing website content and messaging, and choosing WordPress themes. The overall message is that mastery requires focused study across these compet

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@JudiKnight
How to Sail Through
the Bermuda
Triangle of Web
Designer Hell to get
to WordPress Pro

2. +
Hi, I’m Judi Knight
@judiknight
11 years ago, after selling my software company, I let my
psychology license go
Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist and Serial Entrepreneur
To learn WordPress I started a WP Meetup at my loft. It took way
longer than I imagined. And I hated being a beginner.
Today, I have my own 5-person Web Design Agency, New
Tricks. I regularly speak at Meetups and WordCamps across the
country. I love what I do.
It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be to make WordPress sites
for others.

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The Bermuda Triangle of Web Designer’s Hell
Are you a current or aspiring WordPress web
designer or developer?

4. +
The Bermuda Triangle of Web Designer’s Hell
Is your goal to price, close, build and deliver
effective websites for satisfied clients and have a
successful career you love?

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TELL ME
DOES THIS
SOUND LIKE
YOU?

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The Bermuda Triangle of Web Designer’s Hell
Your website projects end up spiraling out
of control, costing you time and money.
But you don’t know how to stop it from
happening again.

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TELL ME
HOW ABOUT
THIS ONE?

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The Bermuda Triangle of Web Designer’s Hell
You want to confidently build client
websites without spinning your wheels
and doubting your abilities.

9. +
TELL ME
WHAT
ABOUT THIS
ONE?

10. +
The Bermuda Triangle of Web Designer’s Hell
You’ve been going to WP Meetups and
attending WordCamps or maybe even
studied web design or development, but
you’re not making progress like you thought
you would.

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Hmm. . .
What’s Going
On?

12. +
Web Design Learning Process
Conscious Competence Model

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My First Client Website
I thought it was so good
that I wanted to submit
it to the WordPress
Showcase.
Then, someone told me
what kind of sites were
accepted into the
showcase…

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Web Designers’ Learning Curve
Unconscious Incompetence
You Don't Know What You Don't Know
You like web design and think this would be a
great way to make a living working for
yourself.
You’ve made a website or two and are proud
and excited about what you’ve accomplished.
But, you have no way to accurately judge the
quality and don’t know how far you are from
doing good work.

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Web Design Learning Process
Conscious Competence Model

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Web Designers’ Learning Curve
Conscious Incompetence
You Know How Much You Don't Know
You have been building websites and are
starting to realize it is not as easy as you
thought it would be.
You start to get discouraged because it is hard
to deal with the anxiety when you are
confronted by yet another thing you don't
know.
You wish you had a systematic process for
learning and a way to feedback from experts
when you need it.

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Web Design Learning Process
Conscious Competence Model

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Web Designers’ Learning Curve
Unconscious Competence
You Just Know
Creating effective websites has become
second nature.
You are an expert in your field and sought
after confident for the quality of your work.
You are able to push the envelope of design
and development
You are a teacher and role model.
+
Web Designers’ Learning Curve
Unconscious Competence
You Just Know
Creating effective websites has become
second nature.
You are an expert in your field and sought
after confident for the quality of your
work.
You are able to push the envelope of
design and development
You are a teacher and role model.

19. +
Hmm. . .
BUT HOW DO
I GET THERE?

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Web Designers’ Learning Curve
Pro Competence
You Know What You Know
You know what you are doing, but it takes a
lot of effort as you continue to learn.
When you complete a project you are
confident in the quality of your work.
You are charging a decent rate.
Your clients are happy with the results you
achieve and they refer to you.
PRO
Stage 2.5

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Web Design Learning Process
Conscious Competence Model
Bermuda Triangle of
Web Designer’s Hell
Pro

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PATH TO BECOMING A PRO

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7 Core Competency Areas
of a Pro Web Designer
Develop a Strong Foundation and Get the Results You Want

24. CORE COMPETENCY
1. CLIENT/BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
-Marketing
-Discovery
-Pricing Websites
-Proposal Development
-Contracts
-Project Management Skills
-Management of Client Expectations

25. CORE COMPETENCY
2. USER EXPERIENCE
& USABILITY
-Study and keep up with the latest
research on how people use websites,
what they like and don’t like and what
works for certain goals and what
doesn’t.
-Be armed with data about best
practices on readability, navigation,
scrolling, parallax, moving parts and
pieces, stock images, sidebars, footers,
opt-ins, contact pages. About pages etc.

26. CORE COMPETENCY
3. DESIGN SKILLS
-Web Specific Design
-Branding
-Creation of Logos and Graphics
-Color sense
-Use of typography
-Use of white space
-Web elements buttons and opt-ins for
conversion
-Long form sales pages
-Website image selection

27. CORE COMPETENCY
4. ONLINE MARKETING
1. Knowledge of online sales methods
2. Content Marketing (Blogging, Newsletters
3. Creation of lead-gen opt-ins)
4. Planning and testing sales funnel
5. Ecommerce best practices
6. Understanding how site speed or free
shipping affects results of online marketing
7. Search engine optimization

28. CORE COMPETENCY
6. WORDPRESS SKILLS
WP Technician - Uses a theme adds content and
images. Not much design or dev experience to start with,
can add on either over time.
Web Designer - Understands site layout, fonts, colors,
images, and overall branding needed to create a website
with a theme. If interested and able, can add on dev skills
with more experience.
Web Developer - Expert in creating sites using code such
as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, Perl, and Ruby. They
take design mockups and make them work for the web.
Experts in web standards creating specific functionality. If
interested and able can create their own designs.

29. CORE COMPETENCY
7. TECHNICAL SKILLS
-Installing and Configuring WordPress
-Working with Domains and Hosts
-Importance of One URL, Redirect other versions.
-How to Migrate a WP Site
-Backing Up WP Files and Databases
-Updating Plugins and WP versions
-Troubleshooting Techniques
-Use of 301 Redirects to the Keep SEO of Old Site
-Know Your Way Around WP Files with FTP
-How to Use a Text Editor to Make Changes to CSS
-How to Optimize Images
-How to Improve Speed and Performance

30. AN EXAMPLE FROM THREE
OF THE CORE COMPETENCY
AREAS

31. AN EXAMPLE OF
CLIENT AND BUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
COMPETENCY

32. Pricing a website is a subjective process and there are many ways to go about
it. The strategy you end up choosing will often be based on the clients you
have, the projects you’re working on, and the career stage you find yourself in.
Since websites aren’t a fixed, tangible product, correctly pricing a website
project can be a tricky task for many web designers and developers, particularly
freelancers and newcomers working with smaller businesses.

33. Tricky Business
Overpricing will alienate potential clients.
Underpricing leads to undercutting
yourself and losing money on the job.
Not accurately assessing the scope of a
site costs you time and money.
It’s no wonder so many web designers
and developers go into panic mode!

34. Relax
I’ve created an easy, five-step process you can use with your prospective
website clients to:
1. Short Free Phone Call - Qualify and set-up
a paid appt.
2. Paid Consultation. Gain the trust and
confidence of your prospective clients
3. Determine an accurate and fair price for a
client website with the client who agrees to
a price before they leave
4. Nothing left but to write up the proposal.

35. Preparation
Your Success Lies in Making a Good Impression Before a Client Meets
You.
Know:
• Who your clients are
• What you can do for them
• Range of services
• Why you are an expert they can trust
You need a great website yourself that shows
all of the above.

36. Your Success Lies in Establishing a Trusting Relationship.
• Ask questions about their business
• Make it personal
• Listen to them talk about their business
• Make recommendations (show your
expertise)
• Talk about your process
• Connect!

37. Secret Weapon:
The Website Cost Estimator ™
PDF VERSION Automated Gravity Forms Version

38. AN EXAMPLE OF
MESSAGING & CONTENT
COMPETENCY 1. Home Page Content -telling the brand
story in a way that resonates with the clients
ideal customer.
2. Content Audits leading to culling, adding
or reorganizing content.
3. Pages and Posts - developing the
information architecture. What type content
and how to categorize and display to make it
most accessible to visitors and easy for the
administrator.
4. Writing for the Web - how to insure your
content is readable.
5. Developing Voice for a particular
business.

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Story Before Design

40. +
EXAMPLE OF A WEBSITE BRAND
STORY
http://thevirtualdivorce.com

41. + Brand Story
Trust Builder
Empathy and Authority Statement
Empathy Message
Primary Call to Action
Hero image with the message
targeted to the ideal client using
their words.
Please no sliders!

42. + Brand Story
Call to Action in
the upper right of
the Website

43. + Brand Story
Primary Call to Action
Demonstrates
Authority
Benefits of a Virtual Divorce

44. + Brand Story
Provides the client with an Easy
3 Step Plan
Includes Calls to Action

45. + Brand Story
Secondary Calls to Action
Footer with helpful
information
Empathy

46. AN EXAMPLE OF
WORDPRESS SKILL DEVELOPMENT
COMPETENCY

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Biggest Mistake of Broke Web Designers
Spending hours and hours
obsessing over choosing the
perfect theme for each new
project.

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Choosing a Theme
Instead. . .
Choose a premium theme
framework.
Learn to customize it.
Use it as the base for all of the
websites you build.

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What type of theme frameworks exist?
Some use widget areas to offer customization
opportunities (StudioPress)
Some are drag and drop Frameworks
(Beaver Builder Theme, Layers, Headway, Divi)
Check them out at:
https://wordpress.org/themes/commercial

50. +
7 Core Competency Areas
of a Pro Web Designer
Develop a Strong Foundation and Get the Results You Want

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7 Core Competency Areas
Recommendations
 Study Each of these Competency Areas
 Get Involved and Help to Run a Meetup or WordCamp - Curate Topics You want to
Know.
 Join my Newsletter list for Tips in Each Area
 Work with a Mentor
 Get Feedback from People in the Field You Trust
 Sign-Up for a Course
- WP Web Designers Mastery Course

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THAT’S IT FOR NOW!
Follow me on Twitter @judiknight
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