How to to training and support for WordPress users. A presentation at WordPress Day of the Nonprofit Technology Conference in Austin, Texas 2015.

1. HOW TO
do training and support for
WordPress users
WordPress Day, NTC 2015
Jason King
Twitter: @jasoncsking

2. Jason King
Freelance WordPress developer
who works with UK and Australian
non-profits
NetSquared London co-organiser
Twitter @jasoncsking
My clients: Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, Economic Security 4 Women, Law
for Life, Advice Services Alliance, Breast Cancer Care, Social Research
Unit, Brent Advice Matters, Worshipful Company of Turners, Harlington
Hospice, And Other Stories, Social Impact Analysts Association

3. if WordPress is so easy to use, why
bother to train users?

4. Yes, but easy does not = no effort
Much easier than learning code
A CMS has to balance ease-of-use with flexibility
WordPress is not always as intuitive as it could be
More plugins installed = more to learn
A well-built theme might have customised the dashboard
is WordPress easy to learn?

5. A beautiful, accessible website can be spoilt by careless
content editing
There's a lot of outdated information about using
WordPress that users can pick up online
Prevent bad habits by teaching good practice
A badly built theme can make it harder for users
WordPress can be misused

6. who needs to be
trained?

7. understand the organisation
Who are your trainees?
What is their role in the non-profit?
What responsibility do they have for the website?
How techie are they? Many non-profit workers are not
confident with technology

8. trickle down training
When you teach one person, then they teach the others.
Useful for when there are multiple content editors ✔
Especially if they can't all make a training session ✔
Can reinforce the wrong as well as the right ways X
Not everyone is a good trainer X

9. different user roles have different
training needs
●
Contributor
●
Author
●
Editor
●
Admin
Do these WordPress roles correspond to the users' website
responsibilities?

10. what do different users
need to learn?

11. editor role needs to learn
How to login
The WordPress dashboard
Creating and editing posts and pages
Basic accessibility (but don't make them read WCAG)
Categories and tags
The Media Library

12. should you teach editors how to
Write simple html? If so, which tags?
Change menus? By default this is restricted to Admin role
Use widgets? Again, restricted to Admins

13. the Admin role needs to learn
Widgets
Menus
Managing users
Approving comments
Gravity Forms and other plugins are admin only by default

14. should you teach Admins how to
Upgrade WordPress ?
Upgrade plugins ?
Install and change themes ?
Make backups ?
Use the theme / plugin editor ?!
Is knowledge dangerous or empowering?

15. things that confuse users
Difference between a post and a page
Images (alt text, aligning, featured images, galleries)
Uploading and linking to PDF documents
How to use subheadings (h2, h3 etc)
Excerpts
How the home page is edited

16. choose appropriate
training methods

17. how do you train your WordPress clients?
I suggest books, blogs etc 2 %
I use the WordPress codex 2 %
I use a premium video library 8 %
Training? What training? 14 %
I walk them through the dashboard 74 %
http://code.tutsplus.com/articles/readers-poll-how-do-
you-train-your-clients--wp-21428
poll of 510 developers:

18. Can be read in trainee’s own time ✔
The most up-to-date resource ✔
Likely to overwhelm and confuse them X
the codex: new to WordPress section
http://codex.wordpress.org/

19. Can be read in trainee’s own time ✔
Plenty of titles available ✔
Not aimed primarily at content editors X
Can be overly focused on blogging X
Books get outdated fast X
books

21. Can be rewatched in trainee’s own time ✔
May not match their own website’s features X
wp101.com 45 videos, one-off payment, accessible via dashboard
Lynda.com 64 courses, 1500 videos, most aimed at developers
sidekick.pro 190 videos PLUS you can create custom walkthroughs
wordpress.tv Many free videos for content editors in How To section
premium video tutorials

22. walkthroughs
Trainee can ask questions ✔
Can be tailored to specific website ✔
Good to meet client face-to-face ✔
Can be done using remote tools ✔
Useful for ironing out bugs ✔
Likely to be forgotten within days X

23. tips for a good walkthrough
●
Ideally teach more than one person at a time
●
Don't huddle a group round a laptop - use a projector
●
Insist on no interruptions
●
Use actual real-life content as examples
●
Discuss where it should be published (page or post etc)
●
Let trainees have a go themselves
●
Trainees should start doing content editing asap

24. write your own manual
Can be read at user’s own pace ✔
Relevant to user's own website ✔
Written for their tech level ✔
Can link to video and other tutorials ✔
Time consuming (=costly) to write X
Unlikely to answer every question X

26. how I train WordPress users
1. Write a manual on Google Drive, share it and allow
comments. It has links to various tutorials including videos.
2. Individual or small group walkthrough of WordPress
3. Ongoing email/phone support as part of annual contract
4. Catch-up meeting two months after launch, which
checks they're doing it right and also looks at SEO

27. how long should a
training session take?

28. For an individual or small group session, 60 -
90 minutes should suffice. After 90 minutes the
brain is full. Some brains fill up quicker than
others.
Consider a follow-up training session, perhaps
combining it with SEO training or a content
review meeting.

29. before you start the
training

30. reassure them
You can’t break the website
(not necessarily true, but very reassuring)
Pages you delete can be retrieved from the Bin
Previous versions of pages can be restored
The website gets backed up daily/weekly
WordPress is easy to use (mostly true)

31. teach content editing,
not just WordPress

32. writing for the web
Can the person with responsibility for content editing spell,
punctuate and write convincingly? If not, good luck!
Be concise. Use the language (and jargon) your audience
uses. Chunk your content. Use short sentences and
paragraphs. Use clear subheadings. Use calls to action.
Etc.
http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/
methods/writing-for-the-web.html

33. inverted pyramid style of writing
News of Abraham Lincoln's death in 1865 was one of the
first reported uses of the Inverted Pyramid.
Write the conclusion first.
The first paragraphs should say who, what, where, when,
why and how.
www.skilledup.com/articles/
about-the-inverted-pyramid-writing-style/

34. what's a style guide?
When there are multiple content editors, a style guide helps
ensure consistency. It lists preferred terminology and gives
guidance on the organisational writing style, usually giving
examples.
Some style guides are freely available online:
www.theguardian.com/guardian-observer-style-guide-a

35. follow branding guidelines
The non-profit may have a branding guide, outlining the
correct use of fonts, colours, logo(s) and images in print
and on the web.
Trainee content editors should be made aware of it.
Sometimes there's a single guide for branding and style.

36. apart from WordPress,
what else website
related do non-profits
need to be trained in?

37. it’s not just the website
Promoting a website
SEO
Social media
Google Analytics
Writing persuasively
Telling a story … and so much more.

38. make WordPress
simpler to use, so
there’s less to teach
users

39. tips for WordPress developers
These code snippets go in the
functions.php file in your WordPress theme.
No plugins required.

40. dictate which headings they can use
http://calliaweb.co.uk/modify-tinymce-editor/

41. reorganise the post editor toolbar
www.kevinleary.net/customizing-tinymce-
wysiwyg-editor-wordpress/

42. use your site’s CSS in the editor
http://codex.wordpress.org/Function_Reference
/add_editor_style

43. a hidden button: Style Formats
http://codex.wordpress.org/TinyMCE_Custom_
Styles

44. default Screen Options
Because most new users don’t even notice it’s there.
https://www.vanpattenmedia.com/2014/code-snippet-
hide-post-meta-boxes-wordpress

45. disable the theme & plugin editors
This goes in your
wp-config.php file:
define('DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT',true);
DO IT ASAP!

46. support

47. support / maintenance contract
Could be annual, six monthly or quarterly – needs to be
budgeted for.
Could include:
●
Upgrades to WordPress and plugins
●
Automated weekly backups
●
Fixing bugs and restoring from a hack
●
Email and phone support
●
Minor changes but NOT major new features

48. doing support well
Often it's sufficient to simply write a sentence plus a link to
a video or tutorial on the codex
Support is not an alternative to a training session
Be pro-active, have a routine: login in weekly to check for
updates and do backups, and take a quick look at the site.
Set up monthly Google Analytics email reports because
clients forget to check stats.

50. Jason King
Freelance WordPress developer
who works with UK and Australian
non-profits
NetSquared London co-organiser
Twitter: jasoncsking