My father, after years of persuasion from the kids, finally got himself a smartphone, but instead of buying a new one, he opted for a second hand iPhone 4. A little step for humanity, a big step for my dad. This is relevant because as much as we all want to stay in our own bubble, the world around us is changing rapidly and so is the nature of doing business. My dad is one of those rare people whose job isn’t directly affected by the evolving online world, yet he still had to step out of his comfort zone and join the online pack.
The rules by which we live today are scarily intertwined with technological advancements and if you don’t at least partially accept this, you might end up sitting on the bench while the rest play the game. So in the interest of playing offence, I suggest that WordPress knowledge needs to become everyday knowledge.
Why is WordPress necessary?
You wake up and you need to research something that day. Where do you look? Online. You need more information about someone, or a business. Where do you look? Online. In other words, if you have a business or if you want to market yourself and your skills, you need to be online.
You are not a software engineer, web designer, or marketing specialist. You don’t want to hire any of the above and pay them to set up a website you won’t know how to access. You don’t want to just stand by and rely on offline business. What’s your solution? WordPress.
You can start from scratch with WordPress
In the 11th century, Francis of Assisi, said
Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
Although this quote might seem overzealous for the purpose of encouraging the teaching of WordPress, I assure you it’s not. Starting anything new takes a lot of courage, hard work and a few people to help you along the way.
WordPress is the perfect first step towards your online career. It’s an open source with a broad community of users. Many WordPress professionals, such as Carrie Dils, whose online presence started in WordPress were accepted by the community with open arms, and are now ready to give back in the same way. Make the most of it.
How WordPressers can help you build an online presence
Apart from online tutoring, resources like WordPress.org, and support for all fresh WordPress users, there is a new initiative in town. A few dedicated people are going around and holding WordPress workshops for beginners, helping them get started with WordPress. They teach you how to create your first WordPress website, enable a theme, and put in all of the basic details you need to showcase your business and work.
My friends and colleagues Aleksandar and Milan, are taking Serbia by storm with their WordPress workshops, with people showing up with their laptops eager to learn a new skill. Milan says
It’s incredible how well received these workshops have been, and people are really ready to learn a new skill that will help them in their everyday life. We have only done a few so far, but it is something we are planning to carry on and hopefully it will catch on!
For those of you who like to watch TV, get your popcorn ready and turn on WordPress.tv for dozens of WordPress talks and Q&A’s. Other useful websites to visit for information are WPBeginner , WPTavern and also Mastermind.fm, a new podcast about building and running a WordPress business.
What WordPress can offer you
The first thing WordPress can offer you is 24/7 accessibility – the internet never sleeps. You can be found by new potential customers, coworkers and future employers at any given moment and you are not restricted by standard business hours.
WordPress makes brand building easy. Without needing to be tech savvy, you can build your own brand and let internet users easily “check out” your potential. You can collect online reviews, comments and increase your interaction with others. This means you can find out what people are interested in and how you can improve your business.
Increase your audience with WordPress by making your website visible to more people. If you have a good product it’s a shame not to show it off. WordPress can give you the unique opportunity to showcase your work, without the additional fuss.
A tale from a WordPress rookie
As someone who studied literature, arts and languages, and imagined herself as a fully fledged published author by the age of 25, WordPress has given me an opportunity to express myself in a new way.
I mentioned my dad at the beginning, and although I was born in the “technologically advanced age”, I too find the internet and having an online presence overwhelming, so I understand all of you who are cautious when it comes to jumping online.
However, I think WordPress is the most efficient, least painful and most fun way to bridge the gap between feeling lost online and building up your online presence. It’s accessible, it has a great support group and it’s a skill that can be taught and learnt in a short amount of time. Not to mention, if you decide you like it there is plenty of space for advanced learning.
Hello World!
I encourage you all to go ahead install WordPress, and say hello to the online world. You will find a good friend in WordPress and the community that surrounds it, as well as improving your business skills and presence with a few simple steps. Let WordPress be your online life-jacket, without losing touch with the “real-world” around you.
Good luck, and welcome to WordPress.
6 Responses
Thanks for sharing this really iformative article
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Haha. I woke up down today. You’ve cheered me up!
No, no. It was not an insult. There is a blind spot, and web designers, plus design firms, consultants, and people who are tech enough to figure out an online interface are there. All mixed up.
I see it clearly, mostly, some of the basic, different sections of creating an online presence.
It will be interesting to see how it pans out.
No offense taken.
Hello, I enjoy your email newsletters very much. I often get good information.
I wonder though, why does the WordPress community so often undermine WordPress web designers?
Is it to make money on mass selling of themes?
To tell people, over and over, how easy it is for anyone to use WordPress to make their dream website. That YOU CAN DO IT. I think is a disservice to actual WordPress web designers. It also is setting up most people for failure, ultimately undermining WordPress and the web designers who work with it.
It takes a lot of time and patience and some technical know-how to make a website. Any website with any program.
I understand this is the natural hyperbole of the internet. Adobe has hyped me that “You can make a website with Photoshop.” While that is probably true, I have never heard of anyone actually doing it.
To tell people how you can make a website if you only use WordPress makes me, who has been doing websites for 14 years, look lame for using it. Like I am an amateur doing what anyone can do.
While I understand your point. I wonder if you are aware of what you are doing to a small web designer, out in the hinterland, dealing with people who have small amounts of information about it.
There’s a lot to making websites. It is a job.
Thanks, Denise
Hey Denise,
Thank you for your comment. I agree with you entirely, I very much appreciate the work that web designers do, and I think it’s an important and difficult job to do. I wasn’t trying to say, you can just log in and voila there will be a website. I am sorry you got that impression. My main aim was to encourage those who are skeptical and worried about stepping into the online world (like my dad for example), to start with WordPress, because the basics are ok to handle. Like I also mentioned why WordPress, well because there is a fantastic community that is more than ready to give you a helping hand, so really you are never alone. That was my main point.
I don’t want to take away from your expertise, I for one, struggle to get my website to look the way I want it to so I know that it’s not a two step process.
There is a lot to making websites. But you have to start somewhere.
Again, apologies if I insulted your profession, it wasn’t my intention in the slightest!
Regards,
Nevena