What does help mean?
In the midst of Covid-19 (Corona Virus), we at JDS WebDesign hope everyone is safe, washing their hands frequently, sneezing and coughing on their elbow, and practicing social distancing. Over the next several weeks, we plan on blogging about making your website more business-friendly. We will have some tutorials on our favorite plugins and features, which will make your site more efficient.
So what does help mean? The definition has changed since I was in grade school. I remember you would ask a question, and someone would help you find the answer. Help does not mean someone will complete your task. Help does not mean that you can live off someone else knowledge base. Help is not a shortcut toward completing a task.
Help does not mean…do!!!
I was at my local Meetup. It was a help session, or as we call it happiness bar. Many newbies had questions. Most of the questions were simple ones. One of my favorite developers was trying to explain to a newbie, how to locate information on Google. The newbie wanted someone to fix her site. She did not want help, she wanted someone to resolve her issue. The developer decided that he could not help her. Wanting to see what the problem was, the newbie wanted to replace “howdy” in the admin bar. It was a simple snippet. The developer provided the snippet. The developer was not going to cut and paste the snippet into the newbie’s site. Once we discuss the solution that had been provided, the newbie remarked “it is still present, so this was such a waste of my time.”
After our Meetup, a few of us went out for dinner (the developer was one). During our dinner conversation, I asked the developer about the newbie. I was greeted with “What is Help?”. What is Help? Help has changed. Help is providing resources, which can hopefully solve an issue. Help is not solving the issue. Having a wonderful community, we provide help all the time. We are members of several Facebook groups, but even the questions are beginning to sound like jobs and not sticking points.
Help means directing
After listening to our conversation, I decided to stop fixing issues. If you ask me for help, then I am going to point you to a resource. Most web designers (and/or developers) will fix issues for compensation. I have a support arm, and it is not fair to my paying clients (for me to keep fixing your issues during Meetup). If you are not comfortable, then seek out a support company to fix your issues.
There are many communities. Most are willing to assist, but to complete a task is really not fair to the expert. The other day, our office received a call for information about an e-commerce website. The site owner wanted us to provide keywords, and our process for inventory, shipping, and promotion. After a few minutes, we suggested the site owner needs to fill out our questionnaire and pay for our marketing strategy. Once we advised the cost of our marketing strategy, the site owner politely hung up.
Help is not a shortcut to doing
if you are new to the WordPress community, then there are many valuable resources. Google and youtube can be helpful. Our preferred list includes WordPress.org (depending on the topic, you might need to read a few treads to find the solution) and, Stack Exchange (again most of the answers will take some research on your end).
Having designed websites for close to fifteen years before moving to WordPress, I spent a lot of time with WP Beginner and Codein WP . My team will visit these sites on a regular basis for basic questions and continue to sharpen our skills. Web design is ever-changing, so when you are asking us to do it instead of helping. Sometimes we are using our resource manual, google, youtube, WP Beginner, Codein WP, or your site of choice.
Because help is not me fixing your issues!!!
Image Courtesy of Crew.
JDS WebDesign is a Web Design and Brand Marketing Agency located in Marietta, Georgia. We create AWESOME on line presence for Start-ups and Influential People/Organizations. To learn more about us or how we can help you and your organization, you can contact us or schedule a meeting.
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