Best resources to get WordPress help
Below is a short transcript of the infographics with some additional information.
If you have anything to add, know other ways how to get WordPress help or disagree with something, please, leave us a comment below, contact us or chat (use chat window at the bottom of this page).
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Infographic transcript.
Where do you start?
Here are some rules of thumb:
If you are pressed for money, but willing to get your hands dirty and spend some time hacking on your site – go free
If you are pressed for time, your issue is critical or urgent, but you are willing to invest some money – go paid
Before you start looking for free WordPress help, keep in mind: be patient, be polite, never accuse or demand and remember, most people who help do it for free.
Free solutions:
WordPress Codex
If you have basic technical skills and an idea or a reasonable guess what caused your problem, start with WordPress Codex.
Codex contains thousands of great articles and examples which explain everything you need to know about WordPress.
WordPress Support Forums
Search on WordPress forums.
WordPress forums have thousands of answers.
Most likely, your question has already been asked and answered.
If you do not find what you need or need explain
help from a human being post your question
Most questions get answered and a lot get resolved.
WordPress IRC Live Chat
As an alternative, post your question on WordPress live chat channel.
If you are lucky, you might catch a good developer online and get a quick answer or help.
Get WordPress help on Slack
The WordPress is testing out Slack as the main real-time communication platform, replacing IRC and ad hoc Skype chats.
Try it out, chances are you will like it better than IRC chat.
Stackexchange
Stackexchange is from our point of the best free WordPress help resource.
On Stackexchange you get WordPress help directly from experts.
First, search the forum. If you do not find what you need, post your question.
Well written, advanced questions get more feedback and answers.
wordpress.stackexchange.com or stackexchange.com
YouTube
YouTube is a great resource, especially for beginners.
On YouTube you can find hundreds of great how to videos and several excellent WordPress channels.
Google will find the best articles and answers from the most popular forums.
Start with broad topics and then refine your searches by using quotes, site searches and exact phrases.
Themes & Plugins help
Find your plugin or theme in WordPress repository.
All well maintained plugins and themes have FAQ and Support sections. Try to find your answer there.
As an example, WP Super Cache plugin’s Support forum has 117 pages of questions and answers!
If you do not find anything, post your question on the support forum of your plugin or theme.
If you have a commercial plugin or theme go to its site and search for an answer there.
wordpress.org/themes & wordpress.org/plugins
Get WordPress help from developers and bloggers
Find active discussions and fresh blog articles related to your problem.
Ask your question in the comments or in the discussion threads.
There are hundreds of bloggers and developers who will be happy to answer a well formulated relevant question.
Paid alternatives:
Freelancers
Freelance WordPress developers and designers charge from $10 to $50 per hour.
Price depends on skills, experience, and popularity.
Hire a freelancer if you need one time help for a medium size project, like building a new theme or site redesign.
odesk.com, freelancer.com, elance.com and other
Monthly WordPress support & help
Recurring monthly support will fit you well if you regularly need small fixes and improvements on your site.
Fixing a plugin, changing styles, regular backups, updates and higher security are all part of monthly support services.
Prices range from around $50 to $250 per month.
Some of the alternatives are:
wpHelp24.com, wpcurve.com, wpsitecare.com
Agencies
Hire an agency if you have a big, complex project which might need further development.
Agencies are usually more expensive than freelancers, but they are less likely to disappear or change their priorities.
Bonus tip:
You can get WordPress help at wpHelp24.com as part of a free trial. It’s free and without any obligations.
Now, your turn
If you know any other ways how to get WordPress help, please, post it in a comment below!
We will add it to infographics and blog post.
If you want to offer your help, free or paid, please, write it in the comments. Maybe we can add it to the infographic and post.