How to Get Help for WordPress Problems
- Filed under: Tips
The following tips will help you get help for WordPress problems. If you don’t follow my tips, your question will get ignored, no matter who or where you’re trying to get help from.
Search Before You Ask
WordPress.org, Google.com, within the site you’re trying to get help from, etc.
Double Check the Read-Me File
Themes, plugins, and even WordPress have installation and usage instructions. They’re usually in the readme.html or readme.txt file.
Find the Right Place to Ask
Do not email or post codes in the comments if the site or author specifically told you not to. Email is probably the worse tool to get and give support by. Even if you have a unique problem, avoid email.
Skip the Introduction and Just Get to the Question
Don’t say “I’m a total newbie.” It’s one of the most annoying signs of possible laziness. Ask for a solution, what you need to know, and what you need to search for.
Link to the Problem
Even if your description of the problem is understandable and thorough, it’s best to link to your blog or a specific page and point out the problem.
No Customization Questions
Unless it’s obviously very technical and requires a great deal of knowledge and experience, do not ask “How Do I Customize ______” questions. WordPress volunteers and individual theme and plugin authors do not have the time to help you tweak your blog and then re-tweak it because maybe you don’t like the color. Show that you respect their time and they’ll try to get your problem solved ASAP. Avoid asking the following quesitons:
- How do I change the header image?
- How do I change link colors?
Those are general XHTML and CSS questions. They don’t have anything to do with WordPress. Your best guide for those questions is W3schools.com or one of those “how do I make a website” sites.
Don’t Be Lazy
If it looks or even sounds like you’re not willing to do the work in order to fix the problem, good luck because you’re on your own. NEVER ask for copy and paste. Also, if it sounds like you haven’t done any searching, then good luck because you’re on your own again.
Actually Follow the Instructions
If the answer or instruction is too technical, it’s understandable and someone will clear it up for you if you point out the parts where you don’t understand, but make sure what you don’t understand is more than just a term, which you can look up on Google.
On the flip side, it is NOT understandable and people will ignore you if you don’t follow the instructions while you keep saying that it doesn’t work.
What Your Question Should Look Like:
- Here’s my problem and where/what it is.
- How do I solve it and what do I need to do or know?
- Which file should work with?
- Thank you (this would be nice)
Every WordPress designer should have the text of this article on their website, and point to it every time they release a theme.
“Before you ask support questions, be sure to read these support guidelines!!!”
I can imagine this post was the brainchild of prior frustration???
Didn’t you write this before? Somehow it feels like you keep on writing this … I hope you do not do what you told other not to do… copy and pasting “old content”
or was that just forbidden when you code? 
Nathan – Very recent frustration
Sven – I didn’t write this before. For now, copy and pasting is only forbidden when you’re learning how to code. Once you’ve learned how, copy and pasting should be encouraged!
I agree with Nathan. It should be on every theme developer’s site. Maybe in big, bold letters, spanning the length of the page, a sign should read, “Read before posting any questions!!!” Then, we just direct the user to this post.
I think one of my biggest pet peeves is questions about how to customize something. Sometimes when users that want their site to be completely different, instead of ignoring them, I just want to write, “Learn CSS.”
You’re too nice. “Learn CSS” is good enough. Ignoring them requires more thought than Learn CSS.
“It’s broke, how do I fix it?”
*bangs head on desk again*
I’m a newbie and this is a great post…I often see many posts with very silly questions that are so simple to google that I’m amazed at the patience many have in answering.
I myself have posted “I’m a noobie” but have always at least googled first.
thank you very much.
Good for you to write this Small Potato. I hope they all will learn more on themselves before asking. They shouldn’t be too dependence on others.
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One more point: Do not delete the credits and ask later for help.
This might cause an unwill to give help.
Actually I’ve had to install a forum for the support questions, however it seems that some people do not know how to get the write down done… =)
If anyone has trouble installing wordpress on a yahoo server, I have the details here: http://natespost.com/…
Another suggestion is to write a post about asking the question if you write on blogs
I am not one of those guys that sits behind a computer and writes whatever I can and be afraid to say those things in real life. Honestly, I am having a hard time following this posting. It would be easier to follow if you all came off your high horses.
People not knowing CSS is what made this platform great. If I knew CSS, I would write my my own software and not need to use wordpress. If I knew CSS, I would write my own blog theme and not need to pay 79.00 for a custom theme (which I wouldn’t). If I knew CSS, I wouldn’t need to pay 5.00 to join a theme club (which I did). If I know how to write my own theme their wouldn’t be a link on my footer to someone else’s website.
@Matt – What does that have to do with not following instructions to increase your chance of getting your support question answered? Except for the premium theme authors, no one is being paid to give WordPress support.
People who don’t know CSS are everywhere, regardless of which platform. They’re called normal users. I know CSS and I can’t write my own software. That’s because CSS has nothing to do with the core of creating a blog platform.
We’re (I’m) not looking down on the regular, everyday user. Of course people need support, that’s why some of us volunteer our time. This post is simply asking you to respect the time we put in to help you with your problem.
@Matt : that’s kind off topic, CMS appliacation/software is written in PHP, Ruby, Perl…
whereas the look (layout) of the frontend as well as the backend is written in CSS.
and SP’s post is about “Getting Help for WordPress Problems”,
not getting help for CMS and/or software applications nor CSS specified problems.
My ire was not aimed at the post, the post is very appropriate, it was at the comments like:
Andrea “how do I fix it”
All the people that wrote “learn CSS”
Yes I understand that dealing with the general public is very frustrating. I like most people lack a fundamental knowledge to effectively change a theme.
I also don’t think it is unreasonable to ask 5-$10.00 for a complicated question either. There are a few glitches in most themes that make it not usable for me. If you set up on your site a donation spot, I would donate $10.00 and ask you some complicated question. In fact, if you wanted to set that up I would be your first customer.
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Matt, I worte “how do I fix it” not in relation to themes in particular, which was not all what the original post was about. I volunteer at wordpress forums (specifically the wordpress MU support forum, which is far more complicated than regular WP) and I have seen far too many posts from people essentially saying exactly that – with no info.
people forget I can’t see what’s on their screen, I can’t read their mind and none of us have experience with every single error or problem anyone can get.
Now nobody said you were part of the issue.
I’m usr ewhen you need help you articulate it quite throughly. Right?
heck, if want to toss 5 or ten my way per quesiton, my typing finger are ready…
[...] reason is I don’t like giving theme support. [...]
excellent guide, I think I need to adopt this kind of policy for my themes and site. I get roughly 10 mails a day with questions regarding my themes. Well okay, some are reasonable, but others are plain stupid and show that people have no clue at all or are lazy and don’t bother reading the manuals.
Sad to see you go and move on to new grounds SP, I loved your site and the recent redesign is gorgeous.
Keep in touch,
jez
[...] How to Get Help for your WordPress Problems. No Comments, Comment or Ping [...]
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Small Potato,
Let me start by saying I am sorry to see you go SP. Good luck to you in your ventures. That being said, I purchased your very nice gallery theme currently being combined with my new chef cooking website being built on ArizonaPersonalChef.com. I would like to order the multi site version, but after reading all the has happen here I am deeply concerned if I will be able to use it on other domains. I hope to see signs of new life here at wpdesigner.com
Thanks you,
Anna
[...] reason is I don’t like giving theme support. [...]
Really…really great tips for me. Thanks.
i cant view my rss by access mydomain.com/feed it show :
The XML page cannot be displayed
Cannot view XML input using XSL style sheet. Please correct the error and then click the Refresh button, or try again later.
An invalid character was found in text content. Error processing resource ‘http://locjan.com/feed’.
can you help me resolve this? please
Help!
I’m experimenting two problems with Losemymind with sidebar 1.0 theme:
1.date entry is wrong, apear 2007 instead 2008
2.tags under the post are not displayed, there is only a gray bar without any tags…
Can anyone help me?
I don’t know php…
Thanks, Vic
I just found out that you cannot add a photo or anything use unless it is text to the “Leave a reply” comments. You can only write text that is I think in courier font. How can my readers/contributors add an image? I have looked everywhere for a plugin and worpress help has no answers. I think that this would be a normal thing for readers to want to do. I do hope that you can help me. Thanks so much.
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Hello all,
Ok , I’m a dumb one. Done most of my work on my site. Had some help with some also. And had it looking great. Then this guy came along and said he knew how to do flash and was going to do some flash on it. I, (dumber that heal), Gave him all the info to access and within ten minutes he had my login messed up and my request forum messed up. Now users can nor register nor can they get lost pass words as no emails are being sent. And in the request forum. I have it set up where it is going to my host email and then forwarded to me. Now it isn’t forwarding to me and called my host and they told me that something is wrong in the scripting of the forum and not allowed to be forward.
I’m a old one, not wise one, but have a lot of time in this. If anyone is willing to help me out and show me a little, I am willing to make them a few bucks on the side.
I thank you for anyones time.
Please reply to;
easysharez@live.com
Thanks for your posting about wordpress problems.It will help me .
thanks again
Hello,
For some reason on my main page my far right widget isn’t showing up in the proper spot it is showing up under my posts. However this is happening on the first page only can you please help.
Perhaps I need to edit my css file?
THANKS!!
btw my site is sociallysuperlative.com
thanks!
Really…really great tips for me. Thanks
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Great tips. I bookmarked it.
Thanks
hi
if you have time please help me with a problem. my blogroll link category (the one that you can normamlly NOT delete) has dissapeared! any ideas on how i can get it back; thanks so much
Wow… really great tips for me. Thanks man! lamp-n-lighting.com
Hello, could somebody help me please? i am finalizing my blog, it is working perfectly on Localhost i uploaded all the file to my web hosting server and the home page is crashed and the most confusing thing that the “About” page is working normally… only the “home” that has errors and missing elements. the link is http://www.webli.st
can anyone help please?
thanks a lot
Regards,
Firas
Great tips! Thanks.
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thanks for help
Great tips! Thanks.
gr8 article!!
its rocking!!
it works..
clever work!!
gr8 article!!
its working
Excellent for a absolute wordpress beginner ..
Great advice for skipping the pleasantries and getting to the point. One extra little step most people forget is to say thank you or explain how they corrected an issue after actually getting help on the WP forums…