@AaronRutley

Client-friendly WordPress websites

About me

‣ Co-founder of ‘eleven media’ a small web design agency

‣ I’m a full time WordPress Theme Developer

‣ Coding WP themes for 5+ years

‣ 1 free WP plugin (1k downloads)

‣ 2 free WP themes (100k downloads)

Why Client-friendly ?

‣ Less training / support / documentation

‣ Happy clients

‣ Happy developer

“Aim to make the client’s wp-admin experience as intuitive as possible.”

How I create Client-friendly sites:

‣ I customise the wp-admin area to suit the project

‣ I use Pages instead of 3.0 Menus

‣ I use code instead of Widgets

‣ I use CPTs sparingly

‣ I use Custom Fields for everything

* I have a completely different mindset if I’m developing a theme for distribution* You might not agree & that’s cool !

Customising the wp-admin area

‣ Restrict the client to “editor” role

‣ Clean up the wp-admin (Minimal Admin, Adminimize & Functions)

‣ Tailor the admin experience (Admin Columns, White Label CMS & Functions)

“I give clients everything they need to manage content & hide everything they don't.”

Powering navigation with pages

‣ Pages are easy to understand

‣ 3.0 Menus can get confusing

‣ Plugin : Simple Page Ordering

‣ Plugin : Admin Collapse Sub Pages

‣ Plugin : Exclude Pages from Navigation

Custom solutions over Widgets

Eg : Twitter Feed

‣ Is the functionality even needed / what’s this solving ?

‣ Which widget / plugin to use ? do you need a plugin ?

‣ Can a widget be styled to suit the business / brand ?

Use CPTs sparingly

‣ I use Custom Post Types for content that would typically be shown multiple times & likely have a ‘single’ page: (Products, Staff Profiles, Testimonials)

‣ I don’t use Custom Post Types for content that is shown once(Sliders, FAQ’s, Galleries)

‣ I’m guilty of overusing CPT’s in the past ; )

Use Custom Fields for everything

‣ Custom Fields / Post Meta is Ideal for complex layouts(Advanced Custom Fields, Pods, Types & Functions)

‣ I use ACFs to replace ‘post type’ plugins (faqs, sliders etc)

‣ ACF with the ‘Flexible Content Field’ add-on is awesome for responsive design

‣ Very client friendly (no shortcodes etc)

Quick Demo

Thanks!

@AaronRutleywww.elevenmedia.com.au