Ryan D. Sullivan

Easy now. Put down the pitchforks and the torches for a minute while I explain what I have on my mind.

I’m usually pretty good about not shooting my mouth off, especially as it pertains to things like WordPress core, which I’ve admittedly never contributed to, and might not ever contribute to from a code standpoint. But today I’m going to make an exception because I’ve seen way too many fails directly related to the file editor in WordPress, and I think it’s time we get rid of it… mostly.

Why The File Editor Has Got to Go

Let’s completely ignore the fact that being able to write files from within the WordPress dashboard can potentially open up your site to all sorts of malicious behavior, and be a really simple backdoor for anyone who gains access to your site. Defacements and large scale spam attacks are often started from within the WordPress file editor when bad usernames or weak passwords are cracked by brute force attempts. That’s bad news, but that’s not the reason I’d like to see the file editor go away.

At Site Care we go through a lot of broken websites. A lot. I’d say that easily three out of every ten cases that we take on, could have easily been prevented if users weren’t trying to make code changes in their WordPress dashboards. The story is always the same:

I found this tutorial online, and it told me to copy this code into my functions.php file. I clicked Appearance –> Editor, chose my Theme Functions file and pasted in the code from the tutorial. WHEN I CLICKED UPDATE EVERYTHING BROKE.  And now I don’t have a way to restore it.

How Do We Fix This Problem?

There have been several attempts at solving this problem, and pretty much every attempt I’ve seen involves throwing more code at the problem. There’s even an IDE WordPress plugin that has syntax highlighting and all sorts of other craziness.

It’s true, the editor can be disabled with one quick line of code in wp-config.php, but it seems to me like a feature that should be opt in only, not opt out like it is right now. We wouldn’t hand the keys for an Indy Car to a 16 year old kid, so why would we give that supreme power of  unintentionally bricking a website to a WordPress beginner?

@ryandonsullivan @rob_neu I think the better answer is some sort of validation on edits. Like when activating a plugin.

— Josh Pollock 🌲🧭 Josh412.eth 🌵 (@Josh412) January 12, 2015

Josh suggested we include some type of validation for code that’s added through the editor. I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad idea, but I honestly don’t know why the editor needs to be turned on at all. Teaching people to edit their files locally, or even to cowboy code with a text editor seems like a much better way to go. In the end the overall perception of WordPress could actually be improved because people will be more confident making changes if they have a little bit of safety net.

Using the file editor is like eating at a taco stand. It could be amazing, but it’s probably going to end with regret.

How About a Compromise?

At the very least, having the editor disabled by default on new WordPress installs would be a big win. I actually found this little gem when I was working on a site at GoDaddy today.

Using @GoDaddy Hosting today. Clicked Appearance — Editor, and this showed up. Would love to see this in core! pic.twitter.com/bN4cnMwVRg

— Ryan Don Sullivan (@ryandonsullivan) January 13, 2015

I’d love to see a similar procedure and warning worked into WordPress core. It’s just enough information to let people know they should proceed with caution, but still gives access to users for the occasional (but rare) occurrence where the WordPress file editor can come in handy.

So what do you think? Are you ready for the file editor to go like I am? Or will we have to pry the file editor out of your cold dead hands? Hit me up in the comments.

We’ve recently been paying a lot of attention to security for our clients at Site Care. We’ve always been conscious of best practices, but we’re really starting to invest in security so we can make it something that sets us apart, and not just lip service. The last thing we want is for one of our clients to have their site compromised, and especially due to a mistake that was made while we were managing it.

WordPress supportAuthor note: I just got an alert on my calendar that tomorrow is Halloween, so it’ll be Halloween when this is published. Happy Halloween.

Author note #2: Part of this is a rant.

For those of you who don’t know, I started WP Site Care a few years ago. It’s become a great business for my family and our employees, but it’s been anything but rainbows and butterflies.

Nearly every single day I see a new WordPress support and maintenance company come out of nowhere, ready to take on clients and make a place for themselves on the web.

I applaud that.

I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t started doing the same thing as a freelancer five years ago. Not to say that I’ve “made it,” or that I even consider myself a success, but as far as companies in this space are concerned, I can probably say that ours is as established and well-known as any of the others.

Now it’s time for some real talk.

I’ve seen articles showing up talking about “Starting a WordPress Management Business in a Day“, or “Great WordPress Businesses for Building a Predictable Income“, and either the author’s are just incredibly naive, or downright ignorant. Or maybe they’re just a gun for hire that needed to meet the weekly article quota and ended up spitting out nonsense.

They paint a picture of a low overhead, easy to start business for any “Solorpreneur,” and that’s simply not the case.

WordPress Support and Maintenance Isn’t a Kid’s Game

I’m sure that anyone who has worked with companies like Maintainn, WP Valet, WP Curve, or WP Maintainer can attest to the hustle required to run this type of business (I know there are a slew of other companies that I haven’t listed here, but I want to save your wrists from excessive scrolling).

You don’t just wake up one morning, claim a free account from ManageWP and start taking on clients. I’m convinced that living this grind day in and day out is something that only truly sick individuals can embrace. You have to have a special place in your heart for solving the most complex issues, and an addictive personality that won’t let you quit until that last ticket’s closed. You’d also better love helping people, because people need help. And I assure you, that once you say you’re ready to help, people won’t stop asking until they’re satisfied with the solution.

If that’s not enough, you’d better have some thick skin. Even if all of your customers are happy, which is the equivalent of discovering the holy grail, you’re still going to have some dweeb on the internet talking about you in a derogatory way because “they just do support over there.”Sidenote: The ego trips on the internet are prevalent but shouldn’t be acknowledged. Haters gonna hate and all that.

You will have your integrity questioned for no reason at all. People will issue chargebacks against payments because they think they deserve a free trial, even though you spent six hours fixing their site. You’re probably going to be in your office before your kids wake up, and crawling back into bad long after they’ve gone to sleep. You’ll have clients who believe they’re smarter than you, and in some cases they might be. If you’re quick to anger in your personal dealings now, don’t even think about dipping your toes into the waters of WordPress support. You’re going to be miserable.

Bottom line: This line of work isn’t for the faint of heart. Proceed with caution and know that 16 hour days are going to become the norm for a while, and your inbox will never be the same. This isn’t a fucking autopilot lifestyle business. It becomes your life.

What You Really Need to Run a Site Management Company

If you were able to stomach the test above, and you’re still reading this and thinking that site management is something you’d like to do, then 1) we should probably be best friends, and 2) here are some items that are going to be must haves if you want this type of business to work.

1. Become the best communicator on planet earth – I struggled with this for the longest time. I’d avoid awkward or uncomfortable conversations because I was afraid that people would be angry with me. Give people more credit than I did and be honest with them. If you make a mistake or screw something up, own it and be an adult. If you’re going to miss a deadline, let your customer know a day or two beforehand so they can start working on plan B. The worst thing you can possibly do is try and hide. You’ll feel guilty and the work still doesn’t get done. Always err on the side of too much communication.
2. Organize your conversations – One of the best ways to become a great communicator is to be able to keep tabs on the hundreds of virtual conversations that can be going on at any given time. We use Help Scout and it’s been a life saver. With as many tools as there are out there, there’s no reason to have sloppy or unkempt communication. At any given moment you should be able to find the status of any customer request or project.
3. Commit long term – In any type of business where you’re billing customers every month, it’s essential that you build enough trust with your initial and potential customers to let them know you’re in it for the long haul. We’ve self-funded everything at WP Site Care because the last thing we’re looking for is an exit strategy. Bootstrapping is our way of showing our customers that we’re in this to serve them for years and years.
4. The customer is always right, until it hurts chemistry – Staying humble is crucial in a support role. Out of control tempers rarely solve anything, but laying down isn’t always the right answer either. Nothing is more important for the chemistry of my team than them knowing I have their back 100%. We’ve had experiences in the past where customers have gotten out of hand and resorted to name-calling or making threats. In times like those, be prepared to end your relationship with your customer immediately. Never let anything jeopardize your team chemistry, including a bully customer.
5. The little things matter – When you’re first starting out, attention to detail like small client gifts, or answering that late night email will make all the difference. Give your original clients no choice but to become raging fans. If you’re smart, and I know you are, try and build trust within a community. When I started Revive My Blog, which was essentially a service where I dug into existing websites and overhauled them completely for $250 or $300 (yes, you read that right), I found a big group of customers and friends in an online fitness community. Then when the question of “who should I have fix my blog” came up, the answer was always a resounding “use Ryan!” I’m still very fortunate to have some of those same clients 4 years later.
6. Learn by doing – Education is vitally important, and people should learn as much as they can as often as they can. There’s no substitution for going through a painful learning process on your own. In the early days I didn’t have any other developers to reach out to, and it was deliver or die, so I was constantly up against it. And you know what? I didn’t die. There are still instances that come up nearly every day where I’m able to use random bits of knowledge that I learned years ago by working through the problem on my own. For a lot of the issues there’s still no support documentation. You either know it because you’ve dealt with it before, or you don’t know it at all.
7. Move fast and forgive quickly – You aren’t going to have time to worry about the “he said she said” that’s going on around you. I learned early on from a good friend of mine that cutthroat competition just isn’t worth it, and he was right. I made a really stupid mistake early on with WP Site Care that made me look foolish. I easily could have been called out for it but I wasn’t. I’ve made many more mistakes since, but I’ll never forget how quickly I was forgiven on that occasion, and my mistake was forgotten.
8. Be an advocate for your customers – There are going to be many occasions where you become the point of contact for all things WordPress. If your client is getting the run around from a hosting company, don’t be ok with the status quo. Go to bat for them and show your clients that you want what’s best for them. That’ll go a long way toward building trust, and in a business where you become your client’s first point of contact for pretty much every technical item they encounter, trust is everything.
9. Be yourself. You have a lot to offer – Our site design and copy are constantly ripped off. We’ve invested a lot of time and money into making it right, so I understand why. I mean, it’s really awesome, but at the same time I think the biters are selling themselves short. A more simple design with more copy about themselves as individuals, and what they specifically can bring to the table would be a lot more effective than a Site Care knockoff. There are likely things you can do that set you completely apart from the competition. Find those things and be confident in them. There’s no reason to sell yourself as something you’re not. Be Rolex, not Bolex.

Now You’re Ready

Did you notice how I didn’t mention anything about the inner workings of my business? I didn’t talk about anything technical, or legal, financial, or logistical. I may write about more of that later, but for the most part you can figure that stuff out. The stuff I wrote about here, most people are going to shy away from because it isn’t fun to hear. But the fact remains, if this is something you’re seriously considering as a business, you should know what to expect from the beginning.

The good news is, there is so much good that will come from this type of business. You’ll make life long friends, learn skills you never could have anywhere else, create partnerships with other awesome companies, probably get to travel a bit, and assuming you keep grinding and remember these essentials, you’ll create a more comfortable life for you, your employees, and your family.

The reality is that as challenging as all of this is, there’s nothing I’d rather be doing right now. I love the work I get to do every day for WP Site Care, and that’s probably why I can stomach most of these challenges. There are days where it isn’t easy at all, but it’s incredibly rewarding to take a deep breath every once in a while and realize that you’ve been something solid that’s helping people every day.

Now you’re ready to conquer the world. Go forth and create the best competitor WP Site Care has ever seen. You’ll be happy that you did.

Have you ever thought of support & maintenance as an easy business to run or get started? If so, what gave that impression? Is it part of your business? I love real conversations, so please don’t hesitate to share all your thoughts and musings in the comments below.

We’ve been using Help Scout since January of 2013. In today’s world, nearly two years with one SaaS provider is more or less a lifetime. We’ve dated. We’ve moved in together. They know about my bad habits and have learned to keep me around in spite of them.

Every single day there’s a new flavor of the month cropping up with one more feature, or one more integration that makes switching to a new service seem like the right move.

I mean, they have a free trial. What could it hurt to at least start talking to another vendor, right?

Since we started using their help desk software there was one week out of ninety where I haven’t been blown away by their software, their commitment to excellence in everything they do, and their laid back feel in a space full of high strung individuals.

Even during our little rough patch it wasn’t as terrible as it could have been. It was a period of slow performance and some rolling outages. It was slowing our team down and hurting our rapport with customers, but even during that rollercoaster period Help Scout assured us that everything would return to normal shortly, and I never doubted them for a minute.

Here’s why…

Help Scout Doesn’t Halfass Anything

Really, they don’t.

From their content creation, to their messaging, to their branding, to their fantastic software, there’s never been any indication that they didn’t pay attention to every detail of what they were building, writing, revising, or improving.

Let me show you some examples.

Their Blog is The Best I’ve Ever Seen

I’m not going to link to it right away because then you’ll be stuck there and won’t be able to come back and finish reading this article.

It’s that good.

25 Lessons from 25 Months of Marketing is one of the most comprehensive articles I’ve ever read about content strategy and what works. Clearly it’s not just hype either, cause the numbers clearly show how effective they’ve been in not only growing organic traffic, but bringing in targeted potential customers through organic channels.

Every single backlink is more money they save on their customer acquisition costs. Is Help Scout doing content marketing right? Yes, yes they are.

They Believe in Their Company Mission

Our mission is to help you build a company people love.

That’s the Help Scout mission. They want to empower their own customers to build companies that people love.

Let that settle in for a minute.

When you get into the nitty gritty of what that actually means, and you take into account the fact that they’re building customer support products, it shows that they truly believe that customer service is the way to win over clients and make them love your company.

Take a look at their company about page  Do you have any idea what any of their employees do? Well, other than champion their customers? Nick is one of the co-founders, but still lists “customer champion” right their in his title. All fourteen of the employees on the Help Scout about page list “customer champion” as their title, and based on my experience interacting with them, it isn’t just another marketing game.

I truly get the impression that even when things aren’t exactly as I’d hope they were, their primary concern was either a) making it right, or b) letting me know they wished it was something they had more control over, or would discuss further internally.

When Things Go Wrong, They Own It, and They Make It Better

Back in July they had a short stretch of time where their software was either unstable, or completely unavailable. When that impedes conversations and communications with our customers, that’s definitely not cool. Not cool at all.

While I was swearing and getting entirely worked up about this “horrible software” I got an email from one of the founders. Here’s an excerpt.

We understand that issues with our service not only impact our customers, but they impact your customersas well. Our team has worked extremely hard to achieve 99.99% uptime for the last 12+ months including scheduled maintenance, but today we clearly let you and your customers down.

On behalf of the whole team, I’d like to express my sincere apologies for not providing you with a reliable service today. We have all hands on deck trying to make sure these challenges do not persist, and that tomorrow we can get back to normal.

The email was nice enough, and by the next day everything seemed to return back to the snappy app that we’d come to know and love, but what’s happened since has been even more impressive.

They sent out a full technical explanation of what went wrong, and what they did to remedy that persistent issue.

They’ve also put up a new and improved status page that not only shows whether or not the services are available, but what the response times are and what the overall uptime for the app has been.

Talk is cheap, and sending out a nice email can easily become lip service, but owning a mistake and investing time and money into not only fixing it, but improving that part of your business shows a commitment that’s rare in service and software providers.

#WWHSD

WARNING: Proceed with caution. This next section will seem over the top but I promise to bring it all back together.

We have an internal joke that makes us all seem like we’re members of some kind of Help Scout cult. We frequently ask ourselves, and each other, “What Would Help Scout Do?”

I know.

I KNOW.

I told you it was over the top.

They’re just doing so many things right that it makes them hard to ignore. I haven’t even addressed their actual software and have given you over 1,000 words about how they’re winning in the customer service space. Their excellent product would make it that much easier to write several more articles like this one.

Every movement they make, at least from a customer’s view, is totally in sync with their core values, and their desire to grow as a business. Never do I recall reading a blog post, an email, homepage sales copy, or even a reply to a support request that felt out of place to me.

Consistency like that takes time. It takes culture. And it takes great people. If any of those three components are missing, chaos ensues.

As we continue to build Flagship and WP Site Care, we’re going to continue to ask ourselves what Help Scout would do, and then we’ll go out on our own and make decisions that reflect our values and what we want to accomplish. We’re a long way from perfect but we know where we want to be, now it’s time to buckle down and execute.

Do you have a company you look up to? What do they do right that you love? We’ll get some conversation rolling in the comments below.

P.S. I know this is a new blog, and I have work to do to, but if you can share out this article, or subscribe to the email list to help get this thing off the ground, I’d seriously appreciate it.

I’d like to welcome all of you to my new blog! It’s something I’ve wanted to do for quite a while, but didn’t want it to end up as a graveyard for my words. Like most of the people who are going to read this, I need another project like Apple needs another U2 album, so I’ve waited quite a while before pulling the trigger on this.

When I considered the time commitment it would take to publish my thoughts here regularly, I realized that by eliminating teeth brushing and bathing I’d be able to write posts here a few times each week. The result is that I get to share with you often, but you may not want to shake my hand at a WordCamp. We all make sacrifices 😉

Anyway, I’m excited to be publishing on this new notepad and am excited to hear from you as well. If there are any particular things you’d like to hear me talk about, I’m definitely open to ideas and you can send them to me here.

LoopConf

For those of you who don’t already know, I’m one of the organizers of a new WordPress developer conference that we lovingly named LoopConf.

I’ve been to a number of WordCamps and as much as I love them (I really really do), I’ve heard a number of presenters say the same types of things.

I wish I had a better idea of who was in the audience.

I hope the everyday users in my session don’t have a conniption when I start talking about my deployment workflow

I’ve thought for a long time that putting together a conference designed 100% for developers would be incredible, but I also knew that zero days of event planning experience on my resume would probably create a few roadblocks. I’d likely be making a whole bunch of promises that I just wouldn’t be able to keep, which is how most people end up in jail, or married.

I’ve also thought there was more room in the WordPress space for more premier conferences like Pressnomics. I went to Pressnomics 2 and it was such a fantastic time. Josh and Sally put on an amazing event around the business of WordPress, and if you have any aspirations for running a WordPress business, I highly recommend that you attend.

I’ve been to a number of conferences in my former life in the corporate world as well, and feel like I have a good feel for what makes up a great event. That said, having no experience actually organizing an event anywhere near this scale, I wouldn’t even know where to start.

ng-conf

 

When I was thirteen I lived in the same neighborhood as Joel and Aaron Frost. We did all sorts of things together like Boy Scouting and Camping. We remained friends through high school and even though we went in different connections after high school, we’ve stayed connected and I’ve always considered them great friends.

As time went on, Aaron became a pretty awesome front end developer and works at a great software company here in Utah. Through Javascript, he was able to connect with Joe Eames, a fellow Javascript geek. Together, along with the help of a professional Event Planner, Sunny, they organized the first ever ng-conf, a conference dedicated solely to developers for Angular.

The conference was a huge success. They sold tickets in two separate rounds. The first round of 300 or so tickets sold out in about 15 minutes, and the second round of tickets sold out so fast they thought their ticketing system was broken. In literally one browser refresh the tickets were gone.

Besides rapid ticket sales, the event itself was raved about by everyone who attended. They did things like a hack night with Sphero robots, had live entertainment at their parties, a video gaming lounge, had amazing giveaways, all while learning from the best developers in their industry. Not to mention a free global live stream of the event and posting all of the sessions online for free.

Right Place at the Right Time

All this to say that their experience organizing great conferences, and my involvement in the WordPress community every day, made for a great opportunity to actually pull off something that I had envisioned for a long time. They reached out to me and asked if I was interested and it was a complete no-brainer for me.

The speakers who have committed already have been amazing and I can’t express enough how grateful for their early confidence in the event. We take that seriously and have no intentions of making this conference anything less than stellar.

If you have any questions or suggestions about LoopConf, or are curious about how it’s come together up to this point, don’t hesitate to hit me up in the comments. We have a string of really exciting announcements locked and loaded and I can’t wait to tell you more.

Also, thanks for stopping by. I’m excited to hang out with you more, buy you a chilled beverage, and learn from what you have to share too.