Sure WordPress is fantastic and a lovely tool to automate your web development, but who does not hit a stumbling block while managing a website? At such predicaments, you cannot always sift through the countless pages of large books to find the solution for a simple problem. You may ask a tech-savvy friend once or twice, but sometimes, it is awkward when you do not want to burden them, especially if you are unsure about the “sensibility” of your question.
There is a costly alternative: contact web developers. However, spending bucks to address each WordPress hurdle may not be the most cost-effective strategy. So what to do in such times? Well, the rest of our article would help you to tackle this confusion.
Top WordPress Communities
WordPress offers an excellent advantage over its competitors due to its unique WordPress support forums. WordPress has one of the most active communities out there. You may already find your question answered with a workable solution in these forums!
What truly differentiates WordPress help forums from the rest web forums is indeed their “diversity.” For instance, if you are running a site on ASP.NET MVC or Java’s highly complex Spring MVC, then you would find forums full of highly technical people. Their answers are filled with such technical jargons. As a consequence, you have to Google their terms and spend hours and hours to figure out the solution.
More importantly, WordPress “diversity” is exceptional; you would find business owners from all niches who are active members in these forums and can provide you with solutions in an “easier” language. By engaging with the likes of similar-minded people, you can instantly feel a sense of belonging. So which forum plugin is the best for your questions? Well, let’s shed light on some of the most popular options.
1. Quora
Quora is a question and answer site which has seen a remarkable rise since its birth in 2009. Just type any WordPress question with “Quora” as a prefix on your search engine, and you will be redirected to a page with several useful suggestions. Over the years, Quora has gained an enormous set of professionals, particularly in WordPress. More than 400,000 followers boost its presence on Quora. Similarly, for WP plugins and themes, you can find thousands of followers.
To create your own Quora account, follow these steps.
(i) Make an Account
If you do not want to go towards the hassle of remembering one more username or password, then you can sign-up with your Gmail or Facebook account. Likewise, if you are okay with storing another set of credentials, then click on “Continue with Email.” Now, you will get a confirmation email.
(ii) Adding More Information
Subsequently, you have to go through some formalities and add your full information. This is important because Quora users are more likely to respond to queries that are posted by members with complete profiles. When users do not provide their full details, then such incomplete patterns are often ignored.
(iii) Getting Answers for Your Questions
Now comes the real part, click on the Add Question button (located at the top of your webpage). You can then ask anything.
Now you can notice Quora’s WP community in full force! Check out how I am already getting so many similar questions. Hence, I can even skip asking my question and go through all these answers. I am likely to get the best answer to my question among these links.
2. WordPress.org
The best forums for technology often come from its official sources. The official WordPress site contains guides for common issues and problems. More interestingly, you can find several of WP’s crème de la crème here: coders who built the most popular WP themes and plugins. Therefore, there is a possibility that you may directly get an answer to your plugin from its creator!
(i) Make an Account
First of all, make an account. On the top right corner of the Support web-page, hit “Log in” à Create an account. As you soon as you provide your email address, a password is sent to your inbox.
(ii) Choose a Forum
You can have access to a variety of forums. Go over all the forum options and check which one is the most relevant for your question. For instance, if you are finding a problem with installation, then you can open the first “Installing WordPress” forum. At the top, you can view the option “Create Topic.” Before, making a topic, you must take the following actions on the site.
- Read the Forum Welcome to find out how to maximize your odds of getting help!
- Search the forums to see if your topic has been resolved already.
- Update to the latest versions of your plugins, themes, and WordPress.
- Note the exact steps needed to reproduce your issue.
- Looking for help with a specific theme or plugin? Don’t post here – instead, head to the Theme or plugin’s page and find the “View support forum” link to visit the theme or plugin’s forum.
(iii) Asking a Question Correctly
Note the length of the title, and provide the relevant link and tags. Some people copy-paste their entire questions in the title, which is a bad practice. Write a short title like “Installation Issue with ….” You can also add a version for your WP. If you do not know how to do it, then open your panel and go to the Dashboard where you can see “Updates.” In the text box, you have the opportunity to type as much detail as you want. Do not worry about the length here.
Explain your problem from start to end. Make sure to use paragraphs to enhance the readability of your question. After some time, you can notice your inbox swamped with multiple comprehensive replies. Go over them and choose the most appropriate solution.
3. Stack Exchange
In case you are a WP developer, then perhaps you would like a more technical support forum. For this purpose, Stack Exchange is a reliable forum. It is a popular Q&A platform for WP coders and administrators. Any profile can get for an answer to a question, and the best solutions are marked with up votes, thereby providing an efficient way to get the most helpful results. If you need assistance regarding some WP code, then this is one of the best options.
(i) Create Account
Like Quora, you can either sign-up through your Facebook or Google ID or can create your ID on the site. If you intend to register by email, then you would soon get a new password. Confirm your account by going over your email, and then add your information like a display name and a profile picture to add authenticity to your profile.
(ii) Ask Questions
Now choose the blue-colored button “Ask Question” on the top. In response, you might be staring at something like this.
Add a title as we have explained before. Similarly, write the complete description of your question in the body. Do not hesitate to add details, mainly while adding codes so that the community could understand clearly and you can get detailed answers from the most experienced professionals in the community. If possible, add a screenshot or hyperlink of your site so that others can get a better picture. Likewise, add tags because they aid others in searching for your questions.
Stack Exchange has been designed in such a way that it tries to provide you with the correct answer, rather than entangle others in the discussion. Hence, for those who are interested in “to-the-point” references, Stack Exchange is a valuable resource.
4. Facebook
Social media might not be the most formal platform, but there are many WP groups on Facebook which are filled with highly talented WP developers. These groups contain images, texts, e-books, and other useful content on WP, along with frequently posted discussions. What’s more interesting is that you might be able to form friendships with several WP enthusiasts who can bail you out of any WP issues in the future.
However, it is essential to ensure proper behavior in these groups. You might face a ban for breaking the rules. You might be familiar with joining a Facebook group but for those who are not used to FB, here are the steps.
However, it is essential to ensure proper behavior in these groups. You might face a ban for breaking the rules. You might be familiar with joining a Facebook group but for those who are not used to FB, here are the steps.
(i) Joining a Group
Go to a WP group and click on “join.” With this, a request will be sent to the administrator (more commonly known as admin) who can allow you to join the group. Some groups have a few questions for the members to get detail about their occupation and reason for joining. To find these groups, type “WordPress” in the FB’s search bar, and you can then have a look at many FB groups. Some of the best ones are WordPress Help for Beginners, WordPress, All About WordPress, and WordPress Security.
(ii) Go through the Rules
FB administrators can maintain high-quality groups by enforcing a set of regulations. These regulations disallow posting spam links or writing about unrelated topics. Hence, make sure to read them and adhere to these rules.
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