Are there any WordPress pros on here? (whimper, whimper)

[Alicia64]

I need a website for my very small service-oriented business.

 

I finally found "very helpful" tutorials on You Tube. One insisted that I use the "Responsive" theme -- but another was crazy about the "Sydney" theme.

 

It's been hard, but I finally have a very basic site with my photos and copy. (Using Sydney.)

 

But I'm not thrilled with it. It's okay, but that's about it.

 

Do you have a theme you can recommend? I need to use one without plug-ins. DH insists that plug-ins need to be well maintained by an IT dept. or they'll louse everything up over time.

 

Editing to add: it's been such a stressful experience that I ate half a box of donut holes. And I'm not sorry.

 

Any tips -- very, very appreciated!!!

 

Alley

Edited January 15, 2018 by Alicia64

[Catwoman]

I don’t have any tips for you, Alley, but I’ll give your thread a bump so more people will see it. :)

[Alicia64]

I don’t have any tips for you, Alley, but I’ll give your thread a bump so more people will see it. :)

 

I love cat-people!! Thank you!

 

Alley

[lailasmum]

If you are really struggling you might find it easier to use something like Squarespace rather than wordpress. I disagree with your husband on the wordpress plugins front. They definitely need keeping up to date but it's manageable for most wordpress users. You need to choose reputable plugins and sometimes have to sort out the odd issue/conflict but it's not super hard. If you don't use plugins and you are just using a theme as is you are going to miss out on so much. There are tons of great themes but it'll always require work on your part to make them look good.

[Catwoman]

I know there are “WordPress for Dummies†books available because I bought one a few years ago when I was thinking of starting a blog, but I am embarrassed to admit that by the time I got it in the mail, I had already changed my mind about the whole blogging thing, so I never actually read the book to see if it was any good.

 

I’ll try to find a link on Amazon for you.

 

Edited to add: Holy cow, there are a lot of books about how to use WordPress! :svengo: I have the Dummies one, but there are many other options as well. If you have a Barnes and Noble near you, they might have a few books there that you could sit down and read for a while before you buy anything, just to see if they have the information you need and also to see if the books are good for beginners and not geared to people who already pretty much know what they’re doing. Your library might have the books, too, but they might be outdated so you’d have to check on the publication dates.

Edited January 15, 2018 by Catwoman

[Lady Marmalade]

I think that WP really does a good job keeping plug-ins updated these days, and you don't really need to worry so much about that aspect.  As you go through WP, customizing the look and feel and what you have on the site, you can adjust which plug-ins you use and which ones you take off.  You can use none, or a ton.  I haven't had a problem with any plug-ins for years.  One of the beauties of using Wordpress is that you don't need an IT expert, though they do have support forums if you run into trouble.

 

Really, just look around the theme offerings at Wordpress.org and find one you like the look of.  Read the reviews if they have them.   When you find one you like, preview it up close to see what you think of it.  

 

When you find one you really like, install it and see how it looks and works.  If you don't like it, you can always go back to the boring vanilla theme you started with.