Building a WordPress site for a Non-Tech Literate Client

[chubes]

I have landed my first custom WordPress development gig for a custom theme + transfer from WordPress.com. I'm almost done building the theme. That part I've got down and the client is super happy with how everything looks. Gave him some sweet custom taxonomies that make it really easy to organize content.

The next step is something that I haven't done before, which is the actual process of transferring the site over to this client. He has no idea what he's doing and has been mainly focused on rearranging the menu and the number of posts on the homepage. The WordPress people know this is basic core functionality, which I did explain, but it seemed to fly right over his head.

Anyway, that part aside. I currently have the site staged on my own personal server. Client's current blog is on WordPress.com which I have admin access to.

Since he doesn't know what he is doing, I think trying to explain how to set up his own hosting + point the domain is going to be more trouble than it is worth. I would like to hand him the keys to a completed, live website so he can just log in and create posts (which he does know how to do). I will also have to take care of the existing site, which I believe I will just delete or make private?

I saw the thread about best hosting providers, and since Cloudways which I use is probably overkill + expensive for this brand new blog owned by a noob, I'm planning to pick an affordable recommendation from there and do it.

Anybody here build websites for people and have tips to help make this process as smooth as possible?

 

[Ryuzaki]

For transferring from local to live, you can use a plugin like "Search and Replace" to change all the hardcoded domain references in the database (after you import the database into the new install). There's a couple you can change in the "global settings" table (I can't think of what it's actually called) for that, or you can code it into the wp-config file at the bottom like this:

define('WP_HOME','http://yourdomain.com');
define('WP_SITEURL','http://yourdomain.com');

You may have to refresh your permalinks (by simply resaving them), too.

You can whitelist certain Gutenberg blocks to make everything simpler for them so they don't get lost in all the options. You can even get rid of the color picker and font change options and all that, too. You can also even remove menu items in the dashboard (sidebar and admin bar) so they don't do stupid stuff like attempt to change themes or add plugins. I shared a bunch of cool stuff in this thread you can peruse.

But yeah, I'd get him a decent shared server, honestly. Something where they're going to keep up with all the server-side updates. At the end of the day, I'd pass over a spreadsheet with his registrar login with IP address for the DNS records and A-records for the server, and the hosting login (and explain he shouldn't need this personally but keep it because he may need help one day), and then his wp-login.php URL and his login info.

I'd make it as dead simple as can be, and be ready to charge an hourly rate every time they bug you for something stupid. 10 minutes = an hour. 34.7 minutes = an hour. Any time you lift your hand, it's an hour, to train them to not be annoying and bother you about tiny inconsequential crap. And always refer back to your original agreement and remind them what's "out of scope" or not, and charge for it.

 

[chubes]

Thank you, that is a really helpful response. I hadn't even considered that there might be broken links and stuff to deal with after the migration.

Also hadn't considered that this person might forget to update WordPress or something and end up with a security vulnerability down the line.

Yeah, he will probably ask me to change something simple after the fact. Definitely will be establishing an hourly rate. Hadn't really thought about that either. I'm doing this site for a flat rate currently. Really cheap flat rate, tbh. The next one will be a little more expensive now that I know more of what goes into building a site for someone other than myself.

The thread you linked rules. Thanks again.