Really a WordPress Expert?

I don’t really claim to be a WordPress expert, at least certainly not in theme design.  I do know enough to install, setup, configure not only a WordPress blog and SQL manually if necessary but also to setup a theme and tweak it enough to make it look like something else or fit someone’s needs.

It is amazing the amount of requests I get to help others with WordPress installations lately, and I probably could make more money contracting myself out as a WordPress for hire guy than as a blogger if I were to use Odesk or eLance or some other self contracting site where you can bid on projects and hire yourself out.

My problem is time, most people who come to me need something fixed because its broken and can’t wait until my normal availability hours like Saturday/Sunday.  This prohibits me from doing WordPress support on the side for clients, though sometimes clients still hire me to help modify, fix or design a WordPress site for them.

All in all, I have personally installed, administrated and configured 15 WordPress installations on 15 separate Domain names so far in the past two years.  This includes 5 which were my own blogs, (but I retired 2 and am now down to 3).

I have done everything from recover a WordPress site from being hacked with malware code injected in every PHP file to switching a theme for a customer and designing a new header.  I have even helped a client move an entire blog site from one domain to another including backing up and transporting SQL Database, all Upload files, Plugins and switch themes.

I just learned WordPress by installing and doing, everything I have figured out as I go along and I enjoy helping others.  It is in my nature to help others who are having trouble, it comes from 11 years in the IT Customer support business. 

I don’t consider myself a WordPress expert, in order to be a WordPress expert you need to know your way around PHP coding and CSS a lot better than I do.  You need to be able to code for clients needs which I cannot do.  I am learning that I am however a pretty good WordPress support person, and can do more than I realized when it comes to supporting people with WordPress issues.

-Justin Germino