If you read my blog outside of an RSS Feed or email, you may have noticed I’ve been tinkering with the layout over the past couple of weeks.
As I work out what I want for StyleWise going into 2024, I have been thinking about simplifying the design and making a lighter website overall.
I transitioned to WordPress several years ago because it seemed like the best all-around option for customization and growth over time. For the most part, I haven’t experienced any significant issues.
WordPress Hosting
In fact, I even switched to having WordPress host my site and manage my domain a couple years ago. As someone who no longer has a lot of time to troubleshoot issues, I appreciate the built-in live chat support and that I can easily add features using plugins and included themes. I’m on the “Creator” (formerly “Business”) plan.
But this week, a lot of things went very wrong. It feels like WordPress is getting worse all of a sudden. I’m pretty disappointed in the user experience and customer service response.
Using the Updated Gutenberg Blocks and Website Editor
WordPress recently updated its Gutenberg block editor, making it possible to create a website from scratch without any custom code. Lots of website builders already do this: Weebly and SquareSpace come to mind. But I’ve never been impressed with them because they are often buggy, and they significantly limit the aesthetics of a website. I have also found it harder to accomplish good SEO on these platforms.
As I was perusing themes last week, I noticed a banner that said, “Create your own site from scratch,” so I decided to try it out. It’s not truly a drag-and-drop like other website builders. But you can pick and choose from pre-grouped blocks and pre-designed pages, or add your own blocks. (Blocks are different components of a webpage, like headings, body text, forms, images, and banners).
The builder was not super user-friendly, and definitely glitchy. It took me awhile to figure out how to change the format of the top menu, and I couldn’t figure out how to add a sub-menu or drop-down menu underneath primary pages. It was also tedious to reformat the homepage because certain block tools didn’t seem to be working together smoothly.
I did eventually get it figured out, so I launched the updated theme and went about my business.
Block Editor Affecting Site Health
After a couple days, I checked my site speed on Google and Jetpack Boost and noticed that my website health had declined significantly, especially on mobile.
I know that block-style builders can be pretty clunky when it comes to the backend code. But I guess I expected the built-in website builder to speed up my site and meet best practice guidelines better than the ready-made theme I was previously (and now, currently) using. WordPress is advertising the Gutenberg update so heavily that I expected it to be good.
A Customer Service Nightmare
The real crisis came, however, when I reactivated an affiliate plugin. Unbeknownst to me, it was incompatible with the latest version of WordPress. Activating it resulted in a critical error that shut down the entire site, including my admin controls.
I couldn’t find any troubleshooting information that spoke to my particular situation. So, even though I knew I just needed to deactivate the plugin, there was no way for me to do it from my admin controls on the computer interface!
Fortunately, livechat is included in my hosting subscription. I logged on and…crickets. No one was available to answer my question for nearly 24 hours, even though their holiday closure doesn’t start until tomorrow.
Yesterday, in the late afternoon, with no response from customer service, it dawned on me that the mobile app interface might allow me to get into some admin controls. I downloaded the WordPress app to my phone and was able to get into site backups. I reverted the site back to a backup from two days prior to the crash, and the site reappeared.
Two hours later, a customer service rep emailed me to tell me it appeared my site was working. Um, yes, no thanks to y’all!
Fortunately, I’m not running any sponsored posts or time-sensitive content these days. But I’m not sure why I’m paying for customer service if the solution is to have no support for 24 hours. Even the troubleshooting guide they eventually provided was so far beyond my capacity as to be nearly impossible. I’m glad I had already found a workaround.
Am I asking for too much?
I know that there are always risks with running a website and that some things require an expert. But that’s why I’m paying for customer service. I know I don’t know everything and I need help.
I’ve been operating blogs for over 15 years at this point, so I’m pretty good at figuring out how to fix issues, or at least diagnose them. I’ve never been as stuck as I was this week.
Between service issues, an unpleasant website editing interface, slow speeds, and plugin problems, I almost considered switching to another platform. But right now, it’s just not worth the hassle.
If you run a website, which platform and host do you use, and do you recommend them? Alternately, how do you make WordPress work for you?
2 Comments
I’ve mostly used WordPress to make sites, sometimes Squarespace. I recently made a very simple site with the “create from scratch” in WordPress and was frustrated with the block editor for editing the home template. It’s doesn’t allow much flexibility and it’s kind of ridiculous that you can’t simply change the font or the size of the font. I don’t love the block editor for posts either and use a plugin that gives me the classic editor. I like your new layout, BTW.
Yeah, it is really buggy and not user friendly at all. My layout now doesn’t use the editor and it’s so much easier to work with.