A custom WordPress site is awesome if … you never need to change anything. Ever.

Yeah, have fun with that.

Here’s what I hear from clients when we built their site according to a Future Proof strategy:

“________ ________ ________ ______________ .”

In case you can’t read it, that’s silence. We don’t hear back from them. Well, at least not with complaints. Or maybe there’s the question, “How do I update the theme?” Answer: “Click that update button and you’re all good.”

The title of this post is the almost exact wording I got in an email today.

I realize there are coders out there who do fantastic custom coding work in WordPress and they do a wonderful job. But if they create code that won’t allow the clients to be at least in some part independent then they’re doing the client a disservice.

Ask your developer if they have any plans to move to the Bahamas.

I realize I’m probably repeating myself (I have this same conversation quite often), but it’s just worth repeating: custom code is great if your custom coder is going to be around with you, holding your hand, patient, loving, caring, alive, breathing and not planning an imminent move to the Bahamas. I want to go to the Bahamas and I want my clients to feel comfortable with their sites and with the fact that I might become a snorkeling instructor and never come back. How hard is snorkeling, anyway? Are there even snorkeling instructors?

Anyway, the site should be manageable by anyone who has a small clue about WordPress. They should be able to read a manual or watch some help videos and figure it out. It shouldn’t be rocket science. It’s not rocket science. We shouldn’t turn it into rocket science.

By the way, if you’re a prospective client of mine and you ask me to build you a custom coded WordPress site, I’ll pass. If you’ll hear it, I’ll let you know why I won’t do it. Then we can look into a trip to the Bahamas.

Can your site be too custom?

Can your site be too custom?