1. How NOT to Develop
( With WordPress )

2. I’m Dan
B.S. Applied Sociology - MN ST
Mankato
4+ years of Freelance
8 Months at Blue Earth Interactive
( St. Paul )
Currently Software Engineer at
Alley Interactive ( NY )

3. Let’s Get Started: Client Selection
Find the GoldiLocks Client!
● Too Hot
○ A project that would require a large team and you’re a one person-shop
● Too Cold
○ A project that has a $500 budget but wants it to ‘go viral’ (http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=jFudZeORlsg )
● Just Right
○ Your bread-and-butter but still pushes your skill set

4. Discovery
● Spend as much time here as needed
● You can charge for discovery
○ This becomes a deliverable in itself, which the client then owns
● Make sure the discovery doc is a working document
● Address change orders appropriately and don't sweat the small
stuff
● Project bid should come in a range of hours / $$$
○ Sometimes line item a contingency budget, sometimes work it into the total
cost

5. Design
● Talk
● With
● Development
● Early
● And
● Often

6. Design cont...
● Designers should have at least a basic understanding of the
platform
○ HTML / CSS
● Some agencies ask designers to code out the front end as well
○ Not sure I agree with this ( http://torquemag.io/sara-cannon-unicorn/ )
● Design NEEDS to be presented in-browser to the client
○ As a JPEG
○ As hard-coded HTML
○ As a coded prototype of the platform ( start putting WP stuff in now )

7. Development
● Talk with design early and often
● Raise design dev concerns right away
○ 800px tall modals will not work
● Raise development dev concerns right away
○ I.e. - How are we going to pull this off
● WRITE CLEAN CODE FOLLOWING A STANDARD
○ http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Coding_Standards
● Do internal code reviews whenever possible

8. Development cont...
● Spend time making sure you’re doing_it_right() the first time
○ It’s far better to spend 30 mins thinking / talking about an issue then
spending 3.5 hours re-doing it the day before launch
○ Correct usage of div / section / article / aside / etc is important in early
development

9. Delivery
● Have a solid & complete QA process in place
● QA should be done 2-3 weeks before launch
○ This will give you time for changes and QA-ing the changes
● It is better to deliver at 80% functionality with no bugs than
100% functionality with lots-o-bugs
○ It’s important to decide what can go to Phase 2
● Plan for things not to go smoothly
○ Keep a developer or two available in the weeks following launch for quick
fixes

10. Maintenance
● Set a hard date for when delivery is complete and maintenance
starts
● Budgeting Options:
○ Set a monthly limit
■ Usually set by the client’s budget
○ Open hourly billing
■ IF you do this, do weekly summaries of hours spend and dollar
amounts
○ Per issue or change order pricing
■ This can turn into the client feeling like they are being nickeled and
dimed

11. That’s It
Thanks for letting me talk
Questions?
@add_action_dan
@alleydev