I consider myself a decent PHP developer, and I know enough about design to ruin a beautiful image in Photoshop. I’ve made quite a few plugins and themes over the past few years for WordPress as well.
When I’m asked how I got to the point I’m at in the WordPress community by upcoming developers, the best response I can give them is: It’s the little things that matter. If you’re not taking care of them, then the big, grand things you’re doing will only get you so far.
What are the little things?
The little things are usually things that WordPress does that slightly irritate me. They don’t irritate me enough to switch platforms, but they are things that I wish were different.
I’ll show you an example of just what I mean with two pictures of the same comment using different themes. See if you can find the major difference (i.e., the little thing) between the two.
The first is from the default WordPress theme:
The second is from the development version of my Hybrid theme:
Notice the difference?
The default theme displays the title text of the edit link for a pingback as “Edit comment,” which is standard for WordPress. The Hybrid theme displays “Edit pingback” instead.
Why make these little changes?
At this point, you may simply think I’m crazy for changing “comment” to “pingback,” but the example is hardly the point.
What’s more important is that I would’ve likely had a user come along one day and ask, “How can I change ‘Edit comment’ to ‘Edit pingback’ for the pingback comment type?” Rather than having to explain how to do this or even coming across the question at all, it’s already done.
An equally valid reason for doing so is that this is simply how I want things done on my personal blog. And, when I code something that benefits me, it’s easy to give that back to the community.
Those little things do matter
While you may not take things as insanely far as I have in my example, it’s important to recognize how these seemingly insignificant things can help you and your users. For example, this can translate into fewer support questions or become marketing points for your plugins/themes.
Attention to detail is the extra thing you should bring to the table, and end users always appreciate it when the details are covered.
Funny, that’s pretty much how I became a WordPress developer as well. I decided to use it for my own blog and the first step was needing to make it look like the rest of my site. So I spent a week learning the basics of building a theme.
From there it’s been seeing something I wanted to do differently and then searching for possible ways to make it happen and looking through code when I couldn’t find a solution seaching.
I think you can apply the same ideas to working with anything, not just WordPress.
I completely agree with you that attention to details is what makes a great product. However, how do you measure the benefit of all that little details? In my experience a lot of those details go largely unnoticed by users, and sometimes I wonder if they make any difference.
Or is that the real answer? That great design helps users without them even noticing it?
I think what makes designs stand out is the little things. When a design is polished, the little things are unnoticeable. Things just work and are less confusing, and the user just does what they came to do.
Most users won’t notice the minor details alone. What it’s really all about is the overall product. One small detail isn’t going to make a huge difference, but taking care of all the details makes a much more polished product.
At the same time, the details aren’t supposed to stand out.
But, I can tell you when they do stand out — when someone switches to an inferior product. I’ve had numerous users that wanted to try out a new theme for a while, but they’d come back because there’d be things they were so used to having without even noticing it.
I agree with what you said: “It’s the little things that matter.” These little things when developed or changed for the better will make the bigger picture much more attractive and likeable. It all starts with the small/little things.
Little things do matter, … so if we really go into those small things I’m not sure there are many people that want to change their pingbacks – I’d rather produce an option to delete pigbacks, much more useful
And, let’s just gloss over the entire point of the post.
I didn’t notice those little things, thx for telling me. so what should I do with the pingback? I’m a newbie so please help me
I recently came across a “little thing” I could have been doing for all my clients’ WordPress sites—replacing the WordPress logo above the login page with the client’s logo. (I am leaving WordPress credit in other places, of course!)
That one little thing made a client actually say, “Ooooh!” when they loaded the page. To them, it made the difference between “a WordPress site” and “MY WordPress site.”
Great post. Users may not recognize each and every little thing, but they do recognize the overall quality of the experience.
You used a very minor example, so here’s one from the opposite end of the spectrum: a theme with a beautiful sliding post carousel, support for integrating your Twitter account — but you try to add a text widget to the sidebar and you discover the margins look terrible. Thanks but no thanks — the theme obviously wasn’t carefully coded.
You’re such perfectionist man. Hehe.I (and majority of WP user) surely never recognize that.
By the way, last time I visit wordpress.org I see you’re fighting faulty WP logo. That’s a great effort. I change my WP logo for my custom theme recently.
Do not get me wrong, but his anger makes me happy.
Each theme and plugin that creates usually reaches some detail that I miss.
This is good for me.
Normal users do not realize how much the details make the difference. But any product that wins with quality details. Is subliminal …
Note: Anything weird, blame Google Translate.
The first impressions are the strongest so yeah, having everything more or less nice gives the opinion that your site it more or less nice. I`d like to have an awesome site so start tweaking all these little things and soon you`ll realize that it only took like half a day and your site gives a lot more professional look.
” The details are not the details. They make the design”
- Charles Eames
hi, i m learning myself about how to make the word press themes and i think that all discussed points will help me a lot while designing the websites. I hope will keep in mind these all “little smaller things”, as to EOD i have to design it for my users!!!
hmm, im interesting when read this post, because im newbie in wordpress/blogging.
i think the little thing is the best thing
The only thing I don’t like about Wordpress is that it seems difficult to do basic things. I find myself digging through to find simple features or links within the admin section. I don’t know why more things aren’t added to the admin navigation so that we don’t have to digg. But it’s free and most of it is very good so I’m still pro Wordpress.
I really have very, very few complaints about Wordpress. I guess to me, the little things don’t matter as much as the big things. With Wordpress I don’t need to have much, if any web programming knowledge and don’t have to be a graphic designer to have a decent looking blog up in minutes. And if I do know lots about programming, I can build it to my specs. It gives near equal footing to anyone who wants to start a blog. So I see your points on some things desiring improvement, but it’s free and let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth.
There is a proverb:Details determine success or failure
I absolutely agree.
Being a programmer and a manager, I’ve come to realize the programmers who do well do care about the details. The good programmers are the people who care about obtaining perfection, even if perfection is not obtainable.
Yes as a programmer and designer I totally agree that adding those little details can make all the difference.
I same opinion with you . Being a programmer, the details is very important.
Great and usefull post! I do agree with that the small details are very important in everything you do not only on the webb. I can see it clearly when i finnish a house and sell it. The small details can make sell it or dump it.!
Yea, I agree that the little things are what differentiate the users experience as ‘great’ or ‘annoying’. Hahah. Guess I don’t have enough experience to notice the little things yet.
Good points but we should just reply on things and be more mindful and careful like poster said
The little things are really important in my eyes. It’s the attention to detail that shows your dedication to the project. Add everything up and you’ll have a great peice of work, but skimp on the details and it will show.
Yeah it looks interesting. I had done the same thing to my blog few years back. I had changed the test “please comment below” to “drop your suggestions”.
Your article just reminded my of my earlier blogging stages where I was innovative at my web template editing.
Get Details and get better
The little things definitely add up. And when you add it all up, it could mean the difference between a successful business website and one that will never take off.
You are right. I hate default themes too. You really have to change a lot to make the wordpress theme look good.
Attention to detail does make all the difference. All those little things combined make the difference between a decent website and a great one.
I agree with the lesson of this post. Little things really matter and when you are in the field of Online Marketing, these little things make big difference.
You have some honest ideas here. It looks like you have done a research on the issue and discovered.Anyway thanks a lot.I think most peoples will agree with your blog.Keep it up.
Congrats, it takes a lot of patience to continue writing in a blog every week and keep coming up with new material. Keep blogging.
I’ve always invested a lot of time into correcting these little things for one simple reason: they drastically reduce support questions. The more time you invest in correcting little things, the more time you’ll save in the future by having to answer less questions.
Being a programmer, the details is very important.I same opinion with you.And don’t lisen everyone.
Great and usefull post! I do agree with that the small details are very important in everything you do not only on the web
These little things you mentioned above make me crazy sometimes.But these little things always matter.
Thanks for sharing these tips; I agree that the little things on websites, blogs, etc. do add up and make me want to return (or never return).
However, as a beginner website designer, it does take me quite a while to figure out how to change some of the little things…how do you measure the ROI?
Good Justin Tadlock……..Being a Developer, the details is very important.mall details are very important for us.
I think what sets the developers, designers and programmers apart from many other professionals is their being keen to details, or at least they should be. If not, then you cannot expect masterpiece but a whole bunch of replica of what is already existing. I am not such a keen observer that’s why I really appreciate those who do.
Yes, little things do matter. While programming we must keep in mind the little mistakes we are doing. It reduces the time and cost.
Small details always matter when you became a developer.I do agree with you.
The more time you invest in correcting little things, the more time you’ll save in the future by having to answer less questions.
thank you
Thanks for sharing this with me, This is one of those things that most people look over and would not even bother with, but you really make sense that everything is in the details!
everybody is doing the “big things” or the necessary thing…but if you wanna stand out you have to do both – the big and the little things.
The little things always seem unimportant because they seem easy and tedious but actually, they form the foundation for large stuff to happen.
Wordpress plugin developers are incredible people. All that free content that they produce to enable us to pack more detail into our blogs is amazing. You are the unknown heroes of the internet world.
Respect
Tony
For me it’s the little things that Wordpress does so well that keeps me away from all the other alternatives.
The little things makes everything bigger.
Details are very important. One sees at once on a theme if the developer has done a good job or not. And if the details are not well done, there are often other errors, too. I’m not a developer, but I use still very much time to tweak things until I get it the way I want. It takes time but is worth it in the end.