Welcome to ToasterTips.com
ToasterTips was created to share my insights learning how to build a Toastmaster WordPress website and design ideas when creating the Toastmasters District 33, District 115 website as well as the ZToasters.com club marketing website.
I’ve always enjoyed learning how to improve my skills in WordPress and wanted to support Toastmasters. One of the many lessons I’ll share is that you have to invest time improving your skills just like improving your speaking and leadership skills in Toastmasters.
Now I didn’t track how long it took to get the first version of the District 33 website live. Ann Hill DTM, and I got it off the ground and she’s done an amazing job updating and building the content. I do know, however, working on District 115 from start to launch was a little over 100 hours. Once launched July 1, 2019 there were another 60 hours of updating and fixing issues. I stopped tracking at the point .. and may have another 50 hours for 200 total. As far as ZToasters.com, I never tracked time on that site … not really sure for that one. On this site, ToasterTips.com it was 80 hours to launch the site and another 6 hours to get the foundation to where I could start writing blog posts.
- District 33 – unknown
- District 115 – 200 hours
- ZToasters – unknown
- ToasterTips – 86 hours.
Why am I sharing the hours?
Sometimes it’s very easy to say “it takes a lot of work”, “it takes hours of practice”, and as I even mentioned above “You have to invest time improving your skills just like improving your speaking and leadership skills in Toastmasters”“. … these general statements aren’t tangible. We can relate to 86 hours …. like working 2 – 40 hour work weeks at our job. By knowing the real-time investment we can set realistic expectations.
One thing to keep mind, the numbers I shared are my amount of hours invested at my skill level. In all those examples, someone with more experience could probably do all that work in 50% of the time it took me. The nice thing is, over time you’ll see not only your WordPress Skills develop but also how quickly you can complete tasks will increase exponentially.
Toastmasters WordPress Websites
When building a WordPress site, I wish we could download software to your brain, you could sit down the very 1st time and just starting building your District or Club website without any challenges. The same goes for taking a course … it’s tough to read a book, watch videos or have an instructor teach you … then sit down and try to create. It’s important to lean as you go, while you’re implementing what you just learned. Even today … 86 hours into this site ToasterTips.com, I’m still watching YouTube on one screen while working on the site on another screen.
Learning WordPress: Watch. Take Action. Watch. Take Action.
As your skills in WordPress continue to ramp up, you’ll begin to notice the following:
- WordPress and the Divi Theme add functionality over time, what once took repeated steps can now be done in 1 step, saving an insane amount of time.
- You’ll learn more and more about how to navigate all the tools that will allow you to design your website faster. Each one you learn more time saved.
- As you’re learning from YouTube and reading articles, you may not use what you’ve learned right away. There are some things you’ll learn, and when the time comes to create a similar feature … you’ll have a general idea that it can be done and where to go back and find the solution.
- To get really good at anything, you’ll learn by trial and error until. Make a change, view the result, make a change view the result.
The Best WordPress Tip to Always Remember
To get really good at speaking, leadership, enrolling new members and building websites … you’ll learn by trial and error. Make a change, view the result, and adjust along the way!
Wish you the best!
Robert
