Keeping current with what’s new in the ever-changing world of web design takes me to a couple of different YT channels where a handful of privileged beta testers have already done the dirty work of testing the functionality of new features and upgrades.
They make things look easy and straightforward, luring me into a false sense of timing when I embark on applying the same approach to my own applications. Especially when I mimic their approach without completing the initial basic steps like setting up emails and headers.
Eventually, I find myself at an impasse because I can’t advance to the next stage without including what should be pre-existing elements. So before completing the thing I’m working on, I have to stop and create the other things before completing the first thing’s setup. I know better.
All this to say that, for some reason I’m always amazed at how emails and headers rarely make the cut of noteworthy things to mention as part of a setup process, because it’s these unmentioned incidentals that add considerable steps (and frustration) to a project.
Example #1
Take email. With a shared hosting account, creating an email account is a walk in the park. But of course, I’ve moved on from “shared” hosting to a “managed” cloud-based hosting provider which means finding my own email solution. This is often a source of friction with DIYers (and some agencies), which is why 3rd-party solutions like Google Workspace and Zoho exist.
But for the more tenacious designers, Amazon SES offers a transactional email solution that really is incomparable. Unfortunately, the admin UI isn’t for the faint of heart. In fact, it’s so confusing that it single-handedly prevented me from using it for a long time.
But after committing to reading the online documentation, AMZ SES has become second nature and frankly, nothing can hold a candle to it (IMHO): unlimited email aliases, 10K transactional emails for PENNIES on the dollar, and straightforward SMTP setup. Seriously, there’s not a more economical transactional email solution that I know of.
Setting up email seems simple enough but if it’s all new to you, be prepared for potential hiccups. And extra time. And of course, every project comes with its own idiosyncrasies.
- SMTP integration (requires a plugin)
- Creating an email account for transactional emails (no plugin required)
- Adding a form source (requires a plugin)
To be fair to WordPress, learning how to use a form plugin is on par with learning how to use similar form features on a 3rd-party account (eg. Mailerlite, Zoho, HubSpot). They all have a small learning curve and necessitate that you add them to your website via embedded code or shortcode. The trick is knowing your limitations. (And don’t get me started on data ownership.)
Plus, there are two little quirks that always incentivize me to avoid 3rd party email resources (granted, this has nothing to do with the topic of setting up email accounts):
- I’m not excited about promoting someone else’s business (all free accounts include an unrelated company logo in your email footer and who wants their customers to see that they’re using 3rd-party tools to piece together their business?)
- I’m not excited about subscribing to an unnecessary monthly business expense when it’s totally within my control to provide the same resource on my own website. It defeats the goal of being self-reliant.
Whatever you end up using, remember to take the time to setup the necessary email accounts/aliases before navigating the functionality that uses it.
Example #2
Headers are a basic necessity that often don’t get enough respect.
Every website needs a header but it isn’t made available in every free page builder. And while some themes include a header/footer builder, there isn’t an option to display it conditionally or customize it. (And if you’re using a Gutenberg block editor, responsiveness is something that’s still a problem for headers.)
And if you ever want to add functionality via icons (eg. user logins, dashboards, shopping carts, on-site search), troubleshooting adding icons without a plugin and linking to dynamic content can take waaay more time than planned.
I know it doesn’t sound like a big deal but when you don’t have a header template in your back pocket for specific scenarios, you’ll find yourself having to stop what you’re doing in order to sort out what functionality you want to happen in this area and that means spending time (on something that should already be done).
Inconvenience vs Unknown
These two little oversights can easily result in a couple of hours of backward progress when setting up new websites. But with a little discipline and a system, it’s easy to avoid the frustration of navigating new functionality when email and headers are already checked off your punch list.
I know what you’re thinking, and you’d be right – why aren’t these things at the top of my “things to do” list? Truth be known, it’s usually because I’m trying to speed up my own setup process and I’m not thinking about what I’m doing (this tends to happen after building websites forever).
And although it’s really more of an inconvenience than anything for me (because I’m familiar with my options), I sometimes wonder how newbies and less-seasoned designers approach the intricacies of these potentially tricky elements, especially in the middle of setting up something new and unfamiliar.
I suppose there’s always YouTube.
