Debate: Paid For Work On Top Of WordPress

I think adding on a “donation” is a great idea, but I’d word it differently for the client. A donation implies that it is voluntary and the client may think they have the option to decline. Work it into materials or labor and then distribute to the plugin authors accordingly.

As for amounts, I believe some plugin authors display suggested donations, so you may want to start there.

Yeah I wouldn’t word it as a donation on the bill, I’d probably put it in with hosting and other such expenses.

I was wondering maybe we could come up with a formula or a set of rules for how much to add on and where it would go. I don’t think it’s totally unreasonable to add as much as 10% on to bill (before other expenses) to be distributed amongst various people whose work on various things you may have used. But my biggest question is really, for who would probably small donations like this do the most good?, in the grand scheme of things the automattic probably deserve the most of the donations for being the ones developing wordpress, but would the donations actually be more appreciated by individuals writing plugins?

I was wondering maybe we could come up with a formula or a set of rules for how much to add on and where it would go.

Uh, yeah, good luck with that.

How about letting common sense guide you. If you are being paid for your work, and you use a plugin, you kick back 5 bucks to the person who’s plugin you used?

The fact is, that tons of people ask questions here, for instance, and they are being paid for their work. Do they, or should they be expected to toss a cpl bucks to people that answer their questions?

It would be nice if they did, but they dont. And thats one of the reasons, I avoid their questions. I have NEVER seen a kickback from someone that is actually being paid for their work (at least not that I have been made aware of) . And I have, arguably, one of the top 20 most used WP plugins on the web.

But my biggest question is really, for who would probably small donations like this do the most good?

That defies the whole reason for giving back to plugin authors in the first place. A plugin author worked — whether the money does the most good for someone else is of no consequence. Thats like suggesting that because someone might be well off that they they ought to be skipped when it comes to “giving back”?

Am I not to get paid for a weeks worth just because I told my boss that im not overdrawn on my bank account? Thats not how it goes. Work is work — and youre paid for your work, and that’s not based on your need.

I don’t know about you but I live in a Capitalist society, not a Socialist one.

Again, I point back to using common sense. Use a plugin, toss a cpl bucks back to the plugin author. Its very simple.

Complicating it beyond that makes ‘it’ (whatever that is) prone to people claiming that they dont understand.

<rant>
Frankly, “designers” ought to steer clear of WP all together. Too many of you cant understand PHP, much less, write it, and you do more harm than good to those that can. If you cant write my simple little plugin by yourself, what the hell are you doing trying to (re)design a WP site anyway?

You all use someone else work (plugins) and typically, someone elses theme(s), and then you ask questions here (free forum) and you call all of that yours. Meh.

Go slice up some .psd’s or something, and leave the PHP to the other people.
</rant>

That defies the whole reason for giving back to plugin authors in the first place. A plugin author worked — whether the money does the most good for someone else is of no consequence. Thats like suggesting that because someone might be well off that they they ought to be skipped when it comes to “giving back”?

A good point.

Frankly, designers ought to steer clear of WP all together. Too many of you cant understand PHP, much less, write it, and you do more harm than good to those that can.

Is there a huge mass of web designers claiming to be PHP developers I’m not aware of?

You all use someone else work (plugins) and typically, someone elses theme(s), and then you ask questions here (free forum) and you call all of that yours. Meh.

Okay, if someone did install wordpress, use a theme done by someone else and install some plugins and then tell a client it was all there own work, that would be plain wrong, but boy do you get upset when I try to start a debate about the best way to give back to the developers, the plugin authors and other such people.

If you cant write my simple little plugin by yourself, what the hell are you doing trying to (re)design a WP site anyway?

Maybe my case is not usual, but I do feel quite comfortable building a site on top of WP, but would not know the first thing when it came to writing plugins.

Okay, if someone did install wordpress, use a theme done by someone else and install some plugins and then tell a client it was all there own work

I can argue that’s done more often that not.

Is there a huge mass of web designers claiming to be PHP developers I’m not aware of?

You tell me? What do you tell a client when they say they want XYZ feature, and its not something that WP does out of the box, OR something handled by a plugin?

I’ll bet you don’t say, “Im sorry, I dont know how to do that” or “It is going to cost a little extra so that I can involve someone more knowledgeable with PHP to accomplish that”.

We are talking about $$ here, let’s be honest.

More often, what happens, is that said designer comes here, asks how to do it .. and then incorporates that into the client’s request. ??

Thats another issue, of course, but I thought it timely.

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I can argue that’s done more often that not.

If true, that both shocks and saddens me

You tell me? What do you tell a client when they say they want XYZ feature, and its not something that WP does out of the box, OR something handled by a plugin?

To be clear, i’m actually just starting out and have yet to take on a client where something built on to of wordpress was what suited them best. I started this discussed because I see it as a possibility for the future. But to answer your question, I can honestly say if the client wanted something which WP didn’t do out of the box, i’d either try and figure it out myself or i’d ask a fellow designer to consult on it and pay for there time.

I can honestly say if the client wanted something which WP didn’t do out of the box, i’d either try and figure it out myself or i’d ask a fellow designer to consult on it and pay for there time.

Well damn ?? Good for you! Glad to hear that, honestly.