Marketability Of Wordpress Skills

[KelsenK]

I'm a student who is just starting to be interested in web design, and I've been researching Wordpress this semester. I had a couple of questions to ask of some more seasoned web designers:

 

-Is a thorough knowledge of Wordpress something that employers generally expect? Or is a more basic knowledge of content management systems in general (and a willingness to learn more) adequate? Has anyone had any experiences in interviews/communication with employers where you were specifically asked about Wordpress?

 

-Is a knowledge Wordpress help to increase your credibility as a web designer? Or does it not really matter? Is it more or less "professional" than other content management systems out there?

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and respond!

[LSW]

Hard to say...

 

Wordpress is a blog software at heart. But it can be and is used a a CMS. The issue is who is your target?

 

A Mom & Pop store for instance would be fine and it is good to use a simple CMS in order allow them to control their content. The question what do you mean by "Employer"?

 

Is a thorough knowledge of Wordpress something that employers generally expect?

If I am a web design employer, likely yes as customers may want it. As a larger company owner, I would say no, I would expect a more professional/deciated CMS. Freelance work for a customer/employer - Yes.

 

... is a more basic knowledge of content management systems in general (and a willingness to learn more) adequate?

For working for a more traditional company or a corporate enviroment, general understanding as there are many out there they may use (or you check their web site for what CMS and then study up on that particular one).

 

Has anyone had any experiences in interviews/communication with employers where you were specifically asked about Wordpress?

NO, Never. I have brought it up in interviews and resumés, but I was never asked. I work for the State of Alaska now and we create our own portals in my division, other divisions use Sharepoint as a CMS and we are looking at a portal from Oracle... but none of the commercial ones.

 

Is a knowledge Wordpress help to increase your credibility as a web designer? Or does it not really matter?

Credibility with other web designers? No. With potential customers maybe. I know of no one of the core group here that judges based on Wordpress.

 

Is it more or less "professional" than other content management systems out there?

Purely personal opinion. I consider it less professional as it is not a dedicated CMS, but then again what is professional? It is fine for a private business, but I would not suggest it to a larger company or tell a Corporation they should use it. Imagine Microsoft using Wordpress...

 

Like the Brit series "Bob the Builder", you have to use the right tool for the job.

 

If you want to build a small site Wordpress is fine. If you want to get a job with local government or a larger company locally well known I would say it is not the tool for the job. But CMS in general is pretty much the best way to do things. But first you have to know web design from scratch, when you can build a web site you will have enough knowledge to try to modify wordpress theme to you own design. But you have to know the basics before you try to use tools to improve a site for you or a customer..

[falkencreative]

-Is a thorough knowledge of Wordpress something that employers generally expect? Or is a more basic knowledge of content management systems in general (and a willingness to learn more) adequate? Has anyone had any experiences in interviews/communication with employers where you were specifically asked about Wordpress?

 

Depends on where you are trying to get a job and what sort of clients they have. You're probably more likely to find Wordpress knowledge useful if they are primarily going after small to medium sized businesses. I imagine most large businesses will be using something different. When I worked for a good sized company that was targeting large businesses, Wordpress wasn't usually used to drive the full site, but we did use it quite often for blogging specific functionality.

 

Unless the place you are trying to get a job with works extensively with Wordpress, I doubt that you'll be asked about it. Most companies have one go-to CMS that they use for most projects (or a small number of options depending on the size of the project) so you'd probably be better off researching the company you are wanting a job at and trying to figure out what CMS they tend to use on their projects.

 

Clients have occasionally asked about Wordpress, but it's more in a vague way ("I heard Wordpress was good, what do you think?") rather than them being actually informed about the subject.

 

-Is a knowledge Wordpress help to increase your credibility as a web designer? Or does it not really matter? Is it more or less "professional" than other content management systems out there?

I'd say it only increases your credibility if you don't know any other CMS systems. If you call yourself a web designer, you probably do need to know a CMS system, but knowing Wordpress over the other specific options doesn't make you more credible.

 

Personally, I work as a full time freelancer doing a mix of work directly for clients and some outsourced work for other designers/developers, and I use Wordpress extensively. It's free, it has a big community (so there's generally good documentation when you need it and support is available) and my clients have generally found it easy to use. While it used to be primarily a blogging platform, it's CMS abilities have gotten significantly better, and I've been using it as a full CMS for quite a while. A lot of the designers/developers I work with use it, so I get a decent amount of work building Wordpress themes or designing or maintaining Wordpress sites.

[Dhanishta]

Wordpress is easily customizable and has so many interactive features and SEO-friendly features built in.As a web designer,wordpress helps you to increase your credibility.