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Whenever asking a new question on the main site the users are presented with a simple box of information in the sidebar:

Is your question about WordPress?

We prefer questions that can be answered, not just discussed.

Provide details. Share your research.

If your question is about this website, ask it on meta instead.

What can we do to improve this text while keeping it brief and to the point while also being helpful? Does it need improving at all?

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
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This has been updated! We've made a couple of small edits to your proposed text. I hope it still covers what you'd intended to say:

Screenshot of the text for the new How to Ask box.

Is your question about WordPress development?

We focus on technical questions. A basic level of PHP and Javascript will be helpful in understanding many of the answers.

We prefer questions that can be answered, not just discussed.

Provide details. Share your research. Read the help section.

If your question is about 3rd Party WordPress Themes and Plugins (e.g. WooCommerce, ACF, Divi, etc), these are off-topic. You can visit the official support routes, the .org support forum, and the relevant communities (e.g. Facebook groups), or ask on Stack Overflow instead.

If your question is about this website, or something that happened on this site, ask it on the meta site instead.

1
  • Fantastic, thank you!
    – Howdy_McGee Mod
    Commented Feb 8, 2020 at 22:18
5

How about:

Is your question about WordPress Development?

This stack focuses on technical questions. A basic level of PHP and javascript will be helpful in understanding many of the answers.

We prefer questions that can be answered, not just discussed.

Provide details. Share your research. Read the help section.

If your question is about 3rd Party WordPress Themes and Plugins (e.g. WooCommerce, ACF, Divi, etc), these are off-topic. You can visit the official support routes, the .org support forum, and the relevant communities (e.g. Facebook groups), or ask on StackOverflow instead.

If your question is about this website, or something that happened on this site, ask it on the meta site instead.

2
  • 2
    I dig it! Maybe a period after off-topic -> these are off-topic. Either... - Let's see if the community agrees ( with upvotes ) and we can move forward.
    – Howdy_McGee Mod
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 15:17
  • Yes, I like it! I was thinking, should there also be some note about asking someone to do customization work for you? I mean those questions where the person posting is saying, in one form the other, that s/he is not a developer, doesn't know html/css/js/php, and wants someone to customize her/his website. Something like "if you don't know how code and need someone to customize your site for you, please contact your local developer or post your question in some freelancer job site", but in more polite way.
    – Antti Koskinen
    Commented Nov 27, 2019 at 18:14
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Maybe we can keep it simple while still conveying a point:

Is your question about WordPress?

We prefer questions that can be answered, not just discussed.

Provide details. Share your research. Read the help section.

If your question is about 3rd Party WordPress Plugins (WooCommerce, Yoast, etc.), ask it on StackOverflow instead.

If your question is about this website, ask it on meta instead.

5
  • Questions about a plugin that you are developing for yourself are on-topic, though.
    – fuxia Mod
    Commented Nov 22, 2019 at 12:12
  • 1
    Open to suggestions on how to word that. Plugin Development sounds like it could also include extending/working with 3rd party plugins which isn't really what we mean. I've included an update that may make it clear.
    – Howdy_McGee Mod
    Commented Nov 22, 2019 at 15:30
  • I'd prefer to direct users to their support routes, rather than only mentioning stackoverflow. There are lots of possible places users can ask. Also 3rd party themes!
    – Tom J Nowell Mod
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 0:00
  • @TomJNowell You're right, I don't actually know how much leeway we have here ( as far as linking externally ) so I was playing it on the safe-side.
    – Howdy_McGee Mod
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 0:07
  • well we can't put an actual link in, but we can direct people to the official support routes/forums/etc. I'd also mention ACF rather than Yoast based on the number of Q's
    – Tom J Nowell Mod
    Commented Nov 25, 2019 at 2:11

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