Podcast E598 – What’s Worth Learning Today?  ## Metadata - Author: [[Podcast – Kitchen Sink WordPress]] - Full Title: Podcast E598 – What’s Worth Learning Today? - Category: #podcasts - URL: https://share.snipd.com/episode/56daf5d7-4dd5-412a-83c0-119b0a4ce06e ## Document Notes ## Highlights - **Client Buzzword Overload** - Adam recounts a client meeting where they dropped plugin buzzwords like JetEngine and Gutenberg. - The story prompted him to steer decisions toward what actually fits the client's needs. Transcript: Adam Philby So recently I was sitting across from a potential client. And when I say sitting across, I actually mean online in a Zoom room. I was drinking coffee, they were drinking coffee, new client conversation, et cetera. I was listening to them describe their dream website. And somewhere between words like modern clean design and easy to use and update, they started dropping terms like custom fields, jet engine, and Gutenberg blocks as if they had just Watched the WordPress buzzword Olympics. Literally, it was like, it was kind of weird. And part of me wanted to give them a medal just for that. But the other part of me knew that my job was to politely steer the ship towards what they would actually work for them. ([Time 0:02:11](https://share.snipd.com/snip/9be6384d-951a-46e6-8f76-47cfa2513ca6)) - **Reverse The Tool-First Mindset** - Do pick tools based on project needs rather than learning every plugin available. - Audit your toolset yearly and standardize on one primary custom-field solution to speed work. Transcript: Adam Philby And then that got me thinking. So even for us pros, knowing which tools to use, learn and keep current on, that is a current and ongoing puzzle that always needs to be explored. So this week, I'm talking and sharing what's worth learning today within the arena of custom fields, blocks, and builders, because there are so many different categories you can go Down on this rabbit hole if you think about it. So starting with, this was army knife factor, choosing the tools that actually fit. The danger of tool overload, just because you can learn every custom field plugin doesn't mean you should. We've all been there. You open up your plugin list and realize you're basically collected field plugins like Pokemon cards. You know, my good friend, his kids, $14,000 value in their Pokemon collection, which is crazy. Luckily, or sadly, I don't have that much value in all my collection of plugins. Maybe I do. Anyway, I digress. The truth is, if you're running a business, you don't get extra points for knowing all of them. You get points for using the right one every time and to be quick with it. Comparing ACF, Metabox, JetEngine, not by features alone, but by the client needs, your existing stack and longevity. So your client might not need JetEngine's complexity, or maybe even ACF feels like bringing a bazooka to a knife fight. But Metabox might play really nice with certain stacks, but not others. So if the tool doesn't integrate smoothly in your usual setup, or if you're worried it'll disappear in two years, it might not be the right tool, right? So reverse the usual process. Understand the project, pick the tool. Too many developers pick the tool first and then try to shoehorn the project into it. And that's not the way you want to go about this, right? So the actionable item here is do the tool audit. I do this every year, especially when things come up for renewal. But every year I do this, I list the top three most common projects that we do. I signed one to one go to custom field solution or one in this case, custom fields. And that's it. No more spinning the wheels. So we use ACF. Yes. Simple as that over at Concierge MVP. Nothing else, nothing more. We just use ACF. It works. I paid for it back when you could do the lifetime. And I know it's gone through a couple of iterations, but that's what we have. And it's simple. So the action item here is the dual tool audit. ([Time 0:02:47](https://share.snipd.com/snip/e2027952-cbd8-4ec4-86b1-df3ba475e85d)) - **Conduct A Dual Tool Audit** - Do a dual tool audit: list top project types and pick one solution per category. - Standardize on tools your team uses daily to avoid needless complexity and speed delivery. Transcript: Adam Philby So reverse the usual process. Understand the project, pick the tool. Too many developers pick the tool first and then try to shoehorn the project into it. And that's not the way you want to go about this, right? So the actionable item here is do the tool audit. I do this every year, especially when things come up for renewal. But every year I do this, I list the top three most common projects that we do. I signed one to one go to custom field solution or one in this case, custom fields. And that's it. No more spinning the wheels. So we use ACF. Yes. Simple as that over at Concierge MVP. Nothing else, nothing more. We just use ACF. It works. I paid for it back when you could do the lifetime. And I know it's gone through a couple of iterations, but that's what we have. ([Time 0:04:11](https://share.snipd.com/snip/8486a25b-95dc-4346-ae3e-d0a4f8d0f461)) - **Gutenberg Is Powerful, Not Magical** - Gutenberg is improving but won't automatically fix workflow problems without intentional use. - Different block-building approaches suit different needs, from ACF blocks to full React development. Transcript: Adam Philby Gutenberg blocks. Let me rephrase that. Friend, foe, or frenemy, right? So native Gutenberg is powerful, but it's not magic. You know, I'm still working through things there. Is it the future? Probably. It's getting better every release. Yes. But no, it's not going to suddenly solve any workflow frustrations unless you're intentional about how you use it. Now, when working with custom blocks, it's worth investing in it, right? If you keep making the same testimonial slider or call to action banner, why not just make it once as a block and reuse it forever? Your future self will very much thank you for this. Okay. Tools like ACF, ProBlocks, BlockLab, Direct-based Gutenberg development can each make sense when appropriate. ([Time 0:04:58](https://share.snipd.com/snip/0b5d6d98-3a0f-4cdc-9524-30184ebe476f)) - **Invest In Reusable Blocks** - Build reusable Gutenberg blocks for patterns you repeat across projects. - Make blocks for common elements like testimonials and CTAs to save time long-term. Transcript: Adam Philby Gutenberg blocks. Let me rephrase that. Friend, foe, or frenemy, right? So native Gutenberg is powerful, but it's not magic. You know, I'm still working through things there. Is it the future? Probably. It's getting better every release. Yes. But no, it's not going to suddenly solve any workflow frustrations unless you're intentional about how you use it. Now, when working with custom blocks, it's worth investing in it, right? If you keep making the same testimonial slider or call to action banner, why not just make it once as a block and reuse it forever? Your future self will very much thank you for this. Okay. Tools like ACF, ProBlocks, BlockLab, Direct-based Gutenberg development can each make sense when appropriate. Okay. ACF ProBlock types are a quick win if you already know ACF. BlockLab works for simpler needs. Full React development, over my head. It's a full-time commitment. The flexibility is there, but I'm not there yet as a developer. There's no stretch. There's no way. My team, we don't do that. The actionable item here really is pick two or three client content patterns that you can rebuild over and over using like global themes. That's what we use in Beaver Builder. We'll talk about that in a second here. But again, using things over and over again, reusable blocks will save you a ton of time. ([Time 0:04:58](https://share.snipd.com/snip/5ca1c7a0-f92d-46bb-93c0-81155d5e2eeb)) - **Master One Page Builder** - Pick a primary page builder and master it, including shortcuts and templating. - Use builders to rapidly deliver small-business sites in days where clients need speed. Transcript: Adam Philby Number three, page builders. Are they still irrelevant or are they being sunsetted? Well, the quote Gutenberg is eating the world narrative versus reality. It's true. Gutenberg is replacing some beaver, some builders in some cases, but that's not bury them just yet. Elementor, beaver builder, bricks, they're still thriving in plenty of scenarios. We still use it 100% of the time. Is that true? Yeah, it is true. 100% of the time. I am testing another theme right now. I'll talk about that in a couple of weeks and how I'm going to be testing it as well. But builders still win when you need to whip up a site in a small biz in two to three days. Page builders, make that happen. It's really simple to get things going quickly. The builders shine there really fabulously. Some clients, the builder interface is way less intimidating than the block editor. And recently I saw something on Twitter about people testing Gutenberg, the latest FSC with their partner or their mom was testing it. And it just wasn't very good as far as an experience for somebody brand new. So the action item here, of course, is pick your primary builder, learn it inside and out, know the keyboard shortcuts, the responsive tweaks, the templating system, and that way you'll Work faster and your clients will feel the benefit. ([Time 0:06:25](https://share.snipd.com/snip/a14d93c6-22e7-41e0-998d-763bcf81d005)) - **Prefer Transferable Skills Over Tool Hoarding** - Focus on transferable skills like data relationships rather than memorizing plugin buttons. - Limit learning to one substantial new thing per quarter and build something real with it. Transcript: Adam Philby Yeah, I think object syndrome versus sustainable skill growth. Every week, there's a new plugin, a new tool launch, a SaaS model, something out there. If you try to master them all, you'll be tired, you're going to be broke, possibly crying into your coffee. Identifying the overlapping skills if you know how to structure custom post types and fields in ACF. Picking up Metabox later won't be a huge leap. Skills are transferable and that's really what's key here is knowing which tool and which can you transfer for the principal aspect of running the business. Learning how data relationships work is forever. Learning which button this one plugin to click, that's kind of disposable. So stay relevant without living in a course taking purgatory. I'm guilty of this sometimes. I will do a ton of research. I will test out too many things. And I won't make a decision to move forward. Case in point, my testing and my use of community forum plugins. I'm pretty sure I've got that nailed down now. I talked about it a couple months ago. Maybe fluent community. So I think that's where we're going. Anyway, so limit yourself to learning one substantial new thing per quarter, make something real with it, no hoarding courses and never finish because otherwise, it's not gonna be Great. ([Time 0:07:44](https://share.snipd.com/snip/d0e1e454-78ea-47d9-acf5-077307fa6c5c))