It seemed such a simple thing, after all lots of author websites had facilities to have customers buy books and pay for them on it. So I set up a Stripe account as requested and called up my website.

That was over a week ago. A week spent tearing my hair out at what WordPress had become.

Quite some time ago I’d set up my website on my own with one or two minor difficulties but I got there in the end. Over time I became quite proficient at adding or changing bits and pieces and began to write a blog. I’ve written over a hundred according to WordPress all with photos attached. No bother.

But then life intervened and for several years I was unable to do anything apart from add the occasional blog. I noticed that there had been changes made but I was still able to use the “classic version” if I was putting a post up.

Eventually I got back writing and published a memoir covering those missing years and was asked to speak at various organisations and groups.

Now I want to sell the book and the others I’ve published through my website so last week I set out to enable it to do so.

A week of frustration and unbelievable stress when even the AI bot told me to get a human to help!

Cue the arrival of a Happiness Engineer. What a job title! And what a job.

He started at a level way above my head. He assumed a master’s degree of competence which I don’t have despite having diploma level qualifications.

Where did the page I was creating disappear off to? Why couldn’t I add a photo of my choosing? Where was the dashboard’s hiding place? I tied myself in knots and eventually asked to reset the site so I could start afresh. I backed up all the files from the original website and pressed the reset button.

All I had left was a page of computer code. Everything else had gone into the ether.

Eventually I spent a whole afternoon on my own trying to produce the first page. What a disaster!

WordPress, what is your customer profile? Who are you aiming at? It certainly isn’t your average person with a modicum of computer literacy. Surely you should write a basic, simple guide for paying customers like me (I’ve just paid my annual subscription) which is easy to follow. Take away all the bells and whistles which aren’t necessary and write it in plain everyday English which presupposes nil knowledge of computing.

Teach me what I need to know and I’ll even write it for you.

Come on, you can do better!