Out-of-the-box WordPress tools can support a business launch when the content and business groundwork are ready. In our agency work, growing customization requests can consume time that belongs to reaching customers and earning revenue.
If you’re running an agency, keeping the work focused matters as much as choosing the software. This week’s projects brought that into view, alongside a communication mistake we needed to own.
A three-month podcast commitment keeps going
Before recording another Agency Action Show with Toby Cryns, we realized how far the show had outlasted its original plan. Matt Medeiros had asked for a three-month commitment. Near-weekly recordings continued beyond a year, approaching a year and a half.
Some conversations revisit familiar subjects, but agency work keeps giving us something useful to discuss.
That connection also recalls the Zoom nights we hosted during lockdown. People around the country brought a favorite drink and spent an hour or so together. Those calls gave our community a way to stay connected during a difficult time.
Existing tools leave room for the business
Our central question this week was straightforward: what’s wrong with using software out of the box?
For an education business, the product is the expertise and education. The website needs to help deliver and sell it. LifterLMS follows a core-and-add-on model, so we can configure established tools instead of treating every requirement as a custom development job.
PF University: the work continues after the website
PF University began as a client. Today, our role includes a seat on its three-person executive committee.
The engagement grew through our “land and expand” approach. After the website, eLearning, payment gateway, and CRM came questions about digital marketing: an existing email list, lead magnets, and how to reach prospective students.
Its list grew from roughly 3,400 to 3,600 people during the early marketing period. We also joined Chris Badgett on LMScast to discuss the project as a client case study.
Because PF University is faith-based, ethical marketing matters. Offers promising huge audiences, purchased lists, or fake followers don’t fit the business we’re helping build.
The site still needs real student photographs, testimonials, and refreshed content.
A project can be ready to publish and promote while still needing updates that only become possible through actual student use.
Dental Hygiene XPRT had the business groundwork
Dental Hygiene XPRT brought industry expertise, webinars, course material, and approval to provide continuing education in its state. The team was already turning webinar recordings into evergreen lessons.
However, its attempt to build the site had stalled. A full-site-editing WordPress theme and LifterLMS presented details outside the team’s professional expertise, including featured images and thumbnails.
We helped get the launch over the line that week. The client also prepared vouchers so people could sample courses.
The team had already done substantial business work. We handled the technical details, then agreed to cover support while the client went on vacation.
Six products don’t need a thousand-product store
Another e-commerce project presented a different challenge. The client had six products and limited content, but compared the planned store with businesses carrying more than a thousand products.
Requests included filters for availability and newly released products. At launch, however, every product was newly released.
Our mountain biking comparison applies here: riders can share a trail while competing in different categories. Sharing a market doesn’t mean two businesses need identical websites.
Feature requests also kept expanding after completion. Something described as simple would gain another expected behavior, then another. We used Claude and code to adjust add-ons repeatedly.
We also own the platform decision. We initially chose FluentCart, but later recognized that WooCommerce’s broader add-on selection probably suited this client better.
The concern is where the effort goes. Constant website adjustments can keep a business away from prospective customers and revenue.
A technical issue became a communication problem
On a separate WordPress Multisite project, the Events add-on for LifterLMS appeared installed and activated but wouldn’t work. We lacked access to the full network.
After contacting the LifterLMS team, we learned that the network’s core plugin needed an update before the newer add-on could function. We passed that along, but didn’t confirm that the message reached the right people.
An email problem and competing project work then contributed to missed follow-up. The client said they felt ghosted.
That was ours to own. Although we use a client portal, we still should have followed up. We explained the technical requirement and offered to discuss a refund if trust had broken down.
The client responded graciously. Their team updated the core plugin, and we finished configuring Events. We also planned a few formatting fixes outside the scope because the site needed them.
AI is changing how the work gets done
We’re using AI far more than we expected two years ago. The methods change so quickly that a fixed course could become dated soon after recording.
For WP Agency Academy, we’re considering live office hours where people can discuss current tools and projects.
Our build-versus-buy decisions still depend on the use case. WordPress answers many questions, but some tasks need less.
For example, one Powersport Academy lead magnet consists of two files on a server. It asks 11 questions and sends an email. That small piece of automation does its job without WordPress, while supporting the larger WordPress-based training business.
Fitness and training stay on the calendar
On the personal side, our fitness update includes a healing foot, a return to road biking shoes after July’s lawn mower injury, and about 25 pounds lost since the beginning of the year. Treatment also appears to be helping a persistent leg rash.
The upcoming schedule includes a Saturday mountain bike race, followed by three days of in-person training in Idaho. Teaching in a room where people can ask questions remains a favorite part of the work.
After that comes Arkansas for the NICA Nationals and four days of mountain biking. If the weather allows, some jogging may join the routine later in the year.
Agency freedom comes with responsibility
The ups and downs of agency work include successful launches, difficult scope decisions, and mistakes we have to address directly. Software choice matters, but it doesn’t replace business preparation or dependable communication.
Our strongest projects keep attention on the business being built. The website helps that work happen, and we remain responsible for the follow-through.