One would think that asking for help is as simple as saying, “help me”, however there’s a little more to it than that. I receive a number of requests for help, and in most cases, I do what I can. However, the first few e-mails back and forth are usually spent digging for the necessary information.

In order for someone to help you resolve your problem, she first needs to know what the problem is in vivid detail. For instance, someone asked me why their theme isn’t working. That’s it. Now, I’m not trying to put this person on the spot or make anyone feel badly, I simply wanted to point out that I couldn’t properly answer the question (except with “I don’t know”) without further details.

So, when you’re asking for help, especially technical help, please be prepared to provide:

  • The URL where you’re having the problem.
  • The name/URL of any third party themes, plugins, or applications that you’re using.
  • Your server configuration (or, at least, your web host).
  • An exact explanation of what you’re trying to do and what you’ve already done.
  • The error message that you’re receiving, if any.
  • In some cases, a screen shot of the problem can help greatly.

Armed with the basic information, it’s much easier to begin troubleshooting. This advice also works well when asking questions in support forums, too.