For the non-technical website owner, there is one simple tool that, when used effectively, can solve many problems and save lots of money.
For the impatient, technically-minded crowd, it’s also a passive-aggressive way of telling you to go away.
Google It
Every problem you’re dealing with, someone else has dealt with. Usually.
Entire sites (like Stack Overflow) have been dedicated to this fact, and they have spent years collecting those problems and their solutions.
And search engines are tapped right into them.
Meet Play #1 in your playbook.
Google It Right
Thing is, “just look it up” isn’t really helpful. You’ll often find ‘the system’ doesn’t always serve up what you’re actually looking for.
Might be close. Might be relevant. But there might also be better out there.
For those times, it pays to know how to use this approach effectively. (Literally. I’ve actually taken on jobs where this was just about all I did, as well as jobs where this was just about all they would’ve had to do.)
1. It’s all about asking the right questions
Don’t give up on your first try.
Even the wrong results can teach you something.
You might just realize you might not know what something is called. (When you say “authorization” maybe you mean “validation.”)
Or if you’re really striking out, it might be a hint that the problem you’re dealing might be something else entirely. (Yes, you’re seeing “a blank page” but that’s not necessarily an HTML issue.)
2. Say the magic words
In searching and reading about your problem, you may stumble upon keywords that better describe your issue. Increased specificity can greatly improve your results.
You might even encounter technical terms: superior words used by superhumans to describe things more accurately.
Try them out and you may just discover you’ve been brushing past a treasure trove of knowledge the entire time, all because you didn’t have the right words.
3. Try tacking on technical words
If your search is vague enough, you might end up on the ‘non-technical side of the web.’
Adding something vaguely technical (like “HTML”) to the end can be enough to push you back into relevant territory.
If you’re working with a platform or framework (WordPress, Laravel, Magento, Angular) you can try those too. With the increased specificity, it can go either way.
4. The “Screw It”
Sometimes it pays to be lazy.
If you’ve got an error, try copying the error message verbatim into a search engine.
Obviously, error codes can help— that’s specificity, baby. (They can also be completely useless, even when dealing with a megacorporation like Amazon, as I was recently reminded.)
But even without such a handy code, give it shot. If enough people have been vexed by the exact same message you’re dealing with, you might find yourself in good company.
