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1. Introduction
When it comes to finding success on the internet, the last thing any business owner should do is cut corners. Researching and investing in the right web software is a key element to success. When it comes to building a WordPress powered site, this is especially true. Unlike proprietary content management systems, WordPress design and development is a cost-efficient option. What sets WordPress apart from other content management systems are the benefits. Why should you choose WordPress? Because it is powerful enough to be ideal for a company of any size and is simple enough to be utilized by a single proprietor with even the most basic technical skills. Cost Effectiveness: Gone are the days when creating a website would cost a small fortune. WordPress has changed the game. WordPress design and development is extremely cost effective. Also, maintenance is simple enough to be done alone eliminating the need to hire a web developer to see to updates, functionality, and content.
1.1 Benefits of a Professional WordPress Developer
Another benefit is the time you’ll save. As a website owner, your time is valuable and simply learning how to build a website can be a huge time investment. A professional developer can build your website much faster and with much less trial and error. The less time you spend building a website, the more time you can spend actually doing something with it. In many cases, a website built by an amateur is something the owner is never satisfied with. He’s always got it in the back of his mind that it could be better. With a professional build, it will be best from the start.
First and foremost, professional developers are well versed with the ins and outs of WordPress. Often times, people trying to build their own websites will just pick up a book or Google a tutorial. This can result in a website being built, but not being built in the best way possible. Eventually, the website owner will come to a point where he’d like to do something new with his site. Perhaps he’d like to put a cool new feature in effect. Well, if the website was not built with that feature in mind, then it won’t be possible. What is possible is a complete website overhaul, which costs more time and money. Professional developers can save you from these types of problems.
The quality of your website often determines the success of your online venture. This is especially true for a company doing business in the 21st century. The main way for a business to gain traction is to move online. With a business website, a company can reach a wider market and do so at any time of the day or night. With your website being such a critical factor in your company’s success, it’s essential to give it the best it can get. One way to ensure the quality of your website is to hire a professional WordPress developer. There are countless benefits to doing so.
1.2 Importance of a Well-Designed Website
The initial thing is to define your budget. If you have a small budget, then you can use certain tools to design your website. You can take assistance of various online tutorials available on the internet to design a website for your own. But now the question arises, do the DIY websites really stand a chance against professional websites? The answer is no. There is no comparison between DIY websites and professional websites. The skills of WordPress designers are far better than a DIY guy. You only have one chance to impress visitors and draw them to revisit and that can only be done by a well-designed website. In simple words, how would you feel if your contact lens or spectacles break? Would you prefer to fix it on your own or take assistance of an optician? The answer is quite obvious. The cost of an optician may be high, but the treatment will be far better than doing it yourself. It’s the same scenario in website designing. A professional web design is essential in taking your business to the next level.
A well-designed website plays an important role in taking an online business to the next level. The design quality of a website can attract visitors and result in a positive impact on them. It creates the interest of visitors and compels them to revisit the website. In addition to content, the website design is also crucial for successful SEO. With the help of a well-optimized website, it’s quite easy to achieve better search engine rankings and for this, it’s better to have a WordPress designer who has a clear understanding of search engine optimization.
1.3 Security and Performance Enhancements
In regard to security and performance enhancements, a professional WordPress developer takes specific measures to enhance the security and performance of your site. The expert knows the best and latest security plugins to help protect your site from being hacked, and they also know how to harden the overall security of your site. In addition, by using a CDN to serve up your website’s static content, your site will load much faster. Combining a CDN with other performance enhancements such as caching and minimizing HTTP requests, your website will be lightning fast. Improved security and site performance will result in higher consumer confidence and increased online revenue. With the increasing number of WordPress websites, the platform has become a hotbed for hackers. There are many reasons why hackers seek to compromise websites, but regardless of their motives, the number of breaches continues to rise because many site owners often fail to take security into consideration. A hacked site can be a major setback to an online business that can result in loss of revenue and customer trust. Building customer trust can take years, but it only takes a single security breach to lose it. It is every site owner’s responsibility to take the necessary measures in protecting their site, and investing in a professional web developer is the first step in that direction.
2. Maximizing User Experience
A mobile-optimized website makes use of limited space, is easy to understand, and quick to navigate. Any business or website, regardless of its reason to exist, will benefit from a user-friendly and mobile-optimized website. Taught Studios has experience with this as well; it’s how we rebuilt our own website using WordPress to be our online marketing face. We have known nothing but success with our decision.
A key factor in the type of experience you give your users is the design of your website. Taught Studios specializes in responsive web design using WordPress. The websites we design automatically adjust their layout to fit the device they are being viewed on. This eliminates the need for a separate mobile website, which is hard to manage and if not done correctly can further make things worse for your users.
User experience now also ties largely into search engines and their rankings. If you are running a mobile-optimized website, it will rank higher than a page that is not mobile-optimized. The same goes for user experience. Although it is not a defined factor that Google will rank you higher if your user experience is better, if it takes visitors long to find what they are looking for, your bounce rate will be higher, and then you will rank lower.
Once you have visitors on your website, how do you keep them there? One of the keys to it is to maximize their user experience. If you can give them what they are looking for in the easiest and friendliest manner, then not only will they stick around, but they might be more inclined to recommend your website to others. However, if you give them a confusing experience or a difficult one, they won’t stay long.
2.1 Responsive Design and Mobile Optimization
With mobile devices accounting for an ever-increasing proportion of web traffic, having a website that is optimized for phones and tablets is vastly important to business success. If a website is not easy to read and navigate on a mobile device, the user will simply “bounce” – that is, leave the site immediately and look elsewhere. This has a detrimental effect on a website’s bounce rate (an important factor in Google’s search engine rankings – a high bounce rate may lower your site in search results), and, more importantly, the website will lose out on a potentially loyal visitor or customer. Good WordPress professionals will understand the importance of mobile optimization and should be able to offer you a beautifully designed website that will look great on a smartphone or tablet. This aspect of web design is standard in this day and age, and if your website is lacking a mobile version then you’d best overhaul your digital strategy sooner rather than later.
2.2 Customization and Personalization Options
There are over 1000 different themes available from WordPress.org alone through which you can make your site look exactly how you want it. Some are free, and some are available for a fee. Premium themes not published through WordPress can also be uploaded using the Install Theme option. With all of these options, it’s no doubt that you will be able to create a completely custom look for your site. Widgets are used to make it even easier to customize your site. A widget is a small block that performs a specific function. You can add these to your sidebar or other ‘widgetized’ areas on your site to insert content and features that are not part of the theme. A good example of a widget would be the addition of a search bar or a list of most recent posts. WordPress also has a built-in function that will enable you to change the background of your site. This doesn’t require any coding or technical knowledge; it’s just a matter of uploading an image you would like to use. You then just select the image from your media library as your background and specify whether you would like it to tile or just display once.
2.3 Integration of Plugins and Tools
As of August 2014, there were more than 30,000 plugins available, each of which offers custom functions and features enabling users to tailor their site to their specific needs. With so many plugins available, the scope is nearly limitless on what users can accomplish with their site. Often times, with free or premium plugins that are not hosted on WordPress.org, the plugin will come with a .zip file. To install a plugin from a .zip file, you must download the .zip file to your computer. From there, you can go to the admin area and click on “Plugins” > “Add New”. At the top of the page next to the title, there is a link that says “Upload”. Clicking this link will take you to a new page where you can upload a plugin from a .zip file.
WordPress plugins are bits of software that can be uploaded to extend and expand the functionality of your WordPress site. Users can install and switch between themes and plugins without altering the code or content of your site.
When it comes to integrating third-party services or tools, other platforms may not grant you access to the site’s backend. This constraint alone makes simple tasks like ad or analytics tracking a far cry from what it should be. Tools like Google Analytics, Optimal Post, or Visual Website Optimizer are essential for today’s online business or entrepreneur. Often it’s just a simple copy and paste of a code and it works, but with platforms like WordPress, that may not be the case. In a scenario where the service has a WordPress plugin, you may very well be able to find and download this plugin via the WordPress admin area.
3. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Strategies
WordPress professionals understand the significance of keyword research. Keywords are the words and phrases that people type into search engines. They are the foundation of SEO. If you want to rank high in the search engines, you need to build your site around a list of specific keywords. The trick is to find keywords that are high in demand, but low in supply. It’s a good idea to target niche keywords that are specific to your product or service. These are more likely to bring quality traffic to your site. A WordPress professional can find the right keywords for you using online keyword research tools. Once they have found a list of keywords that will bring high traffic to your site, they will begin to implement these keywords into the content of your pages and your meta tags. This is a crucial step that is often overlooked by webmasters. A page without keywords in the content is basically invisible to search engines. This means that no matter how great your site looks, if it lacks keywords, it will not be seen.
If you want your website to rank high in the search engines, you need to understand the importance of search engine optimization (SEO). A WordPress professional knows the ins and outs of SEO. They can help you implement a solid SEO strategy from the beginning.
3.1 Keyword Research and Optimization
It is also important to target both long-tail and short-tail keywords in your keyword research. Long-tail keywords are often overlooked yet they can be very easy to rank for because they’re so specific. An example might be that while it would take a lot of effort to rank well for the keyword “car”, but it might be relatively easy to get a high ranking for “buy used sports cars”, and the traffic you’d receive would be both free and highly targeted, considering the visitor would have a very clear idea of what they’re looking for. Long-tail keywords are usually searched in lower volumes but the combined traffic of all long-tail keywords can be very significant. Targeting long-tail keywords has also become easier with the introduction of features in some web analytics software packages, such as Google Analytics, that allow webmasters to see exactly what keywords visitors are using to find their site. Step one in keyword optimization is to find the right keywords using effective keyword research. Step two is to decide which keywords to target using the right keyword decision-making process. Step three is to then track the results of the keyword optimization efforts. Which keywords resulted in the highest rankings? Which keywords resulted in the most traffic? Using this information, it is then possible to make better decisions in the future as to which keywords are worth targeting.
Keyword research and optimization is of paramount importance in SEO strategies, since keywords are the foundation for all other SEO work on a website. While it might sound trite, it is absolutely vital to only target the right keywords. Great strides have been made in keyword research tools in recent years, such as Google’s Keyword Tool, Wordtracker, and Keyword Discovery. It used to be a time-consuming task that often yielded relatively ineffective results. But tools such as these have made the task both easier and more effective.
3.2 Website Speed and Performance Optimization
In order to gain insight on how your website is currently performing, there are various online tools available which provide a detailed analysis on underperforming areas. Page Speed and YSlow are two very popular and user-friendly tools which require URL entry and will return a performance grade and a number of suggestions to improve the site. Google Webmaster Tools also provides a Site Performance section which measures the speed of your site as experienced by users of the Google Toolbar. This specific tool gives information on how your site’s load time has changed over time, compared to the load times of other websites, and whether your site speed is affecting search result ranking. These tools will give a very good indication of where your website currently stands, and whether you are in need of change.
Your website’s speed and performance are critical to your online success. While search engine optimization, or SEO, is focused on reaching the number one spot on a search engine results page, it is ineffective without a fast and reliable website. Many website owners do not account for speed when optimizing their online presence; however, it can be a critical factor that determines failure or success.
3.3 Schema Markup and Structured Data Implementation
Lastly, schema markup isn’t a one and done deal. Your website is likely to see design changes, and from time to time, you’re going to be adding new content to your website. All of this new content is a new implementation of schema markup. Making sure that you’re able to maintain and update your schema markup over time is essential in order to see long-term results.
Step one to schema markup is determining what type of data you’re marking up, and then finding out what format that data should be in to get in the “rich snippets” displayed format. After this, it’s simply a matter of adding the appropriate tags to the content in question. This in itself is easy to understand, but the difficulty comes with understanding how to implement different kinds of tags in diverse scenarios/environments. An SEO consultant who has learned CSS/HTML might be able to handle markup with ease, but we have to remember that not everyone who has a website is tech-savvy. With potential web development, tag settings can get complicated, and it can be all too easy to get things wrong.
Schema markup has some difficulty to it, and without a WordPress professional, it can be tough to figure out even what you have to do in the first place. Luckily, if you’re willing to learn and do the research, there are plenty of resources out there such as Google’s Structured Data Markup Helper and its in-depth documentation on schema.org. Keep in mind that this tool is still in a testing phase and is far from considering itself a replacement for manual markup.
Schema markup is a collection of HTML tags that are used to help search engines distinguish important information on your website in order to provide the best search results, including those corresponding to rich snippets. Marking up your website for more rich and detailed search results can enable Google and other search engines to give more information than they normally would with standard search results. Data that can be marked up ranges from articles, events, local businesses, restaurants, TV episodes, and ratings. Schema possesses the capabilities to boost your website’s search results and share more useful information with viewers, providing an edge over websites that don’t use schema markup.
3.4 Content Optimization and Blogging Strategies
Conversion is a fork in the road between your business and your customers. If you’re not seeing the results you want from your content, it may not be the problem with the content, but the delivery of it. Dig to the roots of what it is you’re trying to sell. Do you want them to buy a product? Sign up for a service? What do they get out of it, and what’s the benefit to you? These are all questions that need to be answered before you map out your conversion strategy, and the more precise you can get, the better.
In the beginning, we were just looking for an easy CMS, and WordPress had this in the bag. Then we started looking into SEO and learned that with a few plugins, WordPress could make our lives a lot easier. Most recently, we were in need of a database-driven solution that could take our thousands of data points and make them available in a clear and easy-to-use way for our visitors. Each step of the way, WordPress was able to be tailored to our exact needs.
Content is an investment in time, energy, and resources. WordPress was an ideal platform for a few reasons. It has a user-friendly CMS and was great for blogs right out of the box. But one of the biggest benefits was how it could grow with our needs. During the years, we have had to transition a few times as our websites grew, and this has been the most painful part of content management for us.
4. Support and Maintenance
When you invest in a professional web design company, you receive support for your investment. Your support team works with you to identify your company’s goals and assists you in achieving them. After your website is launched, you will want to make sure that it is maintained and your support team will be there to continue to help you. Often times a for-profit web design company will provide you with hosting services for your website. These hosting services are dedicated to the clients of the company and usually include discounted rates and packages exclusive to clients only. This is a very cost-effective way to ensure that your website is maintained in addition to receiving the type of support when your website was being created. How about having your website monitor the amount of traffic it receives as well as where the traffic is coming from? A web design professional can install Google Analytics to track your site’s performance. This is a great tool as well as a confidence booster for you. Google Analytics allows you to view critical statistics about your website in real-time, you can measure your ROI on advertising, track Flash, video, and social networking sites and applications, and finally, it will compile a complete history of activity on your site and allow you to compare data from prior periods.
4.1 Regular Updates and Bug Fixes
Attention to detail and professional WordPress troubleshooting often go hand in hand. If you suspect there is a problem with your WordPress website but aren’t exactly sure what it is, systematically test your hunches by following these general procedures. Try visiting the webpage in different browsers. Clear your browser cache and cookies. Disable your plugins one by one until the symptoms vanish (or exacerbate). Switch to a default WordPress theme to confirm or eliminate any theme-related problems. If none of these offer a solution, some educated guesses can be made from common WordPress problems. Searching the WordPress support forums or codex can often uncover solutions or explanations. Failing this, professional help can usually resolve the problem quickly and painlessly.
In order to maintain a secure and user-friendly website, you must regularly update WordPress. Check for available updates, including WordPress core, plugin, and theme files. Be sure to read all documentation regarding the update, as some items may require special instructions. Before performing any updates, it’s a good idea to backup your website. With extensive experience using WordPress security best practices, it’s possible (with the help of plugins) to have a seamless update. However, no method is without risk, so it’s best to have a recent backup on hand in case something goes wrong.
4.2 Troubleshooting and Technical Support
In the internet era, sites are facing rapid changes in many aspects such as design, coding, plugins, and many other technical problems, which often frustrate the site owner. And who could help solve the problem without costing the site owner quite a lot? The answer is the support team from the themes or CMS that the site owner uses. As like other CMS, WordPress also has its own support team. The difference is WordPress has a global community that consists of WordPress users and developers around the world. This community is really helpful in solving site owner’s problems. Usually, a site owner that uses premium themes is entitled to get theme support. Generally, theme support from the theme developer is more accurate because they know their product more than anyone else, and this gives benefits for the site owner. Plugins that are obtained from a number of resources, either the Plugin directory in WordPress.org or premium plugins. Note, for site owners that use premium plugins, they are entitled to get direct support from the plugin developer. This is very beneficial because usually a premium plugin comes with complex features, so getting support from the plugin developer is very helpful. Slightly different from the support of themes and plugins, seeking support for WordPress core itself is usually done through the forums, Codex, or Trac. Since there are various sources that can be used to obtain support, choosing the right support varies depending on the preferences of the site owner. With a strong support system, it’s no wonder many site owners are interested in using services from WordPress professionals.
4.3 Backup and Security Measures
Given the fast pace at which new WordPress releases are made, it is of vital importance to the overall security and extensions of your site that all of these steps are attended to. There are many sites on the web that “specialize” in a single click install of WordPress. Whilst this can be an advantage, WordPress is very simple to install, and if you don’t do it properly, you leave yourself open to attack, or the chance that your site will break. The alternatives to this are to utilize the services of a professional who will follow a guideline install, take the time to secure your install, or it’s also possible that your web host will do this, or offer a one click install within a secure shared hosting environment. The automatic update feature is one of the most advantageous to the site owner. When security vulnerabilities are found in WordPress, hackers will immediately attempt to exploit them. WordPress will often release updates to counter these vulnerabilities. By keeping your WordPress install up to date, you can sidestep these common security threats. Automatic updates also apply to plugins and themes in much the same way. If there is a bug or security hole in the code, the developer will often release an update, so by ensuring that your plugins and themes use the update feature, you can save yourself from troubles later down the line.
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