WordPress Development: What to consider before getting started?

While considering a CMS-powered website which will not only be easy to work with but will also have all the required functionalities; which CMS will probably come to your mind? WordPress, right!

Are you new to WordPress? Do you want to update your existing WordPress website? Are you going to integrate a new functionality to your site by collaborating with a web development outsourcing company? Whatever might be the case, it is always recommended that you do your homework upfront.

Here are nine things that you would need to do before getting started:  

 

1. What objectives you want your site to achieve?

This step is of utmost importance as it wants you to summarize your business objectives that you want your site to achieve for you. For instance, whether it will be an ecommerce website? This will help you manage your time and budget efficiently.

Besides, it would enable your WordPress development expert to get a good start. Make sure you sketch out a sitemap which is subject to change down the line.

2. Is there any next-level functionality mandatory to your website?

If your site requires any complex functionality then let your developer know about it well ahead. Also get yourself prepared to answer questions which the developer will shoot back. Being very clear and precise will help you achieve the desired functionality in your website.

3. Have you acquired hosting and a domain name?

You should tell your WordPress specialist in the very early stage about your hosting requirements, whether you need a dedicated or shared server. Also decide how much file storage is needed for your site and how to make your site secure with SSL certificates.

Providing the developer of your hired web solutions company with all the information well in advance would ensure that you are able to choose the domain name that your customers can relate with and find you. And your hosting service will decide how fast your site which in turn would decide how the customer experience is.

4. Prepare a creative brief

It is recommended that you create a creative brief which houses all your assets and requirements such as background about your company, project deliverables, technical specifications which the developer can refer to, target audience, your competitors, project budget and timeline.

This document can be referred by all the stakeholders involved and help to keep all of them on the same page.

5. Is your site copy ready?

Try to complete writing copy for your site once the wireframe for the pages of your site is ready. In case you are not writing the copy yourself then make sure to connect your copywriter and developer early on so that the content is written as early as possible with effective collaboration.

6. Zero-in on a theme based on your liking as well as needs

As there are more than thousands of themes, it will take time to zero-in on one which better reflects your brand and also supports your website needs. Therefore, make sure to select your theme and remember that it can be changed if need arise, including fonts and colour.

7. Is your brand style guide ready?

If your brand style guide is not ready, this is high time to make one. Make sure that all your customer touch points, be it printed materials like menus or brochures or the voice of your brand via social media channels reflect consistency.

When you outsource WordPress development, then it would be easy for the agency and their developers to give them the needed design parameters.

8. Do not forget analytics and SEO support

Make sure that your wordpress website development services provider integrates Google Analytics in your site and also optimize your site for search engines. They must provide you with SEO support like incorporating Yoast plugin, etc.

9. Get acquainted with plugins and APIs

You must take some time to browse around the WordPress plugins directory, search by category so that you can get to know what’s out there. Extensions like Yoast SEO, JetPack, WP SuperCache, Akismet spam filter are a few to mention which you must consider installing on your site.

Final Words!

After you have finished doing all the aforementioned things, prepare yourself to ask plenty of questions to your WordPress specialist. However, make it a point to remain open to new ideas to facilitate a smooth development process and end up with your desired WordPress website.

How to Build a Website that Maximizes the Value of your Online Presence?

Your business website can be one of the most important digital marketing assets. Yet many businesses either fail to leverage its benefits or not even have one! If you are one among them then you are on the right page.
 

Even if you have a website it could be quite challenging to determine whether it is creating value for your business or not. You can collaborate with an offshore web development agency to find out which factors to consider while you are launching or redesigning your website so it will help you maximize the value of your online presence. We bring you the following tips that could be worth considering: 

Understand the primary goal of your site

The common mistake often committed by business owners is that they don’t take time to determine what goals they want their website to accomplish. It is expected that your website would be bridge between you and your potential clients by letting them know who you are, what you are good at doing, how they can benefit from your offerings and how they can get in touch with you. Once the goals are identified, you can generate your content accordingly.
 

Understand the purpose of your website

 

Once you have identified how your customers are going to use your site, you can map out customer journeys. Just put yourself in your site visitors’ shoes and figure out how easy it is for them to find relevant information on your website. Review the landing page, menus, and page layouts as well as see if they can navigate through your site seamlessly.

You must make sure that your website content aligns with your sales and marketing content. Inconsistencies would create problems for your and even hinder the path of building trust with your audience.
 

Do not go for DIY platforms unless you are a professional

 

It is wise not to go for do-it-yourself web design packages unless you are adept at web design and development, SEO, content creation and marketing, and many other areas. You can hire an outsourcing Web Solutions Company based in India for cost-effective as well as top-notch solutions. 

You can also opt for content management systems like WordPress or Joomla so that after completion of your website, it will be easy for you to make changes to your site and manage your content intuitively.
 

It’s your turn now

 

Do you think your website is generating value for your business? Let’s begin a conversation! Be the first to leave your comments below.

Is WordPress CMS the Perfect Fit for Your Business?

Although it seems a very straight forward, open-ended question, it is not that easy for any business owner to answer it without asking couple of more questions, including:

• What goals you want your website to achieve?
• Which industry you are operating in?
• What is your digital marketing strategy?
• Who is your target audience?
• Is there an active community backing the CMS?

Once you answer these questions you would be able to determine your business needs as well as whether the CMS in question is right for you or not. 

WordPress is currently powering 27 percent of the internet and one of the solid reasons behind its ubiquity is its constant evolution.Once you find out that WordPress aligns with your business needs, you can decide to outsource wordpress development in order to derive the following the following benefits: 

Open Source

WordPress being open source comes totally free with no upfront cost i.e., you need not pay any license fee. You can use it for any purpose and your web solutions company can access the source code and modify it to suit your requirements.
 

Wide range of features

There are myriads of WordPress plugins available that leaves you with infinite options to choose from and integrate functionalities in your website. You can have SEO or SM capabilities right out of the box. If your business needs complex administration system, then it is also already out there.
 

Strong innovative community

 

It has an active and huge community of users, WordPress specialists as well as industry professionals. So, you are never short of support, answers, modules, plugins, strategies or other resources that would incur cost anywhere else.
 

Easy to use, even without any technical knowledge

 

WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS around today and although there is a learning curve, you will be able to run it at a capable level a lot faster than you had expected. Even if you have a basic familiarity with this CMS then you would be able to edit and upload content easily. In other words you can manage a WordPress site quite easily.
 

Scalable, Flexible and keeps getting better

 

WordPress allows you to transform your blogging site to a niche e-commerce site or a multinational concern without losing its original effectiveness. Moreover, this CMS has not fallen prey to over-specialization.
 

Conclusion

 

WordPress is undoubtedly the most popular CMS and because of the aforementioned benefits, many businesses are choosing it to make a meaningful and profitable web presence. Which CMS are you using for your business website? We would love to know about your experience with the CMS.