WordPress Web Design
How A WordPress Website Is Great For Small Business
Creating a website for your small business is like planting a seed – it’s the first step towards a larger, more successful future. A WordPress website is the perfect tool to grow your business in this digital age. It provides an efficient and user-friendly platform to create professional websites with minimal effort. With its wide range of customizable features and flexible design, it’s no wonder why so many small businesses are turning to WordPress as their go-to web host.
For those who are unfamiliar with WordPress, it can be described as a web development platform that allows users to build websites without any coding experience. It provides an intuitive interface where you can drag and drop elements into place quickly and easily. You don’t need any technical knowledge or expertise to create the website of your dreams – all you need is an idea and some creativity!
WordPress offers plenty of advantages for small businesses looking to create an online presence. From its affordability to its reliability and scalability, there are countless reasons why WordPress should be at the top of your list when considering a Content Management System for your business. Keep reading to find out how WordPress could make all the difference for your small business!
What is WordPress?
WordPress is an Open Source CMS that allows you to update and edit your website with an easy to use backend interface. When websites were first invented, each page existed as a separate HTML page in a file folder. If you wanted to update one link in the navigation menu, for example, you literally had to go into every single page on the site and manually update the navigation link. A CMS allows you to update the navigation link once and for that chance to take place across the entire website.
What is a CMS?
CMS stands for Content Management System. And just as the name would imply, it is a system for managing your content. Basically, a CMS is a piece of software that allows you to update and edit your website without having to know code.
Can I use my own domain with WordPress?
Yes! You might be confused because sometimes you’ll see a url that says www.domainname.wordpress.com. What you are looking at in this instance is a website running on the WordPress.com platform, which is different than WordPress.org. Explained here. Even on WordPress.com you can have your own domain but sometimes people don’t which leads to the confusion. But yes, you can absolutely use your own domain with WordPress.
WordPress Stats
- WordPress powers 34% of the internet in 2019
- There are currently 44,622 Plugins
- WordPress powers over 30% of the Top 1,000 websites on the web
Is WordPress Website Free?
Yes. Sort of… As mentioned above, WordPress is Open Source, meaning it is free to use. With that being said, ALL websites need to be hosted on the web for them to be seen by people. There are two versions of WordPress, wordpress.org and wordpress.com. The wordpress.org version is the free Open Source version. Basically what they are providing you is a free piece of software, which you need to download to your server and then use for your website CMS. The wordpress.com version is paid, and what you are paying for really is the hosting of the website.
What is the programming language for WordPress?
WordPress has a L.A.M.P. setup, which stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL and PhP. This is the same setup used on many of the top websites in the world including Facebook.
What is WordPress in Web Design?
When you hire someone to build a WordPress website, that could mean a lot of different things depending on who you are hiring. This could range anywhere from having a freelance WordPress designer install a $30 premade template for you and adjust the colors to match your logo; to hiring a large agency for +$30k to design and develop a custom WordPress site; to everything in between.
There are a few key variables that will greatly affect your project scope in terms of pricing, timing, quality, etc…
The main point to understand is the difference between a custom WordPress website and using a premade template.
WordPress Front-End Design
The front-end design of a website can include a lot of different things. Like understanding who the users are coming to your website, creating wireframes and mockups of the website, do coding the actual HTML, CSS and Javascript on the site.
WordPress Backend Development
There are two main things to think about when it comes to the backend. The magical process of displaying different content to different users depending on their queries is done through backend development. Specifically with the PhP programming language when it comes to WordPress.
Another unrelated usage of the term backend development has to do with actual development of the WordPress dashboard and the backend interface of all the pages on your site when you are editing them. Website development is a lot like an iceberg, with most of it being below the surface of what you can see.
WordPress Limitations?
Does WordPress have limitations? You bet! In fact we did a whole Pros and Cons section below, so scroll down to get the whole skinny. The point I want to make here is that most of WordPress’ limitations don’t belong to WordPress they belong to the developer you’re working with. At the end of the day a website is a website. They all use the same basic code of CSS, HTML, Javascript and PhP. And WordPress is no different. WordPress uses the exact same code stack as Facebook and some of the other top websites on the web. If you have a good enough developer, you can get a WordPress website to look and behave pretty much like any other website you may see no matter how unusual or uniqe.
Are WordPress websites responsive?
It depends on the theme you use. These days almost ALL premade themes are responsive and adapt for the iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices. And if you’re getting a custom theme, then you really should be expecting that it be responsive. It’s pretty standard these days.
finding a WordPress company for your project?
What you need to do first is get crystal clear about the exact website you want. Your budget. Your needs. Your timeline. And only when you’re clear on all of those factors should you start to look for a company to help you. Because, then when you do, you’ll know exactly who is the right fit for your needs.
Questions to ask yourself for a high performing WordPress website
- How do you want your website to look?
- Who do you want to impress?
- What is the goal of your website project?
- What do you want your website to do?
Establishing your Budget
Okay, now that you have a good sense of the type of website you want, what is your budget for this project? And when thinking of your budget, don’t forget to factor in invisible costs, such as your time or your employee’s time who is working on the project. A $5k website might not be “more expensive” than a $1k website if the latter required an extra 40 hours of your time and you value your time at over $100/hr.
Aaron Kruse
Owner Operator
Local Boy Marketing