If you’re thinking of building a website, you’re probably looking at WordPress. This content management system (CMS) powers over 40 percent of websites, and it’s free to use. However, it comes with a steeper learning curve than most other platforms, and you might not have the time or patience to familiarize yourself with its various features and settings.
A WordPress consultant can offer assistance throughout the web-building process, as well as after the launch of your site. For example, they can help you choose the right design for your brand, install essential tools, and boost your site’s security. They may even provide WordPress training, so you can learn how to perform some tasks on your own.
In this post, we’ll take a closer look at WordPress consultants and what they do. We’ll also discuss the benefits of hiring a WordPress expert for your site, and who should consider doing so. Let’s get started!
WordPress consultants: who they are and what they do
WordPress is open-source software that’s available for free. It’s designed to be accessible for individuals of varying web design skills. In fact, thanks to WordPress plugins and themes, even complete beginners are able to build a website on this platform.
Of course, if you’re looking to create a more elaborate website, like an online store, you’ll need more than basic skills to build and run it. Similarly, if you’re building a website for your business, you’ll want to make sure that it looks professional and functions properly.
WordPress consultants can guide you through every step of the website-building process. For instance, they might start by introducing you to the platform and its components, like the WordPress admin dashboard, the Block editor, and the general settings:
Once you have a better understanding of the CMS, they can help you design a website according to your needs and preferences. Even after launching your site, they may still be readily available to assist you with any queries and issues related to WordPress.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the tasks carried out by WordPress consultants.
Website design
Your website is a reflection of your brand or company. A sleek and user-friendly website design projects a professional image, which can help increase engagement and conversions.
A WordPress consultant will help ensure that your website looks good on all devices, including mobile phones. While you may have your heart set on a particular WordPress theme, they can tell you if it’s the right one for your business or help you choose a better design.
You can even ask them to create a custom theme for your site, or make any necessary customizations to the design so that it aligns with your branding.
If you’ve already designed the website yourself, a WordPress consultant will provide feedback on its usability. They’ll be able to tell you what works and what doesn’t, and highlight any elements that are missing from your website.
Plugin selection and third-party integrations
WordPress has a huge library of plugins that enable you to add functionality to your website. Whether you want to add social media feeds to your homepage, create contact forms, or protect your site against comment spam, you’ll likely find dozens of options that can fulfill your particular needs.
Of course, this means it can be difficult to choose the right plugins for your site. A WordPress consultant will likely vet each option and recommend the best tool. This will help you ensure that any plugin you install is secure and compatible with other tools on your site.
If you require more advanced functionality, WordPress consultants can handle your site’s third-party integrations. For instance, if you use a particular e-learning platform or customer relationship management (CRM) software, they’ll connect these tools to your site. This way, you can sync your content and contacts between WordPress and your other platform.
Search engine optimization
Building a professional website is not enough to drive visitor traffic. You’ll also need to optimize your content for search engines.
Search engine optimization (SEO) involves designing web pages that are more likely to appear in relevant search results. Including the right keywords in your content is a big part of SEO. Often, these are search terms that online shoppers type into Google, so they are especially important for ecommerce sites.
When used correctly, keywords can make your pages more visible in search results. However, SEO can be a lot of work.
For starters, you’ll need to perform keyword research to find phrases that your website is likely to rank for. You’ll then need to track your ranking for those keywords and update your content accordingly.
A WordPress consultant can conduct an SEO audit and provide actionable recommendations. They can even implement strategies to help boost your rankings, like adding schema markup to help you land rich snippets in Google.
Security and performance
While you might hire a WordPress consultant to help you build your website, you’ll likely require their assistance for months or even years after you’ve launched your site. More specifically, you’ll need them to keep an eye on your site’s security and performance.
WordPress consultants can make changes and recommendations as your site grows and evolves. For example, if you start selling products or accepting user registrations, they’ll implement any necessary security features to protect sensitive data like credit card details and passwords.
They’ll also help ensure that your site supports a good user experience. If you notice that your website has slowed down (which isn’t an uncommon occurrence), they can offer suggestions on how to improve its performance.
For instance, you may need to compress your images, remove any unnecessary plugins, and install a caching tool or content delivery network (CDN). Of course, if you’re unable to do these tasks, the WordPress consultant may be able to handle them for you.
The benefits of hiring a WordPress consultant
Whether you already have a website or you’re thinking of building a new one, hiring a WordPress consultant for your business can have many benefits.
For starters, it can help you save time and money. If you’re busy running a business, you probably can’t afford to spend hours tinkering with the site’s design. Additionally, you might purchase the wrong plugins or theme, which could result in unnecessary (and avoidable) costs.
A WordPress consultant can tell you what your site needs, and recommend the best tools and themes. You might even entrust the entire design to them, so you can launch your site more quickly.
When you hire a WordPress consultant, you’ll also get ongoing support. They may run frequent SEO and performance audits for you, and provide recommendations. Plus, if you want to add a new feature to your site, you can ask for their advice before making any changes.
It’s also worth noting that most WordPress consultants are well-versed in best practices for web security. That means they can implement measures to protect your website from hacking, malware, and other security threats. Doing this yourself would require a lot of time, and even a small oversight or misconfiguration could lead to a breach.
Finally, these professionals can keep you up-to-date with the latest WordPress trends and developments. They’ll know about any major software releases that could affect your site, and carry out any necessary tasks to prepare for these changes. This way, you won’t have to worry about checking and updating your website on a regular basis.
Do you need a WordPress consultant?
Even though we’ve highlighted the benefits of hiring a WordPress consultant, you might still be unsure about whether you need one.
Well, let’s look at some scenarios where it makes sense to get a WordPress expert:
- You have no idea how WordPress works and you’re not interested in designing your own site.
- Your company requires a custom solution, such as a unique design or particular ecommerce functionality.
- You’re building your website in-house, but would like to consult with an expert on the design.
- You already have a website, but you need a WordPress professional to do an SEO audit, test its performance, or simply provide recommendations on improving it.
- Your business site needs a complete revamp to align with your new branding.
Of course, these are just some examples. You might also need to hire a WordPress consultant for specific aspects of your website, like security or user registration.
At Freshy, we offer a full WordPress service to assist you with any aspect of your website. That includes its design, development, and SEO:
When you decide to work with Freshy, you’ll be assigned a project manager who will help you design your site according to your needs and goals. You can also get ongoing support and maintenance from our team of WordPress experts.
Conclusion
WordPress is an excellent option for any type of website. What’s more, it’s highly user-friendly. That said, if your WordPress project is a little more ambitious or requires advanced customizations, taking a DIY approach to your entire website may not be realistic.
A WordPress consultant can help you design a stunning yet functional website. They might also assist with other aspects of running a successful site, such as SEO, web security, and performance optimization. All of this can help you increase conversions. This way, you won’t have to waste precious time on maintaining and updating your site.
Do you need a WordPress expert for your website? At Freshy, we can design your site, optimize it for search engines, keep it safe, and much more! Contact us today for a quote!
Featured image: Pexels
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