getting started WordPress design

I’m doing quite a few new website and website re-designs at the moment – It is a mix of people wishing to move over to full WordPress / general update and also to make their website mobile friendly using the Mobile Responsive design that WordPress offers. I’m having a lot of fun with the custom drag and drop theme builder that I use which really allows me to design to the needs of even the most intricate of clients.

I still get asked the same questions about getting started – It’s been a while since most people have looked at their website and it’s behind the scenes, so when it comes to a design / redesign they are sometimes at a loss. I’ve put together a few pointers to help out.

 

SO – What do I need from YOU?

As much as I am a miracle worker and very good at what I do – an idea, some words and a few pictures are all great ways to get started – Please send them over on email as and when they pop into your head – I can usually take card of the rest and ask the right questions. Then we can make a start. Once I have a feeling of what you are going for I can suggest some design elements for you that will work – A conversation that I had with a client yesterday, I stated that I work with the end client / customer in mind and look at usability of the site – Especially as mobile is so huge – There are a lot of elements to consider.

It usually takes around 2 weeks and I will present you with a first look – Depending on where we are with your domain, this will often be on one of my test server sites.

 

YOU will need hosting.

I was training at a great seminar in London a few weeks back and I’m also working towards a Google qualification at present – Fellow presenters on both of these have stressed about the importance of hosting. It’s not FREE people – It is a piece of cyber real estate that you rent – As well as speed, availability and regular back ups; servers take money to maintain etc. Think of hosting the same as renting shop space on the High Street – You’d pay the rent for this. Just because you can’t see something sometimes, doesn’t mean that it’s FREE!

I of course host websites – Click for more details here.

I’m all about integration at the moment…

All of my websites work with MailChimp, PayPal and Google My Business, plus Google Analytics for reporting visitor stats etc.

MailChimp wise for your website, think about your FREEbie and how you would like to go about building your potential client list – What can you give away that will entice people to sign up with you? This is usually a 5 page PDF eBook on a specialist subject of yours. Let me know the details and send over a rough file and I can help with the rest!

 

Meetings with your Webby Lady.

No it doesn’t cost you money to have a meeting with me – and no there aren’t exhaust-able time limits on meetings (I don’t cost so many into my web dev fee). If I think it’s of use then we can meet / have a meeting / meet again to go through things. I’ll even buy the coffee! If I think it is going to be productive and good use of both of our time then that’s great.

We can also chat on the phone – Communicate by email. I usually offer a WordPress training session on finished sites for clients who want to manage the CMS themselves.

I’m sure that we will find a good balance and remember that this is an on-going relationship as your website will need more work as the months go on for maintenance, updates, blog article etc.

More about that here.

 

General chit chat.

The more complex the website and the more work there is, simples, well then the more expensive it becomes!

As mentioned I hand build all of my websites using a FAB drag and drop template. WordPress sites of this nature are packed with professionally created code. They look good on just about all browsers (Not IE lol), iPhone and work on iPad too – The mobile version looks a little different as I use a fluid design. I also offer custom coding on sites for when we can’t quite get things to look the way we want – Whilst I am very good, I often outsource this type of work (As I do with a few other bits and pieces too).

 

As usual let me know if you have any questions!