It’s that time of the year again when everyone is geared up to play pranks on each other. It’s fun to poke harmless jokes and I hope you guys make the most of it. In the spirit of the day, I have decided to write a post on things you shouldn’t be fooled by as a newbie during the WordPress website development process. Watch out for these telltale points and make sure you cover them all to reduce the error margin and increase profits.
Don’t be Fooled with the easy-to-use Catchphrase!
WordPress is often publicized as an easy-to-use system. One of the reasons wpbeginner gives for using WordPress is its simplicity.
They are quite right in saying so. In terms of usability WordPress definitely scores over many other open source content management systems leading it to become a popular choice among the masses.
BUT, based on this if you have decided that you will be able to develop a WordPress website for your business without any help, you are terribly wrong. This is how you should read the simplicity arguments on the web.
What They Say: WordPress is easy to USE.
What They Mean: You can manage your website by yourself once it has been set up.
If you interpret it as anything else except for this then you are headed towards more hassle than you can imagine. You might have to spend more money than expected, lose out on precious time, and you might also compromise the security and efficiency of your website by making the wrong choices in terms of themes and plugins.
Don’t Fall for the Feature Trap
There might be some plugins or themes that might overwhelm you with their features. Don’t be deceived by the myriad features provided.
While features might be the primary aspect while short listing a plugin or theme it does not necessarily have to be the only aspect. Once the features that you need have been covered, details such as scalability and speed should be considered.
Scalability is essentially the ability of your system to accommodate new features and increasing number of users with ease. Accommodating new features with ease means that the plugins and theme being used provide necessary hooks and filters for effortless customization based on the requirement. If spending more money means getting features you might not require at this point of time then take a step back and think of the future. The extra buck might actually be worth it.
Apart from scalability, Speed is also another important aspect to consider from the user experience perspective. A slow site can be a major turn off for website visitors. Plugins and themes can be a major contributor to a slow website.
So, before you start using a premium plugin or theme, run through a demo provided by the developers. The speed of the demo website should help you assess the impact of the plugin or theme on the website. GTmetrix can be used to evaluate various aspects which are contributing to the demo website’s speeds. You can also use the P3 plugin available on wordpress.org to gauge which plugins are slowing your website.
Don’t be Fooled by Cheap Hosting Plans
Don’t’ ever choose a hosting plan based on the money you will be spending on it. No matter what anyone has to say to you, evaluate your requirements well and talk to experts.
A good hosting plan is always a good investment!
Usually, website hosting providers have multiple pricing plans from which you can choose. These plans vary based on factors such as memory, transfer rate, processor etc.
Choose a hosting plan which might be appropriate for your requirement. For example if you have a website solely based on photography means you will be adding high-resolution images to the website then choosing a plan with a good transfer rate and higher memory capacity would be a practical step to take.
Of course, the number of users on the website will also contribute to your decision of the hosting plan choose, so while you might choose a basic plan in the beginning upgrade as you go based on traffic.
Don’t Rush to the ‘Buy Now’ Button
If you thought that your research for plugins and themes ends at the features, scalability and speed then hold on. Don’t click the Buy Now button just yet. There is one last fact you might want to explore. It happens to be a very important facet and that is Support.
While you might not realize the importance of customer support the developers provide in the beginning you will realize it soon enough. Substandard support is not an experience you should have to deal with and can leave a bad taste in the mouth. Moreover, it might cause spillovers and skew the development timeline of your website. It only gets worse once the website is made live as it leads to unsatisfactory user experience.
Don’t Think Your Work Ends at Development
In order to make your website and online business a success it is important to concentrate on the website content once the functionality and design have been covered.
The content on the website should be search engine optimized. Additionally, it should be original content. Have a blog section on the website where you can regularly keep adding new content to the website. Place the call to action buttons strategically compelling the customer to make use of it. In order to compel the customer it is important that the content preceding the call to action element be clear, concise and informative. Try and address as many perceivable questions that a customer might have. For example if you are selling a service you must explain what the service, how you will implement it, various aspects that are covered with the service and if possible client testimonials and examples of previous work that you might have done for clients.
Establishing a connect with clients is all about the right content on the website!!
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WordPress website development might be the less taken path for you. But in spite of this you can be on the top of the game. All you gotta do is to not get fooled by apparently correct solutions and the only way to do this is by talking to WordPress experts. It’s a vast community of developers who are more than willing to help. All you gotta to is, knock the right door and ask the right questions.
That’s all from my end. If you are a newbie and have questions feel free to connect with me through the comments section.
Until the next post, Adios!
