How To Create A Professional Wordpress Site For Your Client - Step-by-Step Guide
Table of Contents [ ]
- Steps In Creating A Wordpress Website For Client
- Introduction
- Choosing a Niche or Topic
- Domain Name Selection
- Web Hosting Options
- Website Building Platforms
- Website Design and Layout
- Content Creation and Writing
- Basic HTML and CSS
- Image and Multimedia Integration
- User Experience (UX) and Navigation
- SEO Fundamentals
- Mobile Responsiveness
- Social Media Integration
- Website Security
- Analytics and Tracking Tools
- Conclusion
Steps In Creating A Wordpress Website For Client
Steps In Creating A Wordpress Website For Client
Introduction
Developing a website from scratch can be quite the task depending on who the client is and the functionality required. Utilizing a content management system such WordPress can make the process much easier, providing clients with a level of control and efficiency. If you're a web developer, here are the basic steps in creating a WordPress website for client.
Choosing a Niche or Topic
The very first step is getting to know your client and what their overall needs are and want their website to become. Before beginning the development, it's important to discuss what the content and purpose of the website should be, then build an outline of each page.
Specific Content Types
When building a website for a client, it's important to understand what type of content they're going to be posting for their customers. Is it going to be blog posts, podcasts, vlogs, or contact forms to name a few? It's important to have a good understanding of how you'll be presenting content to your client's audience.
Choosing an Audience
Developing a website requires understanding the goal of who the website is beneficial for. If the website will be servicing kids or elderly people, the content and design must be relevant and approachable to the corresponding audience. As a web developer, you'll need to consider how the audience will interact and respond to the website when making design decisions to ensure best outcomes.
Domain Name Selection
The next step involves selecting the perfect domain name that's easy to remember and pronounce. A good domain name should be short and descriptive. It's recommended to have the client's brand name in the domain to help build trust. You can use third-party sites like GoDaddy or NameCheap to research any taken domains and compare pricing.
Web Hosting Options
Once the domain is purchased it's important to select the proper hosting package. Make sure you're getting the best bang for your buck. Pay attention to the features offered by the hosting provider to make sure they respect your client's budget and needs. Look out for features such as:
- Custom domain names
- Unmetered bandwidth
- On-demand backups
- Secure FTP
- 24/7 Support
It's recommended to do as much research as possible to ensure you're selecting the best provider for your client.
Website Building Platforms
WordPress is the most popular website building platform in the world. It's not only easy to use, but also has remarkable flexibility that allow you to customize nearly any type of website the client requires. The plugins available for WordPress also make the job of website building much easier, with tools such as Contact Forms, Backup, SEO and more.
Website Design and Layout
With the platform selected, design decisions should be discussed with the client. The design should be selected in accordance with the overall purpose of the website. It's important to keep the design modern and current, while helping users achieve their goal quickly and efficiently.
Modular Design
When designing for WordPress, it's best to utilize a modular design, meaning each small element of the design should fit into a larger, unified structure. Think of each part of the design as a puzzle piece that helps complete the overall picture. Keeping the design in modules will help make creating a unique look much easier.
Color Schemes
Design isn't just about the layout; it's also about the choice of colors. Working with a good color scheme will help determine the overall look and feel of the website. Consider using professional tools like Coolors for generating and sharing color palettes.
Content Creation and Writing
With the design completed, the next step is to provide the website with content that engages the user. Whether you're developing a simple brochure website or a complex ecommerce platform, the content must be professional and helpful. An efficient way to go about this is to have the client supply all the text, and then you can proofread and make necessary edits to keep everything on-brand.
Basic HTML and CSS
Having a basic understanding of HTML and CSS will make creating the website much easier. Knowing how to use CSS classes, apply effective font sizes, arrange boxes, and other formatting options are key in producing a website that looks great. It is important to keep in mind that no matter how great the design looks, if it's not compatible with the HTML and CSS specs, the website will be useless.
Image and Multimedia Integration
Images, videos, and other multimedia content should be used to spruce up the website. Not only do they improve user experience, but they also help with SEO. It's important to ensure all images, videos, and other content are optimized properly, which can also be a great way to impress the client.
User Experience (UX) and Navigation
When providing a good user experience, it's important to keep in mind that the website must be easy to use and navigate. The aim should be to structure the website in a way that makes it easy for users to find what they need. To do this successfully, think about the user journey and keep in mind core principles of web navigation.
SEO Fundamentals
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it's the process of making sure that crawlers and users can find your website and rank it higher in search engine results. SEO is an extremely important part of developing a website, and it should never be overlooked. Here are a few tips and tricks to keep in mind when optimizing the website:
- Include relevant keywords in the content
- Optimize page titles and meta descriptions
- Make sure to include header tags
- Include alt tags for images
- Utilize XML sitemaps
These tips are just the basics, and much more goes into SEO best practices if you want to dig deeper.
Mobile Responsiveness
With over half of all web searches being made on mobile devices, it's essential to make sure the website is mobile-friendly. This can be done by making sure the design is responsive enough to adapt to different screen sizes. You can also use a plugin like Jetpack to automatically optimize the website's responsiveness.
Social Media Integration
One of the best ways to engage the public and spread awareness for the website is by leveraging the power of social media. By adding social media buttons, site visitors can easily share content without leaving the website. A plugin like WP Social Sharing can make this process much easier.
Website Security
With the growth of cyberattacks, it's important to make sure the website is secure. While a hosting provider can add protection to the website, it's also important to install any security plugin to further add protection. A plugin like Wordfence can protect the website from malicious attacks, as well as prevent spam.
Analytics and Tracking Tools
Once the website is up and running, it's important to keep track of the performance. Tracking tools like Google Analytics can help you understand how people are using your client's website. You can take this data and make necessary changes to the website to improve performance.
Conclusion
Developing a website for a client can be a daunting task. But if you have some basic knowledge and the right tools, you can make the process much easier. WordPress is a great platform for creating websites for clients; it provides an efficient way to customize and optimize the website to your client's needs. So keep these steps in mind when developing your next WordPress website for a client.