No matter how much time you spend online, you’re bound to land on a WordPress website. According to WordPress, more than 42% of the web uses its platform. With its user-friendly interface, customizable features, and more than 55,000 plugins, it’s no wonder WordPress is the most popular Content Management System (CMS) available.   

WordPress is open-source, which means its core files are available to the public at no charge. While many businesses and news organizations build their online presence using WordPress, it’s also the CMS of choice for many individuals and bloggers with limited or no web development experience.  

When we partner with web design clients at Mountain Mojo Group in Flagstaff, AZ, our aim is to create dynamic, high-performing, secure websites that are easy for our clients to update and maintain. If you’re thinking about hiring a web development team to build a WordPress website, this guide will help you learn more about the process so you can make the best decision for your business.

Domain and Hosting

Though WordPress software is free, you’ll need to purchase your domain name and pay for web hosting. 

Domain name: Your website’s domain is its address (for example mountainmojogroup.com). You can purchase your domain name through a domain registrar, such as Domain.com or GoDaddy, or through your hosting provider. If you’re working with a web design team to build your WordPress website, they may handle this for you or offer recommendations. 

Hosting: Your web host provides the servers that store your files and host your website. Before you can launch your WordPress website, you’ll need to choose a hosting provider and the type of hosting that’s best for your website. 

  • Shared hosting: Though this is a cost-effective option for new or small websites, we advise against it. Since you’ll be sharing resources on one server with other websites, your site’s performance and security may suffer. 
  • Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting: VPS is similar to shared hosting. Though VPS is still shared, fewer websites are on a VPS server than with shared hosting, and each website has dedicated resources. 
  • Dedicated hosting: Dedicated hosting is typically only used by enterprise-level organizations that receive 100,000+ site visitors per month.  

You can learn more about selecting a domain name and web hosting provider for your Flagstaff, Arizona, business here

Choosing a WordPress Theme

The WordPress theme you select will determine your website’s visual appearance. WordPress themes are out-of-the-box designs that determine the way your website looks and functions. Every WordPress website begins with a basic default theme, but you have the option to select from among thousands of free and paid professionally designed themes. 

When selecting a theme, you should consider both the visual impact it has as well as the features it has built-in. Some themes may be bloated with features you won’t need or use, or they may not be compatible with the plug-ins you plan to install. Our web development team in Flagstaff, AZ, favors WordPress web design using only the minimum amount of themes and plugins to ensure our client’s websites stay fast and secure.  

WordPress Software and Plugins

If you have a technical background or are willing to learn, it’s possible to download and install WordPress software yourself. However, most users have their web host complete installation and then access WordPress through their web browser or a mobile app.  

WordPress plugins add functionality and features to WordPress websites. Thousands of free and paid WordPress plugins are available to manage features such as Search Engine Optimization (SEO), security, lead generation, and e-commerce elements. And if you can’t find a plug-in with the functionality you need, it’s always possible to hire a developer to create one for you. 

Though there is no shortage of free plug-in options, we always advise caution before installing anything new to your WordPress website. There is no guarantee that these free elements are being regularly reviewed or updated, which can be a security risk. 

WordPress Media Library 

Your WordPress Media Library houses all of your images and other media files WordPress can store a wide range of media, including image, audio, and video files, PDFs, spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and more. Some (limited) photo-editing functions are even available right from your WordPress dashboard so you can make small, last-minute changes before posting a new image. 

Adding new files to your WordPress Media Library is easy–you can upload them individually or use bulk actions, or drag and drop them from your computer. While you may have images and other media that you use frequently and have available in your media library, you can also add new images and other files from your computer or cloud storage while using the WordPress editor. Media Library Plug-ins are available to install to help you organize and filter your library so you can easily store and access media when you need it.  

WordPress Website Map and Structure

While you may never have given much thought to the structure of the websites you visit, you can be sure that the web developers gave them close attention. Your website’s structure and sitemap are crucial for both getting page visitors and ensuring a positive experience once they arrive.  

Your website should have two sitemaps: an HTML sitemap for page visitors and an XML sitemap for search engines: 

  • An XML sitemap contains metadata and all the URLs on your website, making it easier for search engines to crawl your site and index it. If search engines don’t (or can’t) index your site, they won’t send traffic to it. 
  • An HTML sitemap provides navigation for your website’s visitors so they can easily find the information they’re looking for. 

In web marketing, a landing page is any page on your website where you intentionally drive traffic. Though these are often standalone pages with a specific engagement or conversion goal, any page on your website, such as your homepage, can be a landing page if you use paid ads or other intentional measures to drive traffic to it. 

WordPress has several landing page plugins that allow users to make quick landing pages using pre-made templates. Many include features that will let you run A/B testing on different page designs and ad copy, capture lead information, and track conversion rates.  

Many third-party landing page platforms can also integrate with WordPress, and may offer more flexibility if you plan to create a large number of landing pages or need more customization options or functionality. And, if you have CSS or HTML knowledge, or are working with a web developer, custom landing pages can be created in WordPress from scratch.  

WordPress Website Blog Content (Driving Traffic)

One of the best ways to drive traffic to your website is to consistently provide unique and interesting content related to your business. Not only does blogging drive organic traffic, but it signals to search engines that your website is updated frequently, which can help increase your page ranking. 

Though you may have some ideas about which topics your ideal customer is interested in, you should also understand how search engine algorithms “read” your website. Google, for example, seeks to provide page results that best match the user’s intent. So, when you’re narrowing down the types of posts you want to write, consider them from different user intent angles: 

  • Informational: A user with an informational query is looking to learn more about a topic. They might use search strings such as “how do you build a website” or “do I need a web designer for my business website?” Informational visitors are looking to learn about a subject or topic. 
  • Transactional: Transactional intent means the user is looking to make a purchase. They may search “web design near me,” or “web development group in Flagstaff, AZ,” and search engines will return page results it’s deemed likely to offer these services. 
  • Navigational: A user with navigational intent knows where they want to go, but they don’t know the web address needed to get there. Their search terms will be specific and typically include a brand or business name, such as “mountain mojo group phone number.” 
  • Commercial: Users with commercial intent are planning or preparing for something. They may search “best web design in Flagstaff, AZ,” or “WordPress website pros and cons.”

WordPress Website SEO Solutions

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a way to optimize your website’s code and formatting to make it easier for search engines to find, crawl, and index your website. By employing SEO best practices, you can help search engines understand what your website and content are about so they can assign it the right page rank in user’s search results. 

While some unethical website owners attempt to “trick” the search engines and call it SEO, SEO isn’t about tricking anyone–it’s about getting your page high on the page in the search results for your ideal clients.  Some basic SEO efforts include including XML sitemaps, using SEO-friendly URLs, and using optimized images with relevant alt tags on your webpages. There are several WordPress SEO plugins available, as well, to help you ensure your existing web pages and new content are optimized before publishing.

WordPress Website Speed Solutions 

No matter how beautiful and informative your website is, users won’t hesitate to hit the “back” button if it takes too long to load. The average internet user expects loading times no longer than 3 seconds. Unfortunately, improper WordPress web development can lead to excess page bulk that slows down page loading and responsiveness. 

WordPress has a large community of developers, which makes it easier to troubleshoot issues with your page speed than on standalone page builds. They also offer several plugins designed to address factors that lead to slow page loading and response times. To avoid sluggishness on your WordPress website, we recommend using only the minimum number of themes and plugins to keep your page running. It’s best to work with an experienced web developer and to visit (on both desktop and mobile) the websites displayed in their portfolio before signing a contract. 

WordPress Website Analytics and Conversion Tracking

Once your website is built, you’ll want to learn how users interact with it. With the right analytics and conversion tracking tools, you can learn how many people visit your site each day, which pages they visit, how long they remain on each page, how they found your site, where they’re located, and much more. 

While WordPress doesn’t include an analytics or conversion tracking solution in its software, it does make it easy to integrate third-party tools. Google Analytics is among the most essential analytics tools, and it is easy to install, customize, and use with your WordPress website. 

WordPress Website Backups and Security

At Mountain Mojo Group in Flagstaff, AZ, we use WordPress exclusively as our CMS when building websites for our clients. Our years of experience have shown that WordPress is well-maintained, user-friendly, and secure. Still, nothing is 100% secure–after all, even government websites are vulnerable to attack. 

Website backups and other security measures are a necessary defense against outages, errors, and even attacks. Free and paid WordPress backup plugins are available, and regular full-site backups to a remote location outside your hosting account are also recommended so you can quickly restore your website should something happen to it. Many hosting companies now offer SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates for WordPress websites. SSL encrypts data between your user and your website. And, if you plan to accept customer payments through your website, your hosting provider may require you to use an SSL certificate. 

DIY Cost vs Web Design Company Cost

At Mountain Mojo Group, we are proud to bring together some of the best and brightest creatives in Flagstaff, AZ, to create beautiful and functional WordPress websites for our clients. But that doesn’t mean hiring a web design company is the right decision for every business. 

If you want to launch a hobby blog or a static website for a newly launched business that hasn’t turned its first profit, a free website hosted on wordpress.com is likely the more realistic solution for the time being. Because these websites are hosted by WordPress, they will include “.wordpress.com” in the URL and have limited features and functions. 

For everyone else, a third-party hosted WordPress website, while not free, will be worth the investment in the long run. Unlike the blogs and basic pages hosted on WordPress, third-party hosted websites are more difficult to DIY and will typically require a developer with experience in WordPress and PHP. While the costs of web development and design will depend on many factors, you can anticipate some costs of your WordPress website whether you DIY it or hire a professional: 

  • Domain name: Plan to spend a minimum of $10-$20 per year, per domain
  • Web hosting service: Shared hosting services, which we recommend against, may be available for as little as $5 per month. For VPS or cloud hosting, you can expect to pay between $20-$90 per month, depending on your website’s needs and hosting provider.
  • WordPress software: Free

Conclusion

Though WordPress isn’t the only option for building your new website, we use it exclusively when building websites for our clients at Mountain Mojo Group in Flagstaff, AZ. To learn more about WordPress and find our tips on website design and development, check out our blog. And if you’re interested in learning more about how our team of creatives can help your business build a new website or redesign the one you have, we’d love to connect with you!

 
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