Orange County WordPress Websites
I do Orange County WordPress websites. But not just anywhere in Orange County. I focus on doing North Orange County WordPress websites.
I specialize in what I call Strategic WordPress web design.
As a media platform, WordPress is the best supported Content Management System In the world.
(562) 423-1691
WordPress is the most widely used content management system in the world and it is also the best supported. It has over 60,000 add-on software modules to enhance its functionality, and boasts one of the most helpful user communities encountered in any business environment. I imagine the comradery and mutual support comes from the sharing culture that was prevalent in the early days of the internet.
In addition to the plugin ecosystem there is a robust selection of themes and templates. The official WordPress Org repository has over 10,000 themes listed.
Yep, I’m one of those WordPress guys, and more.
I haven’t always used WordPress as My preferred Content Management System (CMS,) in fact I used to not even use a CMS. However, I did start using WordPress in the early days of the platform. At first it was used only as blog software to supplement my HTML websites. But it wasn’t long before it became my preferred website development platform.
I am like your digital trailblazing scout of the cyber prairies, finding the best route for your adventures along the internet superhighway. When you’re ready to get started or continue your WordPress journey give me a call.
(562) 423-1691
Check out the Orange County Web Design page
As I remember, back in the early days of using WordPress I had a roaring fast custom built computer with a whopping 10 gigabyte hard drive. The good old days of web design. At that time WordPress was somewhat limited. It was also a lot more finicky than it is today. Back then you needed to be more careful not to do something that would break your site, which often included doing updates. Now updates need to be done as soon as possible to prevent security vulnerabilities. This is part of your WordPress maintenance and is included in our support packages.
WordPress as a Content Management System.
Fast forward 20 years and we now have in WordPress a very robust and capable content management system. It is so robust as a website framework it can be used for many different kinds of websites, of course we have the standard information site, but it can also be used for e-commerce sites and membership sites. It can be used for complex sites, you may have seen the MyOnTheRoad.com site. However, my Orange County WordPress Web Design is focused on informational Minimum Viable Websites or starter sites combined with a marketing growth package.
We can think of the Minimum Viable Website like a minimum viable product in product or software development. This is the foundation product needed to get into the market and to be developed as needs are discovered. This is a strategic WordPress design system. These WordPress sites are designed as the beginning of your website journey. They are meant to be improved and built on over time. The website will evolve to complement your primary business strategy.
While your website may only be one part of your value chain (usually it touches more than one sector of the chain) it may be a very important part. The way a website fits into the overall value chain is the reason it is so important to have a website strategy that complements and works with your overall business strategy.
Many people still think of WordPress as a blogging platform, it’s capable of a lot more. Yes, customization options range from extreme to more moderate. WordPress offers more design options than most people expect. It does all of this while also providing a relatively easy to use back end for the day to day updates needed to keep a website fresh. I use the term relatively easy because it still requires some skill. It is software, and all software requires some training, or at least adapting to the learning curve. While it is comparatively easy to do website updates with WordPress, many people still find the dashboard a bit intimidating. That is why I offer the support and growth package, where I do the web work for you, so you don’t have to.
In addition to WordPress being a great framework for a full blown website, it’s still one of the most robust blog platforms in the world. This means you can have an integrated blog that fits seamlessly into your site. While you don’t have to have a blog, it is a useful tool for informing customers about company news and increasing the chance of ranking higher in search engines. A blog is a best practice for ranking in search engines. However, best practices is not a strategy. With the right choices, we can develop your blog into a viable website strategy.
WordPress Native Editor vs Page builders.
I am moving away from using a WordPress page builders because they tend to make a website slower loading and often introduce code that reduces accessibility. The most popular page builders are Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi. A lot of my friends love Beaver Builder for building WordPress sites. I find using Divi quite enjoyable. However, as stated, I am moving away from them all.
I have moved to a professional theme that uses the new WordPress Gutenberg editor. The Gutenberg editor is the new native WordPress editor. The Gutenberg editor uses a block structure for assembling pages. It is a little limited compared to the page builders, but what it lacks in design flexibility it makes up for in other areas I’m more concerned with. These include faster load time, better accessibility, and easier SEO best practices. Although the page builders are pretty good at SEO these days, and while still slower than a lean site built with the native editor, are also getting faster.
WordPress Customization.
The WordPress sites I build will be customized to meet the needs of your business. A word of warning, even if you choose to use a professional template for the look of your site, it will probably need to be customized to meet best practices of design and accessibility. It will at least need to have the heading tag structure reworked. You can see how most WordPress template sites use heading tags inappropriately in some of my website build videos. The WordPress build videos are in the blog section of this site. Completely custom built sites will be designed with good structure as the site is assembled. There is a pricing difference between a customized template site and a completely custom site built from scratch. A customized template site most often works as well as a completely custom built site and they cost less.
Standard WordPress Plugins and Apps.
Also included in your WordPress website build will be a search Engine Optimization (SEO) and a security plugin. Plugins are like Apps for your website. WordPress plugins add functionality to the website with add-on software packages.
Your site build will also include configuring the SEO plugin to best meet the needs of your business. The same thing with the security plugin. I will configure it for a higher level of security than it comes with out of the box. There may also be added security configurations for the total website when installing the WordPress instance on the website server.
There are over 60,000 plugins to choose from. Knowing which one is right for your project can be critical. I also keep abreast of plugin vulnerabilities on a weekly basis.
As the site grows if you really need a real phone App for your site, this would be considered a separate project and have an additional cost. I feel that I need to repeat, all sites I am building now are starter sites. In addition, I also offer a yearly support and business growth marketing subscription.
While both the SEO and security plugins don’t require any coding they do have a lot of settings that need to be configured. The same is true for a lot of WordPress plugins. It’s helpful for many business owners who are not familiar with the WordPress environment to have someone else do this or at least have a consultant to run ideas by.
There are also a few plugins that require some use of code. Sometimes it’s what’s called shortcode, a special WordPress code. Shortcode stands for code shortcut. Using the WordPress shortcode is usually very easy. However, I do have one professional plugin where it is quite confusing. Other times standard code like HTML or PHP is needed. Using an excessive amount of shortcode on a page can also create problems, so use it judiciously.
There is also a wide variety of themes and templates. I have a standard theme and plugin stack to make strategic website design more efficient and secure.
While I do offer building a standalone WordPress website, at this time my primary product is a value added yearly WordPress package including ancillary services. It is what I am calling the WordPress local marketing growth package, it includes hosting and additional marketing support customized to each individual business.
If your website is to become a strategic asset, it’ll need more input, more focus on positioning, and more attention, than a static website that’s never attended to.
Give me a call and let me help clear up any question you have about getting a WordPress website. I can help when uncertainty is standing in the way of getting the new website you want and how to use it strategically.
(562) 423-1691