Are you new to WordPress but can't
decide if you should build your own website, or have someone build it for you?
I'm a
graphic designer who uses many computer programs in my business on a daily
basis: Adobe in Design, Photoshop, Illustrator, PDF, Captivate, Microsoft Word,
Excel, and Outlook. After learning and using WordPress for a year, unique wordpress website design Birmingham. I have
come to the conclusion there are 3 ways to work with WordPress:
1. as a user
2. A builder
3. A designer
Which one do you want to be?
A volunteer's story
A
prospective client needed a new website for a softball league. Five years ago
he volunteered to design the league's website in Dreamweaver, Professional WordPress website design Birmingham. but grew
weary of the responsibility. He wanted other coaches to be able to update their
own pages; however he was the only league coach who owned the Dreamweaver
program, and knew how to use it.
He heard WordPress was "easy
and intuitive," but after downloading the program, did not enjoy using it.
He's also a full time engineer working for a Fortune 500 company, and would
rather do something "else" with his free time.
A you a business owner who needs a
website?
My chiropractor has been a
photographer since he was a teenager, and loves using Photoshop. He was happy
to sit down with me to help plan his website but had no interest in building
it. He also wanted a site that his administrative assistant could easily
update.
The advantages of being a WordPress
user
There's no
shame in having someone else build your WordPress website. In fact, it may be
the smartest thing to do when you're new to WordPress because while your site
is being constructed, unique wordpress website design Birmingham, you can spend time building your business. After it's
completed, you can learn how to keep your site updated with new text, photos,
videos and/or audio, and feel like a pro.
Years ago, my calligraphy instructor
told me the average person needs to repeat the same task 17 times before it
"sinks in." Chances are you'll only build one site, but update it
many times.
What's the difference between a
builder and a designer?
Not
everyone who calls themselves a "WordPress designer" has graphic
design experience. Many are experienced computer programmers, Web Content Management System Birmingham or former
IT professionals who now build WordPress sites for other people. I've even met
a few English majors who gravitated to WordPress because they set up their own
blog, and enjoyed it.
Designers are a one-stop shop. They do what builders do plus...
- Design custom logos
- Design custom web headers, badges, buttons and
information graphics
- Design graphics for you contact submission e-mail form
- Find captivating images to work with your brand
- Make your images web-ready, including retouching,
enhancing, resizing, and converting from CMYK to RGB, and from tiff to jpg
or png
- Provide banners and graphics for social media, i.e., Facebook,
LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+
- Provide marketing materials if needed: i.e., business
cards, printed brochures, tradeshow banners, training manuals, advertisements
- Coordinate the look of your entire site with all your
marketing materials
- Make your site look professional and gorgeous!
- Help you build your brand
What are plugging?
Plugging are bits of code that
integrate with WordPress software and add functionality to your site. Some
examples of what plugging can do are:
- add a shopping cart
- add a contact form
- boost your SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Thanks to the enthusiastic group of
developers within the WordPress community, there are literally thousands of plugging
to choose, to make your site unique.
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