For simple Tech Support, Upgrades & Installs, and other Basic Maintenance & Help, we refer our customers to Alex King’s fantastic WordPress HelpCenter.
You can call them with anything from how-to questions to server troubleshooting. They offer maintenance and upgrade packages, and can even do theme customization work for you.
If you want a fully-custom WordPress design crafted for your website, you may need more hands-on help from an expert. A designer or developer that specializes in WordPress can take a premium theme and help you customize it with your own logo and style, OR they can frequently create a rad unique design for you from scratch. Keep in mind, web development from the ground up will always cost more than building with a template.
How to Find an Awesome WordPress Developer
When you look to hire a web developer or web designer, here are some important things to keep in mind:
You need to hire a professional with a real business. They don’t need to have a big office. But you should definitely avoid hiring your nephew, your friend’s kid, or “that guy you know from the PTA” as your web developer. You need a professional relationship with your web team so that you can feel comfortable negotiating and providing honest constructive feedback if there’s ever a time when you aren’t happy with your developer’s work.
Your web developer should have a damn good website. It doesn’t have to be designed in a style that you like, but don’t trust any web firm that tells you they’ve been too busy working on clients’ projects to design their own site. If they don’t know that a strong website is their business’ reputation online, they shouldn’t be screwing around with your reputation online.
Ask how they will incorporate Search Engine Optimization into your site. When you ask this question, if all they do is talk about meta tags and keywords, without explaining any of the real marketing and copy principles to you, it’s a red flag. If a web professional is serious about building websites that get his clients traffic, he should know and understand the principles of SEO and how they apply to the coding of your website, your marketing copy, and all of the content on your site.
If your web firm wants to build your site with Flash, make sure and ask them if it will cause any problems getting your site’s content indexed by the search engines. Take note of how they answer this question. It’s a complex answer, but Flash can prevent your hard work from seeing the light of day when your potential customers are searching for what you offer, so your web designer shouldn’t just dismiss the question.
Ask if your developer works with a small business consultant. The best web firms have business consultants on hand or at least maintain a business relationship with valuable consultants who can work with you to develop your business in other ways that will magnify the impact of your new online presence. If a client wants a website that reflects her business’ brand, but that brand hasn’t been fully developed, it helps the web team create a better site if you get a business consultant involved.
Most importantly, your contact at your web firm should be able to talk to you in your language, but also be able to easily communicate what needs to get done with the programmers, designers, and technical staff. The best person to choose is someone who can explain things that you don’t understand, and who goes out of their way to teach you the important new principles you need to learn about the social web and online marketing.
Keep in mind that while the technical responsibilities belong to your web design firm, you have some responsibilities as well. As with any industry, some service providers will try to overcharge you and some will try to beat the competition on price. Find a balance. If you pay too little to have your website developed, you will pay much more in other ways.
- Find WordPress experts on Code Poet
- Post WordPress job listings on WordPress Jobs
- Request project proposals on the WP-Pro mailing list
