So you might ask why use a website developer to do your WordPress website when you can do it yourself? You might think that having a website with little to no development cost is the best option for your project. You can pick a WordPress theme and learn to do everything yourself. You might be able to do that, but how many hours will it take to get it to look just the way you want it to look? While you’re working on the new website could you be making money or running your business more efficiently? What is the learning curve to becoming familiar with theme customization in WordPress?
These are some of the questions you might be asking yourself. I believe it is worth hiring an outside website developer to do your website for their knowledge and speed of development. If your new website is set up well in the development stage, you will be able to maintain the website with ease on your own with no problems. As website developers, we usually already pay for expensive plugins to get your website to function at a higher level. We also know which plugins won’t break your website. Many of us are also graphic design artists with the full Adobe Suite and we can do logos, pictures, and layouts that are pleasing to the eye for your potential visitors.
Another question I might ask is what is your time worth? If you run a business that makes let’s say, $55 an hour for your work with your clients. Website development and creating media and content could take more than 40 hours. The cost of possible lost work alone would be $2200 for 40 hours of work and you still may not be able to customize your theme to look how you envision it. Most good quality and functional websites will take between 60 to 120 hours in my development experience. Larger websites or eCommerce websites will take even more hours than that. I know it is tempting to try to save money where you can, but your website may only have one opportunity to impress your visitors with professionalism and functionality. Visitors may draw conclusions about your business operations based on many factors including your website on mobile devices as well as on desktops. Websites make statements about who you are as a company and organization.
Website Development is hard work! I have spent many hours learning the craft of good website design. I believe that we can help you achieve a beautiful website that is easy to navigate right from the home page. A website should be responsive, easy to navigate, have useful images and text, and not an encyclopedia of everything about you and your company. It should give the visitor to your website enough information to contact you, purchase a product, join your organization, or download the information that they need to engage with your business.