Have Questions?
Here’s a Professional WordPress FAQ Guide
What do I need to do to prepare for a project?
1. Purchase your domain – this is the address for your website; www.yourbusiness.com. There are many companies that sell domains, but I recommend choosing the same person you purchase for your hosting. Often, they give you a free domain when you purchase a hosting package, BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE THE DOMAIN IN YOUR CART AT THE SAME TIME WHEN YOU PURCHASE THE DOMAIN.
2. Purchase your hosting – this is the machine that runs your website, and yes, you have to have both a domain and a hosting provider. Please refer to the question below for more information about what type of hosting to purchase.
3. Have an SSL certificate – this is what makes your site secure; it is becoming more common that if you do not have this implemented on your site, search engines will block users from visiting it. Check with your hosting/domain provider because they will often give you an SSL certificate for free or at a lower cost because you are purchasing from them already.
4. Have a brand (logo, colors, and fonts) – If you are brand new and don’t have these elements yet, or want to rebrand entirely, I also offer this service! This will include several more steps to your project, requiring a longer project duration. These items will still need to be completed before any work can begin on the website, regardless if you are brand new or rebranding.
5. Have finished and approved content for every page of your site – How you choose to produce your content is up to you. Still, I recommend working with a content creator so they can build strategic content that will, in the end, make the website perform much better. You are making a significant investment in your website, so investing in the content will greatly benefit you. Please be sure that you have a hard deadline for your content, whether you are writing it yourself or working with a content creator before you commit to the dates of the website project. And I have recommendations for content creators that I can share if you need any.
6. Having professional photos taken does wonders! – Every site that I have ever built where the client has had professional images taken has always been the best-performing websites! Your customers will resonate with you more when they see you in the images, and this will help build their trust. They make the website look more polished and unique from your competitors. Keep in mind that this is not a required step; however, having poor-quality photos or no photos on your website to personalize it will hurt you more than the investment to get nice photos taken. If you choose to get professional images taken, these do not need to be provided before we begin building, but you should schedule them as far in advance as possible so they don’t hold us up and can be implemented into the website before the launch.
Where will my website be hosted?
The platform your website is hosted on is completely your choice. My preference is the same person you purchase your domain from. Another good thing to keep in mind when choosing a hosting provider is to check that they have WordPress hosting. Because this is the platform that I would be using to build your website, the WordPress hosting will make it easier for your site to run. My two suggestions for hosting would be GoDaddy and SiteGround.
Why I don't offer hosting for my clients?
The hosting I could provide may not be as strong as hosting you could get from some of the big players, so I prefer you get the best product out there. Plus, I’ve known people’s websites that were held hostage due to being on another designer’s hosting plan, and that’s not the type of relationship I want for my clients either. I am your partner in this and want what’s best for you.
How far in advance do I need to book?
When can we start?
I would suggest booking your Pre-Strategy Call with me as soon as possible so we can determine how involved of a project you need and what timeline is available for your project.
What happens if I need to change the scope of our project before it's finished?
What happens if I need to pause the project?
Is there a rush fee if I need a website ASAP?
What is the investment for a strategic website?
Is my booking deposit refundable?
Do you offer payment plans?
Where will you build my website?
Who will be involved in building and delivering my project?
Does my website require any disclosures, privacy policies, or terms of service?
Will you teach me how to use my website?
Do you provide ongoing maintenance or retainers?
Do you offer copywriting or branding services?
Do you offer any warranty for your website clients?
CONVERSIONS: It doesn’t matter who builds your website or how well the website is created; if you don’t have a strategy to promote traffic to your website, you will never see traffic on it. Your website is a tool to convert people once they’ve landed on the website, but the type of people you lead to your website is also an essential factor in your traffic. One way to help gain traffic on your website is to have an SEO strategy. I offer packages for this service aside from your website project, but just like any marketing strategy, it is not a quick solution; SEO is a long process that takes time to see results. If you would like more information on this, don’t hesitate to book a call.
FUNCTIONALITY: Once your website is completed, you are responsible for maintaining the domain, hosting, SSL certificate, backups, and updates for your website to function correctly (unless you decide to subscribe to a Website Maintenance Plan). If these items are not kept up, your site can expire, be invisible, get hacked, break, etc. It is just as vital for you to monitor your website once it’s launched as it is for you to have a website in the first place.