If you are seeking a WordPress developer in Charlottesville or are comfortable working with a Central Virginia firm to meet your WordPress development needs, we’d like to help you! Each year, more and more of our clients are discovering and converting to WordPress.
Choosing and Converting to WordPress
We expect requests for WordPress website development and WordPress conversions to continue. What began as blogging software has evolved to become the most popular content management system for business websites in the US and elsewhere, enabling business owners and staff to publish Web content without learning to code HTML.
What to Expect When Learning WordPress
Whether you’re converting an existing site or building your first, you may be wondering what to expect from WordPress and how difficult it will be to learn.
While WordPress configuration can be time consuming, and modifications can be complicated, you’ll probably agree with our existing clients that publishing is easy and the learning curve is short, especially for those familiar with using a text editor.
Why Hire A WordPress Developer?
If you have experience with other Web publishing platforms, have grown up in the digital age, or have the time and willingness to learn how to launch and configure a WordPress site, you may require little to no assistance from a WordPress developer.
On the other hand, if you don’t fit at least one of those profiles, or if your site requires special features that are difficult to find or challenging to install, hiring a WordPress developer may be cost effective, if not essential.
Some of our clients require little to no custom development. Others find it cost effective to let us handle all aspects of development, customization and integration while they focus on their business. We encourage our clients to do as much work on their website or blog as they are able to do and wish to do without our involvement. As our client, you will make those decisions. We’ll be available when you need us.
How Easy Is It? Is a WordPress Expert Necessary?
WordPress is easy to install and use. If you have the time and willingness to learn and experiment, many features can be configured or added without hiring a WordPress expert. Yet companies often hire experts in WordPress development to customize their website or blog. If you’re wondering whether you’ll need expert assistance, there are visual and non-visual modifications to consider.
Two Reasons to Hire a Professional WordPress Developer
Modifying the appearance of your website (or blog) is the most common reason companies hire a professional WordPress developer. Modifying how the website functions is the other. We’ll talk briefly about both reasons. But first, let’s get acquainted with what a WordPress theme is. (If you already know, you may wish to skip the next section.)
What Is A WordPress Theme?
A WordPress theme is a collection of associated files that determine the site’s appearance, among other things. Some themes are 100% free. Others must be purchased. Even premium themes are very affordable when compared with the cost to purchase a custom design.
Your current theme selection is referred to as your active theme. The appearance of every WordPress site is governed by its active theme.
To modify the appearance of your website, you can activate (select) a different theme or make changes to your active theme.
When WordPress is installed, the WordPress team’s latest theme will be installed and activated by default. You can continue to use that default theme or choose a different theme. In fact, as the administrator of a WordPress website, you may select any theme you like and change the theme at any time. WordPress even lets you preview how your site will look with new themes, enabling you to compare themes before making any changes the public will see.
Theme Customization to Modify Appearance
Once you’ve selected a theme, you may or may not need a developer’s help to change the site’s appearance. Here are three factors:
- Aesthetic and Branding Requirements
- Your company’s aesthetic and branding requirements will dictate whether customizing your selected theme will be necessary, and if so, the extent of customization required.
- Theme Options
- Themes vary by appearance but also by the number and types of features that can be modified without altering the programming code, and the options available for each modifiable feature. For this reason, your theme selection can impact whether programming will be necessary to make the changes you desire.
- In-house Resources
- If theme tweaking is necessary, assessing the capabilities and availability of your in-house resources will enable you to determine if you should outsource tasks to a professional WordPress developer.
Theme Customization to Modify Function
WordPress theme customization often is required to achieve functional objectives that are not related to appearance. Implementing changes to the actions a visitor can take on the website, to what information is stored in the database, and to what happens when a visitor submits a form are a few examples of functional modifications that may require WordPress coding expertise.
Meeting Your Requirements
Many of our clients are too busy to devote in-house resources to the task of customizing WordPress. Other clients find they can do most of the tweaking themselves and just need help to resolve an occasional challenge. If you are in either category, or somewhere in between, we’re available to provide the level of assistance your company requires. Please contact us to discuss your WordPress-theme customization and development requirements.
Assistance with Existing WordPress Websites
For maintenance and WordPress webmaster assistance, please visit our WordPress help in Charlottesville page in our Webmaster section.
