What is WordPress? …and What is a WordPress Expert? I’m being asked these questions more and more these days. So, I thought I’d take a few minutes to share my thoughts. According to Wikipedia, WordPress is a “free open source blogging tool and content management system (CMS), that’s built on PHP and MySQL. It includes plug-in architecture and a template system.”
What does this mean in plain English? Well, we’ve been handed a free toy that we can mold, shape, build, and customize in any way we can imagine! This is where the WordPress Expert comes in. Due to the versatility and custom potential of WordPress, the WordPress Expert must be knowledgeable in all facets of the CMS. Here are some of the big ones…
Templates vs. Custom
The WordPress community gives us the benefit of many great pre-made templates and themes. These are good if what you want is a basic blog or a simple website. Anything above and beyond that will need some TLC to get you a Custom WordPress website. This is the space where Nicasio Design and Development specializes! Here’s an example of one of our Custom Designs The Sonoma County Restaurant Week.
E-commerce
Simply put, E-Commerce is a way for organizations to accept online payments for goods and services. Companies are taking their ventures to the web these days by the lots! They are looking for smart people that can build a custom flow to their website that results in purchases and closed sales. Here’s an example of an E-commerce site we designed OurSkinny.
Social Media and Social Media Management
I believe its safe to say, the Social Media craze is here to stay. Everyone and their brother is on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. Organizations can no longer ignore the power of social media and are now jumping into the game as well. A WordPress Expert definitely needs to be knowledgeable in this area. We built this site to display the latest Tweets across the top of the home page: Inside-Sonoma.
Blogging
Blogging is all about keeping your community up to date on your Brand with dynamic information. It’s a good practice to post, at least, one or two articles per week, accompanied with colorful photos related to the article topic. Here’s an example of a site we built with a blog: Tybeebb.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization is the practice of making your website easily found by those looking for your good and services via search engines. A WordPress Expert needs to know how to develop the WordPress website using best practices – and set up the powerful feature sets that make WordPress Google’s BFF. This allows for the search engines to crawl your site and present it to relevant searchers.
PPC Advertising
Pay-per-click advertising gives you the opportunity to draw in new visitors that are interested in whatever it is your site has to offer. A WordPress Expert should know how to write skillfully worded Ads on Facebook and Google Adwords in order to get results. They should also be good at choosing effective keywords to bid on. Additionally, bringing traffic to your site is not enough. Custom landing pages are key to keeping the visitors engaged and ultimately convert them to leads or sales.
In Closing
The folks here at Nicasio Design and Development are Experts in the Custom Design of WordPress. The topics mentioned above are just a few of the cool and exciting things that can be done with WordPress. We would like to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below. What would you include in this list? Have you worked with a non-expert? How painful was it?
Are you in the market for a Custom WordPress Design? If you are, then please contact our managing director Felix Figuereo to get your Free Quote today! He’s a calm and patient man that will let you do the talking.
Phone: (912) 441-7011 Email: felix at nicasiodesign.com