Having a professional and functional website is essential for any entrepreneur or business owner looking to amplify brand recognition in Philadelphia. WordPress stands out as one of the most popular and user-friendly platforms website developers use when providing web design services. So, we figured why not provide a WordPress web design starter guide to help you with your business website.

WordPress Web Design Starter Guide For Your Website

Choose Your Hosting and Domain Name

Start by selecting a reliable hosting provider that your website creator will use to support WordPress as your web builder. Many hosts like WP Engine or GoDaddy offer plan options with one-click WordPress installations, making setup straightforward. Next, chat with your website designer and pick a memorable domain name that reflects your brand or purpose. Securing a domain name as close to your business name can help improve brand recognition and make it easier for customers to find you online.

Install WordPress

Most hosting providers offer simple tools to install WordPress as your website builder. Website developers are experienced in setting up WordPress and can either do it for you as part of your web design services or guide you through the process. Once WordPress is installed, you can access your website’s dashboard by navigating to yourdomain.com/wp-admin. If you’re working with a web design company, be sure to ask them to provide you with your username and password to access your dashboard.

Select a Theme

WordPress themes control the look and layout of your web design. WordPress offers thousands of free and premium themes to choose from, so we suggest sharing a few web design reference examples with your website designer to help narrow the search. Choose one that aligns with your brand identity and your website creator will customize it to suit your needs.

Install and Activate Required Plugins

Plugins add functionality to your site, and the plugins that are required versus those that are optional may differ between themes. Popular options include Yoast SEO for Philadelphia SEO, Jetpack for security and performance and WooCommerce for an e-commerce website with an online store.

Create Content

Start adding pages like Home, About, Services and Contact as your baseline. Ask your web design company if they offer content creation as part of their web design services, and have them craft blog posts if you plan to publish regularly. You can even use AI tools to help craft engaging content that you can then refine to make your website informative and attractive.

Optimize and Launch

Request that your website designer run performance tests to make sure your website loads quickly. Web developer tools like GTmetrix and Google PageSpeed Insights will let you know if your website is mobile-friendly and optimized for search engines. Once your website has been tested, optimized and is performing well, launch your website and start promoting it through social media, email marketing and in other digital marketing.

Conclusion

WordPress is a versatile platform and website builder that empowers users of all skill levels to create stunning, functional websites. With its vast ecosystem of themes and plugins, using it as a web builder for customizing your website design can help you maximize time and money. If you’re shopping for a web designer in Philadelphia to help you build a WordPress website, let’s chat! Contact us online or call 323-848-4465 for a free website design consultation and estimate.