Having a website is non-negotiable in the modern business world, no matter the industry or niche you occupy. Whether you’re selling something or starting your own blog, or if you’re a solopreneur or you’re building a company with multiple teams, your brand needs a good website on a robust platform. After all, your website is your brand’s identity in the digital realm.

Now, there’s no denying that WordPress is the most user-friendly CMS on the market currently. The WordPress platform is able to accommodate any need and with the right plugins you can build a WP website to reach your brand’s goals efficiently and effectively.

Of course, let’s not forget that web design has a high impact on your sales output, so all the more reason to design and optimise your WP site right. Here are the 10 things you should keep in mind when building your WordPress website.

Consider Building a New WP Theme

The WordPress community is a global one, with millions of websites, developers, contributors, influencers, and others using the platform to drive businesses forward in every sector. Such a vast community has no shortage of ready-to-go WordPress themes that you can either download for free or buy from popular WP marketplaces around the web.

But should you buy a pre-built theme for your site?

The answer will vary from business to business, but ultimately it will come down to performance and compatibility. Keep in mind that modern WordPress web design is focused on building themes that are tailored to your unique needs.

While a pre-built theme might be full of bloatware and other features that you don’t need, a bespoke WP theme is optimised for maximum efficiency and performance. With that in mind, consider building your own WordPress theme from scratch to get the best bang for your buck.

Optimise Your WP Theme for Technical SEO

Speaking of optimisation, keep in mind that you also need to optimise your WordPress website for maximum visibility on Google. While it’s important to write SEO-friendly content and tend to on-page optimisation as well, all of that comes later.

Prior to that, you need to build a performance-driven WP theme that will speed up the website, make it responsive and user-friendly, and make it easy for Google to analyse. Optimising your WP site for Google is one of the best SEO hacks for SaaS startups in particular due to the resource-intensive nature of these websites, but it’s important to do it no matter the industry.

Make sure to:

  • Have a reliable hosting provider.
  • Install an SEO-friendly WP theme.
  • Install an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO.
  • Set your preferred domain.
  • Check visibility settings.
  • Create an XML sitemap.

If You’re Selling, Know the Different Between Shopify and WP

Ecommerce leaders might be tempted to choose Shopify as their preferred website platform, and that’s definitely not a bad choice. Both WordPress and Shopify have many powerful features that you can use to achieve your eCommerce goals and build a thriving online presence.

That said, it’s important to know the key differences between Shopify and WordPress so that you can make the best decision for your brand. WordPress tends to be cheaper than Shopify and there are many optimised plugins out there that can help you build a powerful eCommerce website.

On the other hand, it’s important to factor in Shopify’s amazing customer service and the fact that the platform is always innovating new features and functionalities.

Choose the Best Hosting Service for Your Site

Building a performance-driven WordPress website is not just about the theme or how much you focus on security and other key features, it’s also about choosing the right hosting plan. Your hosting provider will play a pivotal role in the overall user experience of your website and your big role in your ranking.

Make sure to read a detailed guide to hosting services before you decide on a provider and a hosting plan, because it’s important to ensure website usability, performance, and accessibility in the right regions. If you’re building a global business, then you should go for a plan that utilises decentralised servers, but if you’re only looking to grow locally, then choose a local hosting plan.

Have a Detailed Website Project Plan

Whether you’re building a WP website for yourself or your clients, it is imperative to have a comprehensive project plan. This plan acts as a detailed roadmap you and your clients can follow to streamline the entire process, minimise financial waste, and maximise the potential of the website.

In your website project plan template you want to outline all the preliminary stages like defining the scope of work and talking with the team or your clients, and then move into defining the milestones of the project. Make sure to assign a reasonable deadline for each task, and use incremental daily progress to keep the project moving forward at all times.

Use the Right Plugins

The power of the WordPress platform lies in its plugins, and as you already know, you need to install the right plugins in order to build a beautiful, performance-driven site. If you are looking to sell on WordPress, for example, then it’s not just enough to write eCommerce product descriptions that sell, it’s also important to use the right plugins.

Some of the best WordPress plugins for eCommerce include the kind of light plugins that don’t harm the performance of your site, like a floating contact form, a chat function, and a folders plugin to help you organise all those products and pages. Of course, there is also the WooCommerce platform that you need to have if you’re selling on WordPress, but more on that in a bit.

Monitor the Latest WordPress Trends

It should go without saying that you need to stay on top of the latest trends in the WordPress sector in order to take your online presence forward. To that end, make sure to follow reliable tech websites to get the latest technology updates pertaining to website upkeep and WordPress, but also to get notified on some discounts you can use to build a WP site or install some amazing plugins.

Remember, building a WP set is not a one-off thing, as you need to keep optimising and innovating to stay ahead of the competition. What’s more, keep in mind that the consumer trends are always evolving, so people are expecting you to keep your WP site looking fresh.

Ecommerce Sites Should Have a WooCommerce Theme

WordPress might be a versatile CMS, but it wasn’t originally built to support eCommerce ventures. This is why you need the WooCommerce plugin to get all the features you need to build and run a thriving online store on a powerful platform like WordPress.

That said, you also need to choose a lightweight, minimal WooCommerce theme that’s optimised for maximum performance. An online store is resource-heavy, and you need a good theme that can support all the pages and products you have while still loading quickly and providing a seamless user experience.

Capitalise on Social Media Plugins

Social media plugins for WordPress are powerful tools you can use to drive your marketing, lead generation, and brand awareness forward in the competitive online world. No matter the types of social media posts you’re using to boost your social presence, it’s important to tie all of that into your WordPress website so that people can easily view your posts, share and like, and more.

Some social media plugins will allow you to display your latest IG posts on your website and uplift your social branding, others act as share counters and buttons leading to your social pages, while some add floating social menus to your site. The possibilities are numerous, but remember to only install the ones you definitely need so that you don’t overwhelm your website and make it slow to load.

Turn Your HTML Template into WordPress

Last but not least, if you are running your website on static HTML and you want to make a switch to WordPress, which is more intuitive and easy to use, you have several options at your disposal. Keep in mind that converting HTML templates to WordPress themes is something you can do manually by yourself, but you can also outsource it to professionals if you don’t have the experience.

You can also use an import plugin on your new WordPress site to simply import all the content from your HTML into the new CMS. Whichever approach you choose, make sure to backup your work regularly and test during every stage to make sure all assets are working properly on your new WP site.

Over to you

WordPress might be the most popular CMS in the world, but you still need to follow some key steps to maximise the potential of the platform for your business. Use these tips to create a powerful WP site that will take your brand to new heights of success.