We get asked a lot of the same questions every time we get a RFP for a website design. These frequently asked questions are included on every proposal we send out, so in effort to be proactive, I will be posting them here as well.
Why do you use WordPress CMS?
WordPress is open source content management software and currently powers around 27% of all websites on the Internet. The project is contributed to by tens of thousands of developers all over the world and due to this collaboration, WordPress is becoming stronger and faster as time goes on. WordPress allows us to develop flexible and customizable websites to modern standards and observes web development best practices. Furthermore the community of web developers that use WordPress reaches far and wide and allows us to tap in to this collective intelligence and bring that wealth of experience to your project.
Where is the website hosted?
We offer an excellent hosting solution, if you are looking for a new hosting environment. A website needs to be hosted on a reliable host, which maintains their servers well and does not overcrowd them. For WordPress sites this is even more important, as they are resource intensive. If you have a current host, there may or may not be a reason to change. If you decide to not host with us, we ask that you choose a well-respected 3rd party hosting solution of which we have some recommendations.
Who do I call if something goes wrong with the website or I cannot figure something out?
Provided you subscribe to one of our ongoing Web Care Plans, we will be your first point of contact should something go wrong with your website. We will determine whether it is something the hosting company needs to fix or something that is on our end of the website. We will make all the calls required to the hosting company to get you back up and running. We also provide free website training within the first 30 days of launch to assist you in using your website.
What happens after the website is launched?
Once your website is launched, we will provide 30 days of support to make sure any bugs have been ironed out and that you are confident using your new website. After this you will need to subscribe to one of our ongoing Web Care Plans to make sure your website is looked after and maintained. These Web Care Plans include general support time, updating WordPress core, updating plugins, regular off-site backups, security maintenance, and making sure your website is online and open for business.
How long will it take to appear at the top of Google?
The time it takes for your website to appear on page 1 of Google depends on a number of factors. It depends on the search phrase people are using to find your website and the number of other websites that are also available for those search phrases. Nobody can truly say how long it will take for your website to appear at the top of search engine results pages (including people who actually work for Google), however there are a number of factors that can improve your chances. Building your website on WordPress is a good start as WordPress has some great Search Engine Optimization fundamentals built-in. Creating unique and interesting content on a regular basis for your website is also critical to increase your visibility amongst search engines. Launching your website and then forgetting about it is a surefire way to get lost amongst the noise.
How will I know if anyone is visiting my website?
We will install Google analytics software on your new website and show you how to log into your Google analytics account where you can see a wide range of statistics about your website including number of visits, page views, and the amount of time people are spending on your website.
What happens if I want to add some features to the website while you’re building it?
While we like to be flexible and responsive to your needs, we also like to deliver what we promise within the time frame and budget we have agreed upon. If new features or more pages take the project above the scope outlined within the agreement, then additional costs may apply and we will discuss those costs if it occurs.
What is included in the keyword research?
Before building the first page, we use SEO tools to determine what potential clients are looking for and optimize the site using technical SEO for those searches. This allows us to create content and use imagery that is related to those keywords and to encourage more leads.
What is technical SEO?
Technical SEO (search engine optimization) refers to the backbone of your SEO strategy. Unlike a lot of designers who just build a pretty site, we take time to do keyword research and find out what people are searching for. Then we take that information and apply it to the site’s structure; page title, meta description, heading structure, page content, and page imagery via alt tags and title tags. This gives you a better chance of your content ranking over time. We avoid all “black-hat” SEO tactics, which are not approved by Google, such as keyword stuffing and providing content to crawlers that the user does not see.