Before you entrust your WordPress website development to a developer or agency, make sure they will not be making these 8 rookie mistakes, writes Marius Vetrici, Ph.D.
He’s right. Here’s the TLDR:
- Not adhering to coding standards: Your website will function properly if your developer adheres to the most recent coding architecture guidelines. This makes it easier to keep it up-to-date, add new functionality, and solve bugs in the future.
- WordPress Website Security Isn’t Deployed: Even though WordPress can be very secure (the White House has been using WordPress since 2017), the issue of website safety should not be taken lightly. Make sure your developer is up to the task.
- Not Using An Updated or Optimized Theme: ScepterMarketing did a study in May 2020 and found that 31,000 WordPress themes had been created. Although many of these themes have been created to look attractive and offer a wide range of customization possibilities, they have not all been built with website performance in mind.
- Not Paying Attention to Search Engine Optimization: Nowadays, optimizing your website for search engine optimization (SEO) is critical. More than 246 million people in the United States and an estimated 4.3 billion people across the world are using Google, according to Semrush’s data. Developers that don’t adhere to Google’s SEO guidelines from the start will harm your website’s search engine rankings.
- Not Improving The Performance Of The Website: KissMetrics found that 40% of people will leave a website if it takes longer than three seconds to load. A similar percentage of website visitors anticipate that a page will load in under two seconds.
- Using WordPress Pages and Posts Inappropriately: A developer’s knowledge of WordPress posts and pages is critical. The “About Us,” “Contact,” and “Services” sections of your WordPress site should all be contained under a single page. For information that needs to be updated frequently, including blog posts, articles, and news, posts should be used instead.
- Not Considering Web Accessibility: When it comes to web accessibility, it’s all about making sure that your website is accessible to everyone, regardless of their language limitations or location on the globe, their device or any other disability.
- Having the Wrong Call To Action: Weak or non-existent calls-to-action are the final misstep. It doesn’t matter whether your WordPress website is well-designed and loads quickly; if it lacks a clear call to action (e.g., “Get more details,” “Sign up,” or “Contact us”), visitors will simply abandon your site without taking any further action. After they arrive at your website, users should be guided through your marketing funnels and prompted to take appropriate action.