WordPress Custom-Built Website

If I had a dollar for every time I have heard someone say, “I wish I had invested in a good website from the beginning,” I’d be a millionaire, no question.

So what makes a “good website”? Even though the internet has been with us for decades now, and there are millions upon millions of websites, there are still huge misconceptions out there about this basic question.

The top priority in designing any website is to define its purpose. Why do you want the website? What do you want it to do for you? Who do you want it to attract? The answers to these questions will determine the software you need and the amount of money you spend.

Most of the people I work with want their website to bring in clients. To do this well, it must rank high in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Search engines like Google index websites based on their content, and this is done through key words. If you look at my website Luna Coaching, you will see words in different colours. Those are key words. Google reads those key words, and when someone types any of them into a Google search, my website comes up in the list.

As with anything you buy, you get what you pay for. There are cheap, off-the-shelf websites and there are more expensive, custom-built websites—and there is a big distinction between them.

The cheaper generic websites are what I call “design-based.” These websites use a lot of images, and even though the images may contain text, the text cannot be read by Search Engine Optimization. Because SEO like Google indexes websites on content, a design-based website won’t bring you clients.

The surest way to be indexed by Google is to use WordPress software and custom-build your website. My website is a custom-built WordPress website. It comes with many advantages:
• The content will be indexed by SEO, so if you create content using many key words, your website with rank high.
• You can create fabulous content that will define you as the professional you are.
• You can also choose images to reflect your professionalism and the value you offer. Tagging these images will help with the ranking.
• You can edit and update your content easily. Updating content is a good way to improve your website’s SEO ranking.

A custom-built WordPress website takes between 30 and 35 hours to create and costs a minimum of $2,500. I’ll say it again: you get what you pay for. There are people out there offering cheap WordPress-driven websites for as little as $500, and even free templates. These are generic templates and will not bring in the results of a custom-built web-site.

I encourage you to familiarize yourself with the basic terminology and what you are getting for the money you spend. Anybody can buy or create a design-based website that will not rank with SEO and will not bring you clients. If attracting clients is your top priority, then go with a WordPress custom-built website. I promise you, you will be happy you did!

Many thanks to Rachel Cunliffe of Cre8d-design for reviewing this article. Rachel and her brother Stephen Merriman will work with you to develop a site that meets your goals, is tailored to your content and targets your visitors. They design an individual WordPress custom-built website for each client.

XOXO Monica