Your online store is your virtual storefront. True! But it is also the face of your brand, often the deciding factor for your credibility. So, you must have a good web design. A poor web design will only lead to high bounce rates, resulting in lost sales.
WordPress is the most popular content management system. Businesses worldwide turn to top WordPress development companies to realize their online visions. Now, leveraging WordPress can help you build an aesthetically superior and functionally brilliant website. But working with a WordPress development company isn’t always smooth sailing—especially if you fail to avoid the common pitfalls.
Since you are thinking of working with one, you must know about the pitfalls that spiral your dream project out of control.
Read on to know more about the pitfalls and relevant, actionable tips to avoid them.
Mistakes To Avoid When Working With A WordPress Development Company
Skipping Research On The Company’s Expertise
Never choose a WordPress development company without checking their expertise. Many businesses fall for flashy websites and bold claims. But you must dig deeper. Ask relevant questions like:
Does the company specialize in WordPress?
Do they have experience working for your industry?
Are they aware of the specific features or functionalities you need?
Do they know about the latest WordPress updates, plugins, and security practices?
Actionable Tip:
Always ask for their portfolio. Check their case studies and testimonials. Ensure their skills align with your project’s requirements. Remember, a little due diligence at the beginning saves a lot of trouble later.
Overlooking Their Poor Communication
Imagine you’ve shared your requirements. Weeks pass, but there is no update from their end. Your frustration mounts, resulting in misunderstandings, which is why most projects fail.
Some companies are technically brilliant but lack effective communication channels. Communication lays the foundation for a successful collaboration. Whether it’s understanding your vision, explaining technical concepts, or updating you on the project’s progress, lack of communication can result in absolute chaos.
Actionable Tip:
Assess the responsiveness of your WordPress website development company before signing on the dotted line. Ask yourself questions like, “Do they understand your queries?” or like “Are they proactive in offering solutions?” Collaborate with them only if the answer is a yes.
Also, establish clear communication channels and agree on a reporting schedule before you enter into any contract with them.
Ignoring Scalability And Future-Proofing
Technology is rapidly evolving. Websites built on current technologies might become redundant if they are not scalable and future-ready.
For example, building a website without integrating scalability will become a nightmare as your business grows. You will find your WordPress plugins clashing, your website speed will go down, and your user experience will suffer badly.
So, instead of focusing solely on your immediate business needs, include your long-term goals, too.
Actionable Tip:
Share your long-term goals with the development company during the planning stage. Discuss if they can further propose design and development improvements to handle future business expansions and growth. Partner with a custom WordPress development company only if you find them talking about scalable hosting solutions and modular development approaches.
Focusing Solely On Cost
Budgets matter but never make it a deciding factor when hiring a WordPress development company. If you opt for one just because they are offering you the cheapest rates, you are in for trouble. The result? You only get “what you pay for” and are bombarded with hidden costs, subpar work, and frequent maintenance issues. These will quickly escalate your project costs.
Actionable Tip:
Balance cost with value. Evaluate the company’s budget vis-a-vis its deliverables. Sometimes, what costs you more upfront can save you from expensive fixes down the road. Also, these upfront costs get negated when you reap the results of a well-designed, high-performing, fully functional website.
Neglecting Customization
WordPress is packed with pre-built themes and plugins. You might be tempted to take shortcuts. But remember, cookie-cutter solutions can hurt your brand’s uniqueness. Opt for custom WordPress development and make it your differentiator. Surviving the competitive online landscape will become much more manageable.
Actionable Tip:
While themes and plugins make website designing easy, they must be customized based on the brand’s requirements. Further, you must tailor your website to meet the unique requirements of your users. This personalization will result in memorable experiences, making your users come back again and again.
Forgetting About Seo And Performance
Building a visually compelling and functionally brilliant website is not enough. You must make it rank on the search engine page to enhance its visibility. This search engine optimization will help you get more visitors and improve your chances of conversions.
Assuming that your WordPress development company will automatically handle your website’s SEO requirements is foolishness. Website development does not automatically encompass website SEO.
Actionable Tip:
Discuss your SEO and performance requirements during the planning phase. Ask about speed optimization, responsive design, branding, and adherence to SEO best practices. Before signing on, find out if your website will align with search engine visibility requirements.
Not Clarifying Ownership And Handover
Here’s what is likely to happen when you do not talk about and clarify ownership rights or handover processes. Your project will get done. Your website will also look and feel great. But when you want to make any change, you will find that you have no access.
If you do not discuss handover and ownership, your custom wordPress website development company might retain administrative control. You will be dependent on them for every change, forcing you to enter into a maintenance contract with them. This is costly and frustrating.
Actionable Tip:
Clearly outline ownership terms in the contract. See that you get full ownership and access to the website. This includes its backend and all associated files once the project is complete.
Failing To Define Clear Goals
What is a project without clearly defined milestones? It’s a chaos. Your partnering website development company will function at its pace, leaving you dealing with losses due to website launch delays.
Actionable Tip:
Get your business team to outline your goals. Think about what features you want to implement, what is your target audience, when you want to launch your website, etc. Convey these requirements to your website development service provider and ask them to set project milestones. This will align the project with your expectations and reduce project delivery time.
Underestimating Website Security
WordPress is a very popular website-building tool. Over 40% of websites present on the internet are powered by WordPress. This makes it an easy target for hackers. So remember to safeguard your website right from its development.
Actionable Tip:
Ask about security measures during the planning stage. Integrate these measures during its development to shield and secure your website from cyberattacks. Ensure you implement a process to keep your security measures, backups, and firewall configurations updated. Make security a priority, not an afterthought.
Skipping Post-Launch Support
The launch is just the beginning. To ensure your website performs to its optimal capacity 24/7, you must ensure post-launch support. Refrain from assuming that your website developer will continue to support you post-launch.
Actionable Tip:
Discuss post-launch support and maintenance packages at the beginning of the project. Ensure the company offers clear terms for updates, troubleshooting, cybersecurity enhancements, and additional development needs. Negotiate the costs and sign them so that your website does not suffer from downtime after launch.
Wrapping up
Make working with a custom WordPress development company feel like a partnership. Learn from the mistakes mentioned above and avoid them. Implement the actionable tips to ensure a smooth relationship; one that adds value to your business and helps you unlock all-round success.