10 WordPress Project Considerations To Handle Before Starting

WordPress has become the dominant content management system (CMS). According to insights from W3techs, WordPress powers about 63% of websites that use a CMS. Many businesses depend on it to run their websites, blogs, and online stores, and many individuals use it to host personal blogs or portfolio websites. As an open-source platform, WordPress offers flexibility and a wide range of customization options.

While WordPress is incredibly powerful and versatile, you’ll need adequate planning to build a functional website with a great user experience. We created this tutorial for beginners and pros to provide step-by-step instructions on planning effectively for your new project.

1. Determine your core goals for your site

One of the most important steps before starting any WordPress site is to determine your core goals. Once you know what you want to achieve, you can narrow down your options and decide the best way to move forward. For example:

• What do you want the site to accomplish?
• Who is your target audience?
• What kind of content will you need to create to achieve your goals?

Answering these questions can help you create a focused and effective site. Consider creating a roadmap to visualize your goals and milestones.

Without a clear understanding of your goals, it’s easy to lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve. So, take the time to determine your core goals before starting your WordPress project.

2. Create a site map

A site map is a layout of the website’s architecture, showing how all the pages link together. It also contains a structured list of all the content that makes up the pages, including links, videos, and the images they contain.

Creating an extensive site map is an important step when building a website. By doing so, you can plan your site’s overall structure and navigation. Having a site map can save you time and money in the long run, as you’ll have a clear guideline when you develop your website.

A site map is also a helpful tool for organizing your web design content. By planning your website’s hierarchy, you can make sure your content is easy to find and browse. Easy navigation is especially important for large websites with a lot of content.

Since the site map sets priority levels and defines the design element for each page, it eases the development process and helps the developer stick to the desired architecture. It also helps your website rank better on search engines, as Google web crawlers can more easily index your site and present it on search engine result pages (SERPs).

How seamlessly and quickly those crawlers can get information from your site map helps Google rank your website’s relevance.

Consider these tips for developing an excellent site map.

• Get a clear picture of how you want to structure your website. Having a clear mental image of your website helps you plan the first draft of your website. From your draft, you can identify more important pages and what they should look like. Among the core pages to prioritize are your homepage, about page, and product pages.
• Begin your site map from the introduction and first cover the most important pages. Proper organization is everything in mapping a website. Not only does logical organization make navigation easier for your web visitors, but it also helps search engines index the website faster, increasing your chances of ranking higher in search results. Keeping your best content at the top or second layer of the site’s architecture allows for faster indexing and causes your site to rank better.

3. Define the functionality required

Before starting any WordPress project, take some time to determine the functionality you’ll need for your site. Understanding these needs can help you choose the right plug-ins and themes to make sure your site can appropriately serve its users.

You should consider several factors. First, think about the purpose of your site. Are you looking to create a simple blog or a more complex e-commerce website with advanced capabilities? Once you know the purpose of your site, you can start to identify the specific features you’ll need.

For example, if you’re building the website for an online store, you should download and install the WooCommerce and BuddyPress plug-ins on WordPress. These plug-ins give you access to unique elements like cart, checkout, and coupon add-on features. You may also include social media app integrations to help facilitate customer-client interaction or the drag-and-drop functionality to track tasks easily on your project page.

Next, consider your audience. Who will visit your site and what do the visitors want to see? There are several ways to find your potential target audience, including the following.

• Leverage keyword analysis. Keyword analysis is the process of discovering and evaluating the keywords your potential customers are using to search for products or services like yours. Once you find the top keywords related to your service, you narrow them down to their regions. With Google Trends, you can also get insights into their behavior by checking how the keywords trend over time.
• Use social analytics tools. Another great way to find your target audience is by checking out what people are talking about on social media. Monitor hashtags and trends related to your industry to understand what people are saying about your business and competitors. You may also check out adjectives that tell what your audience uses to describe services they need, like easy, better, fast, and more.
• Run comprehensive competitor analysis. Analyzing other businesses in your industry can help you understand your target audience. You can start by checking top review sites—like G2 or TrustRadius—to understand the types of people your client has as customers and what makes them happy about the service. You can also read your competitors’ blogs to get more ideas about their audience and what types of solutions interest them. Target audience research tools like Semrush and SpyFu also offer tools for more in-depth analysis of competitor keywords and their target market.
• Send out surveys and interviews. Surveys have always been an effective tool for data collection. SurveyMonkey and Google Forms are free tools you can use to create a survey. Ask the respondents questions that reveal their interests, behavior, and pain points related to your business.

For example, a coffee maker survey can ask questions like: How often do you drink coffee? Would you like to have your coffee delivered to you? Also include data fields asking for core demographic details like age, gender, job, and region. Sending out your survey to more people reduces the margin of error.

4. Choose a domain name

Choosing a domain name and WordPress hosting service may seem minor, but it’s an important part of starting your web development project. Your domain name is your website’s address on the internet, and your web hosting service is where your website’s files are stored.

A good domain name and web hosting service will help your website stand out from others and make it easier for people to find and visit your website.

Here’s how we define a good domain name: It should be short, simple, SEO-optimized, and representative of the content of the brand name.

• Keep it simple. Google recommends having a domain name of three to four words. That makes it easier for people to type and remember. A domain name should be easy to spell; avoid long and ambiguous words.
• Include your brand name or keywords. A domain name or relevant keywords can help with your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. Having a domain name that’s relevant to your business and keywords can help you rank higher on search engine results pages (SERPs). For a cleaning service website, you can add “cleaning” to the domain name or add a location like “Denver.”
• Consider affordability. Domain names can vary greatly in price depending on the current owner of the domain, the existing competition, and the popularity of the name. Consider shopping around for domain names you can afford long-term.

5. Consider your web hosting options

One of the most important things to consider when choosing a web host for your WordPress website is the type of hosting that’s right for you. A web host is a company that rents spaces on its server to people who wish to establish their website on the internet. The web host may also offer databases for backup file storage, bandwidth for internet speed, a security certificate and firewall, and more.

Hosting is available in three main types: shared, managed, and self-hosted.

• Shared hosting is the most affordable type of web host since you’re sharing server resources with other customers. However, this means you’re at the mercy of the other customers on the server. If they use up too many resources, your site may suffer.
• Managed hosting is more expensive than shared web hosts, but you get much more control over your server. The web host will take care of all the technical details for you, so you can focus on running your business.
• Self-hosting gives you the most control over your server, but this method is also the most expensive. With self-hosting, you’re responsible for all the technical details of your server, so it’s up to you to ensure everything is running smoothly.

For most small businesses, shared web hosting is the best option. It’s affordable and easy to use, and you don’t have to worry about the technical details of your server.

Once you’ve decided on the type of hosting that’s right for you, you’ll need to consider a few other things, such as price, features, and customer support. Here are a few questions to ask to help choose a web host that can best serve your needs.

• What uptime guarantee does the web host offer?
• What types of hosting are available?
• What type of security do you have in place to protect websites?
• Do you provide a free SSL certificate?

You’ll also want to make sure the web host you choose is compatible with WordPress. You should also check that the web host offers PHP and MySQL because WordPress is written in PHP and uses MySQL for its database.

Some popular web hosting sites include GoDaddy, DreamHost, and Bluehost.

6. Develop content for your website

Your website is the first impression most visitors will have of your business. You’ll want to create a unique website interface that leaves a lasting impression in their minds.

Content—the collection of words on your website—helps you explain what your business does and entices your visitors to take action. In other words, your web copy is what sells your business to your potential customers.

That’s why creating high-quality, persuasive copy for your website’s landing page, homepage, and other pages is important. We explain what goes into creating great content.

• Captivating header. An excellent header gives you a better chance that people will read the copy. Keep it simple, to-the-point, and with a personal tone—bonus points for using keywords in your header.
• Model a copy body. Follow up the header with a compelling structured description that aims to inform readers about the value of your product and why they need it. You can use the AIDA model—awareness, interest, desire, and action—to guide your writing. Rather than just stating your product’s or service’s features, show the benefits of using your product or service and what it can do for them. Then, emphasize what your readers stand to lose if they pass on your offer.

• Include a compelling CTA. The call to action (CTA) is a critical part of the copy. It should clearly push readers in a specific direction. For example, lead them to your product page, sign-up form, contact us, or checkout pages. Be sure the copy on those pages encourages the readers to continue to the end of the sales funnel.
• Use descriptive titles and keywords. Including relevant keywords in your page titles and content helps search engines index your pages more effectively. Good descriptions can also help visitors find the information they’re looking for. You can use several ways to find relevant keywords for your site and webpages. Investigate paid tools like SEMrush and Ahrefs or free tools like Google Analytics. Monitoring the “Search Related Topics” section of your Google search results page also gives you insights into the top keywords people search for.
• Get help from a web designer. Creating responsive websites is a web designer’s responsibility. These professionals can help you improve your site’s architecture or build a new one from scratch. Since you must publish your file site map in HTML or XML files, getting expert service from a web designer can help cut out unnecessary errors. Upwork allows you to hire a web designer for your site.

7. Build a consistent brand image and style

Your website is one of the most important marketing tools for your business. It’s the first place potential customers will go to learn about your company and what you have to offer. That’s why it’s important to ensure your website represents your brand in the best way possible.

Consistency is one of the most important aspects of creating a strong brand image. You want potential customers to see your website and immediately know it belongs to your company. You can achieve this by using a consistent color scheme, font, and overall design style across your marketing materials—including on brochures, business cards, flyers, posters, logos, and billboards.

When you present your marketing materials with a matching tone and visual style, people understand your brand better, which keeps you ahead of the competition. But to achieve brand consistency, you must do certain things.

1. Create a brand identity guide. This handbook contains all the information about your brand tone, color, visual style, logo, and typography. Understand the effect your color and tone have on your audience. For instance, as a kids’ toy brand owner, you want the business to mirror colors that stimulate happiness, relaxation, and passion. Choosing a combination of yellow, green, and red can be the way to go. You also want to sound welcoming in your tone. To ensure your brand guide gives the best representation of your business, consider hiring a brand identity designer on Upwork.
2. Execute your guidelines. After establishing your identity guidelines, execute them at every point of communication between your brand and customers. Whether you choose to use flyers, emails, billboards, or video ads, maintain the same tone on your copy. One way to make sure everyone on the marketing and design team uses the right assets when creating content for a campaign is to use an asset management tool like BuzzSumo and Content Studio.
3. Schedule your posts. A marketing calendar helps you stay on top of your campaign schedules. You can more easily coordinate how your content goes out to keep a consistent message for each campaign. Planning also gives you time to inspect all materials to ensure they support your identity.

8. Get familiar with WordPress themes and plug-ins

One of the great things about WordPress is that it’s highly customizable. WordPress themes are files that help you improve the overall interface of your website. They dictate the color, font, layout, backgrounds, typography, and other design elements of a webpage or the entire website. You can improve the functionality of your website using WordPress plug-ins, which add new features to your site.

Whether you want to integrate your social media handles, add feedback forms, or change the layout of your website, there are hundreds of themes and plug-ins available in the WordPress plug-in directory to help you. Popular page builders like Elementor offer drag-and-drop interfaces for easy customization.

Before building your WordPress website, familiarize yourself with the available themes and plug-ins. That will help you choose the right tools for your site and avoid potential problems down the road. You can also access numerous customizable themes on the website.

Some common plug-ins you can include are Yoast SEO, JetPack, and project management plug-ins. Yoast SEO has a variety of tools that help developers build SEO-friendly websites. Such tools have the ability to automatically generate XML site maps, provide support for Google Analytics, and offer a built-in keyword research tool. The drag-and-drop interface and ability to bulk edit posts and pages also make them helpful for general web development.

Jetpack contains several essential tools for social media integration, security, and web performance optimization. Similarly, project management plug-ins like CoSchedule and WP Project Manager help you track your projects’ deadlines, team members, calendars, and schedules.

9. Prepare blog content you can publish on your website

Although you may not be a blogger, there are many reasons you should consider creating blog content before building your WordPress website. Blog content can help you attract organic traffic to your website, build thought leadership, and establish yourself as an expert in your industry. It can also help you generate leads and sales.

Creating content for your website is a great way to get started with your website and begin building your audience. Focus on creating content that’s well-written and informative. Also, make sure your content is relevant to your audience and easy to navigate.

To make this step simple, consider hiring a professional blog writer on Upwork.

10. Consider optimizing for search engines

As you build your WordPress website, consider optimizing for SEO. SEO is the process of improving the visibility and ranking of your website on search engine results pages. Optimizing your website for SEO can make sure more people see your site, leading to more traffic and customers.

There are several ways to optimize your WordPress website for SEO. You can start by choosing a good WordPress theme with a fast page load speed and mobile-friendly interface to boost your SEO ranking. In addition, you can install WordPress plug-ins that help you with your SEO efforts, such as Yoast SEO, All in One SEO Pack, and SEOPressor.

You can also use keyword research tools like Google Trends and Semrush to find the right keywords to target for your website. Although paid ads are a more common approach for visibility, 70% of respondents believe SEO is more effective for generating sales than pay-per-click (PPC) ads. SEO also generates higher quality leads and incurs significantly lower costs.

If you take the time to optimize your website for SEO, you can be sure that more people will see your site.

Ready to get started?

After completing the preparation phase for developing your WordPress website, reassess the entire plan with your team members to make sure you didn’t leave anything out.

First, make a realistic assessment of how much time you can dedicate to building and maintaining your website. If you have limited discretionary time, consider using a WordPress page builder or the Project Catalog™ to find freelance WordPress developers and projects that fit your business needs.

Another factor to consider is your budget. Although WordPress allows you to build your website for free, you may want to invest in a premium theme or plug-in to give your website a more professional look and feel. If you’re not confident about building a functional and optimized WordPress website, hire a WordPress developer on Upwork.

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Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.