Imagine this scenario: your business is thinking of getting a brand new or redesigned WordPress website, and when you begin searching for help, you get lost in a sea of technical information and confusing terminology. Do you need a WordPress Designer? A WordPress Developer? Can a template be used or does it have to be created from scratch? Will I be able to transfer my current content to the new website or do I have to start all over? There’s so much to consider – what do you do?
First of all, breathe! Take a step back and give yourself time to analyze exactly what you need and what key terms to search for. Understanding what you really need will clear a path through the confusion, and we’ll start by breaking down what you need to know to have that perfect WordPress site for your business.
What’s the Difference Between a WordPress Developer and WordPress Designer?
In the simplest terms, a designer handles the aesthetics and brands them specifically for the business, while the developer handles the technology and functionality that the users will need to navigate the website. While it’s true that many can be both a developer and a designer, they are inherently different jobs that need both front-end and back-end expertise. It’s no different when applying WordPress to the job description – whether a developer or a designer, the job hinges on understanding the world within WordPress and how to best produce a website both aesthetically and functionally.
What Does a WordPress Designer Do?
A WordPress designer is someone whose expertise is in creating the look of a WordPress website, optimizing the visual impact of the business’ branding using graphics, fonts, color and textures. They are usually grounded in the world of graphic design and often use programs such as those in the Adobe Creative Suite to create the look and feel of the website graphics and images.
How Do I Find a WordPress Designer Near Me?
There are various ways to find a quality WordPress designer, but the simplest is to Google for your location, such as “WordPress website designer Tampa”. This should give you a pretty good listing of companies providing the service near you, but be aware that you will need to dig in and research a little – each search result will offer paid ads for designers who may or may not be the best choice, but they paid for the advertising.
Be sure to thoroughly vet any potential offerings by checking out their business website, which should offer a portfolio of past clients and projects. Another way is via word of mouth – check with your business friends as well as competition and see what they have to say about who they’ve worked with. Stories about good or bad experiences can steer you in the right direction.
What Does a WordPress Developer Do?
A WordPress developer will take the creative and implement it into the framework of WordPress using code, putting everything together to produce the end result of a functional and aesthetically pleasing website. From simple HTML and CSS, to PHP and API’s, WordPress developers must have programming skills and be very detail oriented. WordPress developers are also who to turn to for complex websites such as those involving higher security concerns, complicated functionalities, and larger WP Multisite projects.
How Do I Find a WordPress Developer Near Me?
This answer is very much like the one for WordPress designers – search Google (using your location) for “WordPress website developer Tampa”. The same research tips apply, and as always, word of mouth can go far. Another option not yet mentioned would be to look at freelancer sites such as Codeable and UpWork. Here you will find project-based freelancers who may be able to offer their service on a contract basis.
What is Headless WordPress and Should I Use It?
Without getting too technical, traditional WordPress sites include the framework of the front end or head (the user interface and navigation) and the back end or body (where all the code lives). More recently, Headless WordPress has become trendy due to its customization opportunities, scalability, security and speed. What it means is that while the body is still WordPress, the head utilizes a different framework, all connected by an API. It also means that this can take more time and money, as well as being dependent upon the developers to keep it working smoothly. Should you use it? That depends on your budget, needs, and overall comfortability with WordPress and other frameworks.
If your small business is looking for a WordPress designer or developer, or if you think you may want to delve into headless WordPress, call Blink;Tech today!
