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Is your business struggling to get ahead? You need an online presence that accurately reflects the high caliber of your brand and captures the attention of your prospects.

Emily Journey & Associates is my team of web developers located in Columbus, Ohio. I’m Emily Journey, and since 2012, we have helped businesses increase their online revenue and reduce website cart abandonment.

Contact my office at (844) 972-6224. Emily Journey will help you strengthen your online presence with custom web developer services in Columbus, Ohio.

Office: (844) 972-6224 Contact Us

Custom Web Developer Services in Columbus, OH

Every website project is unique. That’s why our Columbus, Ohio, website development services are customized to meet your unique goals.

As experienced developers, we provide tailored solutions for all of our clients. They range from established small businesses to nonprofit organizations to complex e-commerce stores. We customize our services to fit your vision and web development goals.

Our options for website design and development in Ohio include:

• Custom Website Design and Development
• WordPress Website Development
• E-Commerce Web Development
• PSD to WordPress Development
• WordPress Theme Conversion
• Custom Coded Website to WordPress Conversion
• Smaller Web Development Projects

1. Custom Website Design and Development

To capture the attention of your prospect, you need a custom web design to showcase your brand.

Your developer approaches development and design holistically, ensuring your site is easy to use and drives increased conversion rates. Your design will include high-converting intuitive navigation, compelling content, and features that make it easy for your customer to take the next step.

Not ready for a full redesign? Your dedicated web developer will improve your current website design by integrating the latest web technologies and usability best practices.

2. WordPress Web Development

The experienced web developers at Emily Journey & Associates excel at offering the best WordPress website development services in Columbus, Ohio. Our strength is building custom WordPress websites that are both highly functional and beautiful.

You and your developer will create a WordPress website that’s intuitive, engaging and easy to use. We’ll ensure your customers always have a positive user experience.

We offer a full range of WordPress development services, including theme customization, plugin installation, SEO optimization, and more.

3. E-Commerce Web Development

We are committed to helping you create an online store that gets found in searches and drives more sales. My team of web developers will create a highly-functional and expertly optimized e-commerce website that converts.

Our website design and development company in Ohio makes it easy for shoppers to find and purchase products quickly.

Our E-Commerce Services Include:

• Product catalog integration
• Payment system setup
• Shipping options customization
• Wholesaler portals, and more

We also understand the importance of security and reliability. That is why our e-commerce web development services include comprehensive security measures that ensure your customers can shop with confidence.

4. PSD to WordPress Development

If you already have design files for your site, our PSD to WordPress development option is an efficient way to create your website. Your dedicated web developer will turn your design files (like a Photoshop document or PDF) into a fully-functional WordPress website.

Our experienced team can customize themes and create custom features to turn any PSD file into a feature-rich WordPress website. Trust us to bring your vision to life.

Take the next step. Let’s discuss the goals you have for your website. Call my friendly office at (844) 972-6224 or send me a message through our contact form.

5. WordPress Theme Conversion

WordPress websites with out-of-date themes are often unattractive and expensive to maintain. Plus, they almost always pose a security risk. Protect your brand and your customers. Upgrade to a WordPress theme that secures your website and reflects the quality you offer your customers.

6. Custom-Coded Website to WordPress Conversion

If you want to switch your website from a custom-coded platform to WordPress, the experienced team at Emily Journey & Associates will help. Our goal is to offer a smooth and efficient transition.

With our custom-coded website to WordPress conversion service, we redevelop your existing website into a fully-functional WordPress website. We have years of experience redeveloping sites from custom code platforms. You can feel confident that your new WordPress website will look as good (or better) than it did before.

7. Smaller Web Development Projects

You may not want (or need) a complete website overhaul. We respect your decision. Working together, we can modify your current website by pinpointing areas that need improvements. Changes can range from optimizing navigation and incorporating usability features to ensuring your site is mobile-friendly and search engine optimized.

Office: (844) 972-6224 Contact Us

Web Development Services in Columbus, Ohio

All of our website development services include:

• Mobile Responsive Design – Optimize your website for mobile users and make sure it looks great on any device.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Maximize your website’s SEO potential and drive organic traffic by implementing industry-leading best practices in your web design.
• Secure Development Practices — We prioritize website security and implement rigorous secure development practices to safeguard your website against any potential malicious attacks.
• Content Management Systems (CMS) – You have complete control over your website’s content and features because we only use robust content management systems such as WordPress.
• Social Media Integration – Heighten user engagement and streamline the sharing of your content by integrating your website with popular social networks.

  

End-to-End Web Development Process

Phase 1: Web Strategy and Plan

A successful website design and development process requires a solid web strategy and detailed plan from the beginning.

Our expert web strategists at Emily Journey & Associates empower you to make informed decisions throughout the project. We start by helping you define your goals, core message, project scope and the features or functionality required for success. Then we set milestones for completion. This information helps us determine which technologies to use and how long it will take to complete your website.

Trust us to guide you through the web development process with excellent communication, thorough explanations and efficiency.

Phase 2: Asset Development and Collection

We take care of everything when it comes to sourcing assets for your website, including:

• Finding or creating engaging images and videos
• Writing compelling and optimized copy
• Identifying other elements that will enhance your website

Phase 3: Design Approval

We know your website is often the first place your prospects experience your brand and message. Our thoughtful, high-quality designs use industry best practices. This will accurately convey your brand and message while creating a user-friendly layout.

We’ll work closely with you during this development phase to listen to your feedback, and make any necessary changes.

Phase 4: Development

Emily Journey & Associates utilizes modern web technologies and tools to create secure, fast-loading, and user-friendly websites. Our technical expertise allows us to develop your website on a scalable platform. This makes it easy to update content, add features, and make changes over time.

Phase 5: Quality Assurance and Testing

As part of our development process, we conduct thorough testing across multiple browsers and devices. Our careful testing ensures your website looks good and performs flawlessly.

Phase 6: Launch

Your website launch is the reward for all the hard work and dedication that has gone into building it. Your dedicated developer at Emily Journey & Associates takes extra measures to preserve your website SEO, so you won’t see web traffic decrease after your website goes live.

Phase 7: Web Support and Maintenance

Once your website is complete, we will help you launch it on the web. We’ll also provide ongoing maintenance services to keep it up-to-date. My team is here to answer any questions you might have about the launch process or ongoing maintenance. We invite you to reach out at any time and connect with our friendly, expert developers.

For more information on our Columbus, Ohio, website design and development services, contact our friendly office. You can reach us at (844) 972-6224 or send us a message through our inquiry form.

Post-Development Web Support

Emily Journey & Associates knows that website development is an ongoing process. That’s why we offer comprehensive post-development website maintenance services.

Our care plans for monthly web maintenance services guarantee your website stays secure and runs optimally. If the need arises, we also provide advanced web support services, including troubleshooting and bug fixes. My team of Columbus web developers provides full support for your website, from design and development to maintenance, optimization and more. Whatever service you’re looking for, our team will keep your website fully functional and up-to-date.

Web Design and Development Portfolio

Emily Journey & Associates takes pride in our web design and development portfolio. From established small businesses to nonprofit organizations, my team works with a diverse clientele. Our custom websites capture your unique brand identity, function seamlessly and engage your visitors with attractive design.

Our portfolio showcases our expertise in web development services. These include e-commerce websites, nonprofit sites, websites for service providers, and responsive sites optimized for mobile users.

A distinctive website makes you stand out from your competition while preserving–and respecting–your brand. That’s why our clients report increases in engagement and user-friendly experiences that drive conversions.

Next Steps for Web Development Services

Make your vision a reality and achieve your goals with a custom website that is beautiful, engaging and seamlessly functional. Take the next step for web design and development services. Contact us to speak directly to a team member and receive answers to your questions.
Office: (844) 972-6224 Contact Us

When it comes to selecting the best WordPress host, making the right decision can often be a tricky proposition. There are more web hosting companies than ever before, and they all boast features that make them seem better than their competition. Do you need WordPress-dedicated hosting, or is a fast, solid host good enough?

Your decision should not be made lightly; it is critical to the long-term health of your website.

You want to select a secure, premium WordPress hosting company that offers excellent customer service. Plus, it should be fast enough to meet the demand of your website. Over the years, I have seen even the best WordPress hosting sites rise and fall as their features or services have improved or declined.

Among all the options available, two WordPress hosting providers have risen to the top. They are now among my top choices for the best website hosting for WordPress. SiteGround and WP Engine.

Over the years, I have worked with clients who have had just about every different hosting company out there. My list of favorites over that time has changed, but those are two choices that rank highest for me today.

Watch my video to learn more about what to consider when making web hosting comparisons and choosing a hosting company.

Office: (844) 972-6224 Meet our team

SiteGround Hosting for your WordPress Website

SiteGround is one of the most recommended WordPress hosting companies. They are known for their top-notch customer support and reliable, fast hosting plans. Their WordPress-optimized hosting includes everything you’ll need to create and grow a successful website or blog over time.

SiteGround offers a decent number of hosting types, lots of performance-enhancing tools, and excellent customer service at a reasonable price. Although SiteGround lacks VPS, dedicated WordPress hosting, and Windows servers, it’s a quality web hosting service for both individuals and small businesses. Some advantages of SiteGround include:

• Free Domain Name
• Free Daily Backup and Restore
• Free Let’s Encrypt SSL
• Solid State Drives
• Free CloudFlare CDN
• 99.9% Uptime
• Data Centers on 3 Continents
• Secure Account Isolation on Shared Servers
• Shared Hosting Utilizes Linux Containers
• Improved Server Restore Technology
• Proactive Server Monitoring
• Unique Anti Bot Artificial Intelligence System
• Fast Responsive Support
• Last 30 Backup Copies Available for Restore
• Staging for WordPress and Joomla
• Automatic WordPress Plugin Updates
• SuperCacher for Increased Speed

Office: (844) 972-6224 Learn more

WordPress Hosting Company: Factors to Consider

There are many factors to consider when selecting the right hosting company for your WordPress website. Certain features may be more or less important depending on the customer.

Generally, security is (or should be) a primary consideration. That, coupled with storage, speed, and customer service, place it high on the list for WordPress consumers. This is true regardless of the nature of their business or the purpose of their WordPress site.

Some considerations factor in more heavily depending on the use of your WordPress site. For example, if you are interested in e-commerce, you will want to select a fast WordPress hosting company with features like enhanced load speed. Even a 1-second load speed delay can significantly reduce your conversion rate.

WP Engine Hosting for Your WordPress Website

The hosting at WP Engine is first-class all the way. It is a giant among hosting companies, and its good reputation is well deserved.  Even though they don’t offer phone support for most of their service levels, their chat support is superior.

WP Engine is a high-quality host that boasts excellent uptime. It has WordPress-specific security, daily backups, real-time threat detection, and cloud platform flexibility. With more than 120,000 customers in 140 countries, WP Engine certainly has heaps of experience hosting a huge variety of WordPress sites.

According to their marketing materials, ‘five percent of the online world visits at least one experience on WP Engine each day’! With those impressive numbers, it is easy to see why WP engine is one of the top hosting companies for WordPress.

The Next Step: Learning WordPress

Contrary to popular belief, there is no certification program for learning WordPress. The most effective way to  learn WordPress is with instruction from an experienced and well-qualified WordPress trainer.  Learning WordPress from a professional will help you gain confidence with managing your website. Teaching WordPress is just what we do.

When you book WordPress training with us either in-person or virtually, be prepared for an interactive, hands-on experience.

• Get access to resources for a stronger foundation and preparation.
• Two intensive, one-on-one sessions lasting 4-hours each.
• Receive the video recordings of your virtual training sessions for review at your convenience (available only with virtual training.)
• Receive an additional 60 days of access to your instructor for follow-up questions and consultation.

Learn about our unique method of WordPress Training:

One-on-One WordPress Training WordPress Training for your Team

If you allow yourself to believe even just one of these seven website maintenance myths, you are risking your time and money. Don’t fall prey to these myths when you can easily avoid them. Get the information you need to make informed decisions and protect your online assets.

Learn about the website maintenance myths that persist and how you can protect yourself.

Contact our office to find out about our website maintenance plans and how you can work with a dedicated website manager. Call us at (844) 972-6224 or send us a message through our website maintenance inquiry form.

Office: (844) 972-6224 Contact Us

Myth #1. I don’t need website maintenance

The top website maintenance myth is that you don’t need maintenance at all.

Too many people innocently believe that once their website is up and running, they’re good to go — no need to do anything else. It’s a brand new website, right?

But a newly built website isn’t like a newly built house that won’t need work for years.

When you launch your website, you should already have a plan in place that addresses regular maintenance. Making regular updates is the only way to keep your website secure and performing well.

What should that plan include? Scanning for security issues, checking your website speed, and updating plugins are activities that should happen on a regular basis. Product information should be current. Copy should be accurate. Forms and checkout pages should be tested regularly.

The pitfalls of ignoring routine maintenance are serious. Websites that load slowly cost retailers a whopping $2.6 billion in sales every year. You need regular website maintenance to protect your site from hackers and to provide a good customer experience, ultimately boosting revenue.

You earn the trust of your website visitors–customers–through a seamless browsing experience, streamlined and secure checkout, and error-free copy and imagery. This fact makes website maintenance critical to the health of not only your site, but your overall business.

Watch our video to learn about our website maintenance services.

Myth #2. Website maintenance is easy

The other most common misconception about website maintenance is that it’s easy. Anyone can do it–even if they don’t have experience.

I’m surprised at how popular this belief is among nonprofit organizations, who often view website maintenance as a volunteer opportunity regardless of the volunteers’ relevant experience. They don’t automatically ask their group of volunteers, “who wants to be responsible for doing our taxes?” It’s just automatically assumed that a volunteer should do the website work.

The truth is that maintaining a website can be complex and a lot of work. Spend some time learning about proper website maintenance and you’ll find out quickly that the back end of a website is best handled by someone who knows what they’re doing. Not just any willing set of hands you can find.

Emily’s team knows how to do this

“Emily Journey has managed our website for 3 years and at least 80% of our business has come from the website they developed and manage for us. We’ve tried print, radio and online ads, but nothing compares to a website that is functional, well designed, and at the top of the list. She knows how to do this and the web site is the single biggest reason we have grown from 3 planes to six planes in just two years.”

Pat Rooney, Owner

Sundowner Aviation

Contact Us Testimonials

Myth #3. My site won’t get hacked

When the subject of hacking comes up, it’s natural to think…That will never happen to me. Especially if you have a small business. Who’s going to care about your little blog?

Hackers, that’s who.

Hackers often specifically target smaller websites because they know these sites are less likely to be secure. A report on techjury.com states that 30,000 websites are hacked daily. Of these attacks, 43% target small businesses.

Website maintenance can help deter hackers by catching and addressing security vulnerabilities. By fixing bugs as they come up and keeping all systems up-to-date, you can take a proactive approach to website security.

Keep your website safe and secure with professional website maintenance services from Emily Journey & Associates. Contact our friendly office at (844) 972-6224 or send us a message through our website maintenance inquiry form.

#4. My website developer will support my website

Can a website developer handle website maintenance? Sure. Do they want to perform website maintenance? Usually not.

That’s why we see three things happen when people hire their website developers to do their website maintenance:

1. They aren’t responsive to your needs, which is troubling at best, but a disaster if you have an urgent issue with your site
2. They charge you outrageous prices for basic maintenance tasks
3. They are great at building a website, but don’t have the organization or follow-up skills to maintain a website properly.

At Emily Journey & Associates, we specialize in ongoing website maintenance that is prompt, fairly priced and backed by years of expertise. Learn more about our monthly maintenance packages here.

#5. Nothing will go wrong

Properly maintaining your site isn’t a guarantee that nothing will go wrong. You know the phrase. %!*& happens. The only thing you can do is to be prepared if it does.

It’s true that a large part of website maintenance is proactive — seeking to prevent issues before they come up. But other aspects are reactive. Troubleshooting is part of the work. It’s what a professional website manager is trained to do. They will quickly and efficiently handle any problems that occur with your site.

Bottom line: You need a plan for both preventive and reactive maintenance. Yes, regular website maintenance greatly reduces the chances of things going wrong. But issues will still come up. And that’s what an expert website manager is on call to handle.

#6. Website maintenance doesn’t require my input

Custom website maintenance is not a one-size-fits-all job.

The reality? Custom website maintenance should be customized to meet the site’s specific needs and the goals of the business. A small business with a couple of product pages and a blog won’t need the same maintenance as a large e-commerce site. And maintenance for a nonprofit website will have different tasks than site maintenance for a law or accounting firm.
Your website manager needs your input and wants to understand your goals in order to successfully exceed your expectations.

At Emily Journey & Associates, we work with our clients to develop strategic and tactical website maintenance plans that address their specific business goals.
Office: (844) 972-6224 Contact Us

#7. Website maintenance is too expensive

Even businesses and organizations that prioritize website maintenance balk at paying a professional to do the work.

Rather than a professional service worthy of payment, they view website maintenance as a volunteer opportunity or an “add on” to an already busy marketing person’s responsibilities.

Who’s to blame? The industry itself. Too many people with mediocre website skills are actually willing to work for next to nothing (until they start feeling resentful and quit because it’s a lot of work that they deserve to be paid fairly for).

Another issue is that people don’t quantify the value of their time. You or someone on your staff might spend hours messing around with the website, trying to get it performing better. This is valuable time that could have gone to business-building activities.

Similarly, people also don’t think about how much money is lost when their website goes down. This is especially true of ecommerce sites. 45% of large companies say that a mere hour of unexpected downtime leads to a loss of $1 million or more.

Hiring a professional for website maintenance–like our website managers at Emily Journey & Associates–is an investment that will always deliver a positive ROI. And professional website maintenance doesn’t have to be expensive. Contact us at (844) 972-6224 or send us a message through our website maintenance inquiry form to find out about our monthly website maintenance packages.

Get on top of your website maintenance

Escape these top myths of website maintenance and start giving your site the attention it needs to stay healthy. At Emily Journey & Associates, our friendly team of experts has been helping people with their websites since 2012.

We offer basic, premium and custom website maintenance packages, all with:

• direct communication with your website manager
• a 24-hour response time during the workweek
• options for WordPress training
• a strong focus on search engine optimization

In terms of pricing, we are among the higher priced agencies for a website maintenance plan. And that’s for a good reason: our experienced website managers are also WordPress instructors and SEO specialists. Their high level of expertise paired with first class customer service makes us the premiere provider of website maintenance in the United States.

Our website maintenance plans are:

• Basic Website Maintenance / $199 per month billed monthly
• Premium Website Maintenance / $450 per month billed monthly
• Custom Website Maintenance / Pricing varies

Not sure about what you need? Call our friendly office for guidance and answers.
Office: (844) 972-6224

How long does it take for SEO to work? That’s a question I’ve heard asked repeatedly by my clients over the years. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a process that takes time. With a little time and effort invested in SEO, you can experience the highest return on investment of all your other marketing efforts combined.

How long does SEO take to show results?

SEO is an effective way to improve your website’s visibility, but the SEO timeline for success can vary. For some businesses, SEO results may be seen almost immediately; however, it usually takes four to six months to begin seeing a notable impact on organic search engine traffic.

While it is impossible to predict how long it will take to rank on Google, one thing is for certain – with the right SEO strategy in place, you will eventually see positive results that will make your investment worthwhile.

Another great thing about a thoughtful SEO strategy is that it continues to produce results over the long haul. When you reach the point where you see your results start to taper off, it is probably time to refresh the content and update the keywords and keyword phrases if necessary.

Office: (844) 972-6224 Get Started with SEO Training

Does SEO stop working?

The answer is a resounding no! It takes time and dedication to implement an effective SEO strategy, but the rewards are worth it.

Don’t give up too soon; stick with your plan for long-term success. When properly executed, SEO can provide great returns over the course of months or even years. So don’t be discouraged by how long SEO takes to start working – just remember that patience pays off in this case!

Some companies underestimate how much time and money it takes to be successful with SEO. I’ve seen businesses want to quit after two months claiming the cost of the SEO strategy was not producing the results they expected. This tells me they went into the exercise with unrealistic expectations and do not thoroughly understand the process of how long SEO takes to update.

A good method of getting your SEO started is having well-written blog posts on your site. They can continue to generate organic search engine traffic for years.  One of my most visited blog posts is about WordPress certification. The post was written years ago and still generates traffic to my site.

Understanding how long before SEO changes take effect can enhance your strategy and increase its efficiency over time.

Office: (844) 972-6224 Meet Our Team

Learn about SEO

Search Engine Optimization incorporates a wide range of strategies to enhance your website rankings. There are many benefits to optimizing your site for search engines, including:

• A site that ranks highly has greater visibility giving it a greater chance to generate organic search engine traffic.
• A highly-ranked site appears more credible.
• SEO tends to focus on quality content.  A site containing more useful and relevant information will rank higher and is more appealing to its visitors.
• WordPress is optimized for SEO.  By incorporating a deliberate SEO strategy, you will be well on your way to getting the results you want.

Our SEO training will equip you with the knowledge and skills required to manage your SEO marketing strategy with confidence. We’re a team of SEO experts ready to help you generate an increase in traffic to your WordPress website through our SEO services. Learn about our customized SEO training classes for business owners, IT staff, administrative staff, and marketing teams, as well as our other custom SEO services.

Office: (844) 972-6224 Get Started with SEO Training

Excellent Insights

“Erin provided excellent insights and tools for my SEO training. She was clearly knowledgeable and came well prepared for the session. I was very impressed.”

Kait Gallagher-Wilsterman

Tusco Display

Eye opening and informative!

“Thank you again for coming and working with our team the past few days. It was so eye opening and informative! You get 5 Stars!!!!
We have results! We were impatient, lol, and looked for results on our phones last night and we’re ranked 3rd in organic!!!!!

Kasey Eakins

Higginbotham Family Dental

A 450% Return in two months!

“I kept track of the conversions resulting from my 30 City SEO campaign and thought you would be interested in the results to date. In the past 10 weeks, there have been 48 orders from states and cities we have not served in the past. Orders have come from 14 of the 30 cities I targeted with SEO. That is a 450% return on our investment in your SEO Training. Fingers crossed for an even more successful Christmas!”

Blanche Fraser, Executive Director, Sales and Marketing

Gluteny Bakery

Saved me a lot of time

“Working with Emily is seriously awesome! She knows the questions that I don’t even know to ask. She even threw in her knowledge of SEO so that I can build my website in the smartest way possible. She saved me a lot of time–a rare commodity. I can get this website job done so that I can totally focus on the work of earning new customers. Worth every penny.”

Jay Singleton, Gitomer Certified Advisor

I recommend Emily’s workshops

“I recommend Emily’s workshops as they are very informative with an open platform of instruction, questions and answers, and suggestions. Emily even helped me outside of the workshop time as I worked on my website. After taking all of the workshops which pertained to my website, I was able to design and create a professional website I felt truly reflected my company and its values.”

Jacque Thorne-Harlan, Owner

Sweet Home Lifestyles

Get customers to call you

“What if you have a great product but nobody can find your website? Emily’s your remedy. If you want your website to reach the top of Google searches, she’s your person. If you want to learn how to navigate and manage your own WordPress site, she’s your person. If you want follow-ups, check-ins and after-training support, she’s your person. You’re going to be way better off when you understand what the principals are so that you can enhance your own reputation and get the customers that you are now cold calling…to call you.

Jeffrey Gitomer, King of Sales

Buy Gitomer

Our business has greatly increased

“We love working with Emily Journey and Associates. Since taking her course several years ago on web search optimization (SEO) and implementing her suggestions, the amount of calls and inquires at our business have greatly increased. Emily has also worked with us on a one-to-one basis after the course and we found her to be very professional, always available and reliable with follow through. I highly recommend Emily.”

Bj Malvicino, Practice Manager

Harmych Plastic

Offered powerful information

“I attended Emily’s WordPress training sessions and her SEO training presentation. All of them were extremely helpful and offered powerful information to help us build customized websites and achieve high search engine rankings. With her friendly personality and organized style, Emily taught us how to best use WordPress and SEO to meet our website objectives. She also offered plugin and theme recommendations, and other resources to help us accomplish our business goals. She addressed each question with a thoughtful, helpful response, and tailored each presentation to the specific needs of the group. Emily is a skilled, experienced presenter that has a unique gift for taking complicated information and explaining it in a way that everyone can understand. Even an experienced WordPress user would gain insight and tips from her presentations. I highly recommend Emily for any type of presentation, training or public speaking event.”

Laurie Zinn, Owner

Line-By-Line

There we were, on page 1 of Google

“We connected and within a week we had a 2 hour virtual consultation scheduled. We implemented her training on our site and within 2 days of posting our SEO strategy pages, there we were, on page 1 of Google in #1 position. Thanks Emily!”

Jeremy Cyrier,

Mansard Commercial Real Estate

I just booked my first seminar!

“Emily, I wanted to let you know that I just booked my first seminar using the SEO technique that you shared with me during our time together. Thank you so much for that wonderful tip”

Michelle Joyce

Michelle Joyce Speakers

Get more people finding you

“A lot of you tell us you want more people calling you and finding you. And, this is a way to get that. It’s pretty cool!”

Jennifer Gluckow,

Sales in a New York Minute

Some great news

“Hi Emily, Some great news. Yesterday, I received my first inquiry directly from one of my blog
posts. My ‘NLP Life Coach in Houston’ post is on page 1 and got a response 4 days after I posted it!”

Alexander Van Buren, Business Coach and NLP Practitioner

WordPress is the most popular free and open-source content management system online. Because it’s an open source content management system, people with intermediate internet skills can learn how to build WordPress websites. In doing so, they have taken their first steps toward becoming WordPress developers.

WordPress developers are creatives and entrepreneurs. They work with their clients to achieve outcomes and solve problems and they are determined and resourceful.

Learning WordPress development and mastering it embodies everything I wanted out of my next career. If you share my vision and entrepreneurial spirit, a career as a WordPress developer may be for you.

Office: (844) 972-6224 Meet Our Team

What Does a WordPress Developer Do?

A WordPress developer is typically responsible for the back-end or front-end (or both) development of WordPress sites. That often includes working with various WordPress themes and plugins. WordPress developers may be hired to rebuild a website, migrate a website from its existing platform to the WordPress platform, or redesign a website.

WordPress developers are not only skilled in the technical aspects of web design but also have an eye for aesthetics.

From element placement and color selection to search engine optimization (SEO), these professionals can help create a website that is both highly functional and visually appealing.

Become a WordPress Developer: Getting Started

Recent statistics show that roughly 35% of the internet is powered by WordPress. Given its popularity, the opportunities for WordPress developers are nearly infinite. Whether you want to create useful plugins, weave gorgeous themes, or improve the core mechanics of WordPress, you can break into the field with a little time and effort.

Of course, simply Googling “how to become a WordPress developer” will present a dizzying array of paths from which to choose. To simplify your journey towards becoming a WordPress developer, you’ll want to approach it methodically and utilize available resources for WordPress developers. This involves narrowing your focus, identifying your skills, finding a niche, and learning as much as you can about the platform beforehand. Fortunately, there’s a large community out there willing and ready to support you on your quest.

Become a Member of the WordPress Developer Community

While learning how to become a WordPress developer, it’s easy to fall into the habit of working on your projects in isolation. However, in  order to advance in your chosen area of development, it’s critical to connect with the wider WordPress community.

This gives you a forum to both hone and supplement your skills, provides access to additional development support, and gives you the opportunity to anticipate WordPress trends. Most importantly, you will increase your chances of making lucrative connections by becoming a member of a larger WordPress community.

Whether you are setting off on your own or collaborating on an existing project, it’s wise to get into the habit of visiting WordPress forums regularly. I have made it a priority of mine and dedicate time weekly to stay engaged with the WordPress community. By posting my ideas, as well as responding to inquiries, I have been able to further establish my credibility as a competent WordPress developer.

You can also consider starting a fledgling WordPress development blog. A blog presents a perfect way to connect with the WordPress community at large and share your journey with others. By creating SEO-rich articles, and linking out to other prominent WordPress blogs, you can also generate credibility and get your name out there.

Becoming a WordPress Developer:  We Can Help

Does the thought of becoming a WordPress Developer seem unattainable? Let us show you how we can make the journey to become one achievable. WordPress training equips you with the knowledge and skills required to develop and manage your WordPress website with confidence.

With training, you will be taking your first steps toward this goal.  We’re a team of WordPress experts ready to help you get started with your mastery of this sometimes complicated platform.

Watch the video above for details or read on to learn more about our online and in-person WordPress training classes.

The Benefits of Becoming a WordPress Developer

Since WordPress developers are in increasingly high demand, there are a number of reasons this career path is particularly appealing to entrepreneurs.

• It can be quite lucrative if you become an adept developer and decide upon the right niche.
• You can be a WordPress developer as a freelancer. This means it’s possible to be your own boss, work from home or anywhere in the world, and set your own schedule.
• WordPress has a broad community of users who are eager to help, meaning it’s easy to gain access to the support you need.
• The skills you acquire (especially in regard to the main languages of WordPress) will be readily applicable to a huge variety of industries and niches.
• If you have a creative streak and a willingness to immerse yourself in the mechanics of the world’s most popular Content Management System (CMS), learning how to become a WordPress developer will be worth your while.
• It’s also worth considering if you’re looking for a job that’s ‘future-proof’.

WordPress Best Practices for Developers

I became a WordPress developer in 2012. Since then, I have been helping people and companies with their WordPress websites.  Along the way, I have made a few mistakes and learned some valuable lessons. Here is my list of WordPress best practices for becoming a developer.

1. Tell the truth

It’s important to be honest with your clients. If you don’t know how to do something, then say so. It’s really okay to not know everything. Honesty pays off in many ways. Customer loyalty is one of them.

2. Be transparent

If you are outsourcing some or all of your project, then talk about it in your proposal.

3. Outsource some of your work

The truth is that no one person, or even two people, possesses all the skills that an average client needs to make their project a success. Your client will get a better finished product when you outsource the things you’re not good at.

I outsource graphic design, branding, and advertising. I even outsource some things I am good at like copywriting because I can’t deliver copywriting quickly when I’m the only one doing the writing.

4. Encourage your clients to own their digital assets

Make sure that essential elements such as the domain name, hosting account, and social profiles are owned by your client, not you. Don’t ever be in the position of declining your client access to their own website files because you put them on your own server.

5. Complete projects

Be prepared to provide a full refund if you can’t complete a project. You can also pay out of your own pocket to make sure somebody gets the work done. I’ve done both.

6. Part ways with dignity

Make it easy to break up with you. Why would you want to hold a client and their digital property hostage? My parting words are always, “Thank you for trusting us with your business” and “We will be here if you need us in the future.”

7. Get paid faster

Who said 50% deposit and 50% upon completion was a good idea? Instead, get a one-third deposit, one-third at 30 days, and the remaining one-third upon project completion. This approach ensures you are paid for two-thirds of your work fairly quickly and prevents client foot-dragging near the end of the project.

8. Be responsive to your client’s needs

Don’t force your big expensive ideas down your client’s throat. Your client may end up with reservations. They will be on high alert for all the reasons why this was a bad idea and you will be thrown under the bus.

9. Assist your clients in making informed decisions

Sometimes clients have bad ideas. Help them understand why it’s a bad idea to put a slider with 18 animated slides at the top of their homepage. They will make an informed decision; they might do it anyway, but their choice won’t be a reflection of your work.

10. Pick up after yourself

Delete the slew of unused/unneeded plugins and themes on the website.

11. Sweat the small stuff

Take the extra time to do the work correctly. Resize large images before uploading them to the website. Avoid uploading images of 1MB or larger. Details matter.

12. Have someone else test your work before delivering your finished product

You’ve been staring at the website for so many hours that you can’t see it anymore! Have someone you trust go through it while you watch and make sure they click on every link.

13. Speak in ways you can be understood

Take a minute to remember what it was like to learn website development. You didn’t know all of the terminology. Slow down and simplify your language for the sake of your client. It will pay off in overall better understanding on both sides.

14. Pick up the phone

Email is not always appropriate, especially if your client is upset or confused. Even when a client tries to have an important conversation with me via email, I will direct them to schedule a phone call with me.

15. Use instant video to explain and teach

Instant video tools such as Loom are powerful time-savers and effective in helping clients understand you. I use instant videos throughout my workday to efficiently respond to questions from my staff and clients. Answers which used to require lengthy written descriptions and annotated screenshot attachments are now a snap with instant video.

16. Be responsible for your mistakes

If you messed up something, fix it on your own time. Don’t charge your clients for your mistakes.

17. Research and troubleshooting is a service

Research and troubleshooting of problems is a normal part of our work and it’s not free. Help your client understand this aspect of our work as a service.

18. Build in a time-limited support period after the project launch

Prevent the project from never ending. Make it clear how much time is available and what the cost of additional support will be.

19. Have a single point of contact at your client’s business

Invited to the team meeting to brainstorm about the website? I will show up for this meeting just once. While I’m there, I explain why it’s important for them to have these meetings without me. A single point of contact with decision-making authority is more efficient and less expensive.

20. Leave your company name off of the website footer.

Your client’s website is not your billboard–even if they do love you.

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Complementary Skills for a WordPress Developer

Having a versatile skillset only makes you more marketable. As such, there are certain technical skills outside of the typical WordPress development skills that will come in handy for you as a developer. Here are a few of the more relevant skills that complement a WordPress developer.

• SEO expertise
• Proficient at web and graphic design
• Digital marketing: email marketing, social media marketing, content marketing
• Copywriter (requires a deep understanding of both SEO and content marketing)

Learning SEO as a profession is ideal for those who are good at both writing and problem-solving. Mastering SEO is less labor-intensive than becoming an expert WordPress developer. That said, those skills combined are impressive, enhance one’s marketability, and are highly desired.

Having design competency gives you an inherent advantage in creating the home page of a website or a post on a social media platform. You don’t have to be a professional graphic designer to be skilled enough to market your own or your client’s brand.

Being a gifted writer does make a world of difference for both marketing and SEO. Content creation is a critical component often dictating the success of one’s marketing endeavors. Don’t be afraid to outsource this or any of these functions. You need not be a master of every skill as long as you are able to identify your own strengths and weaknesses.

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The Intangibles that Set You Apart from Your WordPress Developer Competition

Many consumers have faced disappointments when relying on WordPress developers.

With horror stories shared by clients and my negative personal experiences, it’s no surprise that starting a business built around the platform was intimidating. When I started my business, I wanted to be certain not to follow in the footsteps of those WordPress developers who earned such terrible reputations.

I asked myself the same questions you should be asking yourself as a WordPress developer in training: how can you be friendly, responsive, and strategic in your approach? What sets you apart – do you have clear pricing structures or lightning-fast turnaround times that give you a competitive edge?

Ideally, you’d like to be able to answer all these questions affirmatively. Whether or not that is realistic, the point is to spend some time understanding exactly why a client should be happy they hired you, as opposed to hiring someone else at the exact same price for the exact same thing. What are the intangibles about the way you do business as a WordPress freelancer that makes working with you the right choice for your potential clients?

I have had a simple formula that has allowed me to separate myself from my competition. First and foremost, I am honest with my clients. If a client asks a question that I can’t answer, I let them know I will need time to research the issue and get back to them.

Finally, if my clients want to become WordPress experts, I want to provide the training and other tools that will allow them to develop the skills so that they no longer require my services (assuming that is their ultimate goal).

Take time to transform your WordPress developer skills and become an expert in no time! Our WordPress training services provide a hassle-free way to start.