Today I am writing a quick tip regarding WordPress websites because as you may already realise, there can be massive variations in pricing WordPress websites even in Brisbane.  As a business owner you might not be aware that these different solutions exist and you might not have a grasp on what you are paying for when you commission a new website or a redesign.  So I hope I can help to give a little context to the different solutions below.

WordPress.com or WordPress.org, did you know there’s a difference?  One of these offers a hosted solution and the other a self-hosted solution.  While it might seem quite attractive to have the hosting taken care of it’s not ideal for a business so I always recommend the self-hosted WordPress solution.  Right now I believe as a business owner you need to have complete ownership over your digital assets.

A purchased or free WordPress theme verses a custom built WordPress theme?  A purchased or free theme has a low cost because it’s used by many different businesses.  It can be a great solution when your budget needs to be spent elsewhere but they can also be complex to set up and time-consuming so in the end the quick install is offset by the hours of figuring out how it all works.  There will be lots of updates needed as they are patched often.

When you purchase a custom theme you get just what you need so often these themes load faster and are less confusing and need fewer updates.  With a custom theme there is more enquiry into how your business will use your website and what you expect the outcomes will be.  This information allows your developer to craft a solution that does the job rather than trying to fit you into a pre-built solution that was developed to fit a million different scenarios (often the reason these pre-built sites load so slowly).

A business solution verses a website ready for DIY content?  With the lower cost websites it’s often just a theme loaded and you are left to decide on the site architecture and provide content with no advice.  I cannot stress enough how important it is for an established business to talk to an expert regarding site architecture.  Even if your website is just there for background checks and credibility (as opposed to generating new business via search), you will still need to consider good UX for the sake of your site visitors.

There are good reasons why some websites cost a lot less than others and the three points above are key.