If your business isn’t growing the way you feel it should, you might suspect your WordPress website has something to do with it. However, pinpointing the issue can be tricky, which is why you might be looking for outside help to narrow down the source of the problem.
You need a professional who can get a sense of your business as a whole and ensure your website supports it. Since you’ve built your site using WordPress, you’ll want an expert familiar with the platform. A WordPress consultant may be the solution you’re looking for.
If you didn’t even know WordPress consultants exist, not to worry. In this post, we’ll explain what they do and how they can help your website. We’ll also share situations when hiring this type of professional may not be the best move. Let’s dive in!
An introduction to WordPress consultants and experts
WordPress consultants take a high-level view of your business and how your website operates within it. To accomplish this, they will typically work cooperatively alongside you, rather than independently. This enables them to understand what your goals are and create a strategy to help you reach them.
There are many places to find WordPress consultants for hire. You can, of course, start with a Google search. You might also check some general freelance marketplaces such as UpWork or Fiverr.
However, it may be more productive to stick to WordPress-focused resources. WPHired enables prospective employers to post listings, so you can give an outline of precisely what you’re looking for. You can also go right to the WordPress job board.
Wherever you decide to look for your guru, someone claiming to be a WordPress expert should be active in the WordPress community. Once you’ve narrowed down your pool of candidates, don’t be afraid to ask for references or links to previous projects.
So, what sort of tasks will a consultant be able to help you with? Many will have some design and development expertise. In fact, many WordPress consultants also refer to themselves as developers.
You can expect help with the technical aspects of your site, such as its initial design (or redesign) and setup. Like traditional developers, consultants may also make themselves available if you run into problems later on.
A WordPress consultant should also show you how your website fits into your business as a whole. They act as advisors and may help to hone your business plan. This can save you a lot of time and money since you’ll have a specific track to follow.
Some consultants even focus on particular niches, such as nonprofits or e-commerce sites. If your business is highly specialized, you may want to look for someone who has experience in your arena.
5 ways WordPress consultants and experts can help improve your website
While a consultant can help you with where your WordPress site fits into your business overall, they often have specializations at which they’re particularly adept. Here are some of the more specific ways in which a WordPress expert might help refine your website and its role in your company.
1. Boost your Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO is a concern for most website owners. A WordPress expert will often have a bag of tricks ready to help improve your rankings.
A consultant will likely begin with an SEO audit to get a sense of how your site is currently performing. This process can include several steps, such as keyword research and performance tests.
Consultants may also use tools such as ManageWP’s Link Monitor to clear out any broken links:
Another project an SEO-savvy consultant may undertake is building your sitemap. A sitemap is designed to help search engines find different pages on your site and tell crawlers which ones are the most important.
Finally, a consultant may give you some guidance on how to generate more positive reviews on your website. Not only will this help with SEO, but it can also build trust among new customers.
2. Optimize your website’s performance
Website performance can have a significant effect on your business. Most consultants will be prepared to make some improvements in this area.
Increasing page speed will likely be a top priority since visitors never want to wait for a slow website. You may be familiar with image optimization or using a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to improve this metric. Yet, other techniques are often overlooked.
Your consultant may recommend ManageWP’s Optimization Widget to keep your site clutter-free. This tool monitors spam comments and post revisions, so you can remove them before they affect your site’s performance.
A WordPress consultant can also work with you on hardening your site’s security. Even if you follow best practices, an expert may show you additional ways to keep your content safe, such as implementing Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).
3. Increase your conversion rates
Whether your website is a monetized blog or an online shop, you probably measure your success by conversion rates. A WordPress expert can determine what conversions you should be pursuing and optimize your site to achieve that goal.
A well-designed landing page is a flexible strategy, no matter what conversions you’re targeting. A consultant can help set up multiple landing pages to ensure you don’t miss any opportunities to grow your business and its revenue.
Improving your copywriting can increase your conversion rates, too. If you don’t have much experience in this area, an expert can teach you some tricks. Strategies as simple as breaking text into smaller paragraphs can make a difference. A consultant may also help you to craft more effective Calls to Action (CTAs).
4. Enhance your marketing strategy
Even if your website is in tip-top shape, it won’t do you much good without a marketing strategy. If you haven’t embraced social media marketing, you could be missing out on an opportunity to connect with new customers. A WordPress consultant can help you set up accounts on the platforms that are relevant to your audience, then integrate them with your website.
Regardless of what kind of business you run, maintaining an email list is often a smart idea. It’s an easy way to keep customers up-to-date, and it can position your brand at the forefront of their minds.
A WordPress marketing expert can set you up with a solution such as Mailchimp:
This platform enables customers to sign up for your email list right from your WordPress website. It also makes it easy for you to organize campaigns and segment your subscribers.
5. Design your website
If you don’t have a website yet, you’ll probably want to hire a consultant with some design skills. Even if you do already have one that you’re pretty happy with, it may still benefit from a facelift. A theme change can breathe fresh life into a stale site:
A consultant who specializes in this area may make some changes to your site’s design to improve its User Experience (UX). They can also handle the task of ensuring your website accurately reflects your brand.
When you don’t need to hire a consultant
There’s a lot that a WordPress consultant can help you with. However, there are times when hiring one might not be the best answer.
When you need help with a specific problem you’ve identified, there’s probably no need for a consultant. In this case, it’s best to hire someone who can just handle that issue.
Working with a consultant can be tricky if you’re not receptive to feedback. Expect to receive constructive criticism throughout the process.
Additionally, a consultant can’t build your business for you. If you haven’t developed a clear business plan, you should prioritize that over bringing in outside help.
If you can afford to hire an agency rather than an individual, it’s worth exploring that option. With a team of experts, you’re likely to end up with a specialist for each facet of your site.
Finally, hiring a consultant isn’t a ‘set it and forget it’ solution. You’ll need to be involved, and if you don’t have time to dedicate to the process, you won’t get much out of it.
Conclusion
Hiring a WordPress consultant can be a significant investment to make in your business. Still, the potential payoffs are often worth it. An expert can help you make your site a high-performing tool for your brand. Whatever your specific goals may be, you can likely find a WordPress professional to help you achieve them.
In this article, we touched on five areas a consultant may be able to help you with:
- Boosting your SEO rankings.
- Optimizing your website’s performance.
- Increasing your conversion rates.
- Enhancing your marketing strategy.
- Designing your website.
Have you had any experience with hiring a WordPress expert? Tell us about it in the comments section below!
Keep reading the article at ManageWP. The article was originally written by Will Morris on 2020-09-22 11:00:48.
The article was hand-picked and curated for you by the Editorial Team of WP Archives.