WordPress Developer in Lake Zurich

Whether you are looking to hire a WordPress developer or maybe you just want to improve your knowledge as a recruiter at your company, being able to make good hires, means that you must know the details about the position you are recruiting for. WordPress is one of the most popular web platforms on the internet today, and it’s powering over 35% of all websites currently on the internet.

Almost all businesses use WordPress, especially the startups or small businesses that don’t have the budget to have a website built from the ground up. Still, some WordPress developers can do wonders with the platform, and make the website looks as professional as any other website. In this article, we’ll go over some key skills that set developers apart from each other in quality, rather than quantity.

Must have WordPress Skills

Of course, basic knowledge of the platform is a must. Knowing how to find your way around the admin panel, how to troubleshoot the most common problems in WordPress, what plugins are and how to install them etc. Now we’ll go into more detail about some of the more technical aspects you need to know to be a better WordPress developer.

HTML

HTML stands for Hypertext Markup Language, and it’s the backbone of any website. It’s used to define the overall structure of the website and it’s not exactly a programming language. It’s a markup language that is used to define the different elements on the website so the internet browser can discern them from one another.

Today there are a lot of ready-made websites and template builders that allow you to drag and drop objects on the website but knowing HTML will allow you to go up and beyond in terms of your value to the team and the company you work for.

CSS

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets and it’s what makes the visual side of the website appealing. You could have a plain website with only text displayed, but those times are over and gone. Knowing custom CSS will allow you to dabble in code and further customize the website, in a way a drag-and-drop builder couldn’t.

This is a skill that will set you apart from other developers and allow you to create stunning websites, which will make your clients drop their jaws. If you want to be a good developer, knowing CSS is a must.

JavaScript

If you want to build an interactive website with a lot of functions, JavaScript is the way to go. To implement JavaScript more efficiently it’s good to know HTML and CSS as well, as they lay the groundwork for how the website looks and feels. JavaScript is the icing on the cake, and it can add tons of functionality to the website.

JavaScript has exploded in popularity in recent years, and now there are dozens of great JavaScript libraries that allow you to add lots of dynamic elements to the website and make the website more interactive than ever.

PHP

PHP is the cornerstone of WordPress. WordPress was built using PHP, so it’s no wonder that it’s a must-have skill if you want to become a professional WordPress developer. Its aimed at web development to transform you into a power user. Even though it’s been falling out of the graces of the developers lately, it’s still crucial to know if you are serious about learning WordPress.

It enables you to connect different databases to the interface of WordPress which can make the website you are building much more powerful.

Learn The Platform

As we said, in the beginning, having at least a general familiarity with the WordPress platform is a must if you want to have to do anything with WordPress. Know how to install and set up a WordPress installation, how to troubleshoot the most common problems associated with WordPress and knowing which plugins to install and how.

Plugins can be a little tricky as they can cause some serious issues with WordPress so researching the plugins you install is something that you should seriously consider. Also knowing how to fix the most common problems related to plugins is a lifesaver in many situations.

SEO

Usually, SEO and WordPress development are completely different skillsets, but if you want to be competitive in the everchanging development market, knowing SEO is key. It stands for Search Engine Optimization, and it will allow you to optimize the website you are building so it shows up in search results more often, and higher in the results.

On-site website optimization is important, and a skill the modern WordPress developer should possess. Knowing how crawlers, metatags, keywords, and sitemaps work will help you optimize the WordPress website you’re building much better, and much more efficient.

Internet Security

We live in a turbulent world, one in which companies are almost always under a threat of an internet attack of some sort. Cybercrime is on the rise, and companies are investing millions of dollars in securing websites and protecting their companies from cyber-attacks. Being aware of the most prominent security risks on the web today and knowing how to protect the website against them is a must.

Research the most dangerous vulnerabilities of WordPress and learn how to protect the website from them. It may save you a lot of trouble down the road, and it will make your client or employer appreciate you much more.

Keeping Up With Changes

This is maybe the most important skill you can have in general. Always read on new things, learn about WordPress updates and what’s new and what has been improved. Be aware of the bugs that come with the new version so you can protect your website from them, and learn how to fix them.

Learn new technologies that will help you further develop the website, bringing extra value to your team, company or yourself. Learning stuff is mostly free nowadays, so you can find some tutorials and blogs to stay updated.

WordPress SEO Services

WordPress SEO Services

Improving the WordPress SEO is a key element in any digital marketing strategy where the end product is to get more traffic to your website. In this article, we will reveal the importance of acquiring SEO services for a WordPress website and its advantages.

What Is SEO and Why Is It Important?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of practices that are used by a website owner in order to get more traffic by ranking its website higher in the search engines. It is simply about making a website that has optimized code and perfect formatting that will make it super easy for the search engines to find the owner’s website.

When people are searching for a certain topic that you write about on your WordPress site, your SEO content will appear higher in the search results and with that more people will click on your website. The search engines are often the biggest source of traffic for the majority of websites, which is why using SEO services is very important.

Search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing, use advanced algorithms in order to understand and rank featured pages in the right order in the search results. However, those advanced algorithms aren’t perfect as they still need some help in order to understand what the content is about.

If your website content isn’t optimized, then the search engines wouldn’t know how to rank it. With that, your website won’t appear on the search results pages when people are searching for the topics that you write about, which will make you miss out on a lot of traffic.

How Does WordPress SEO Works?

WordPress provides its users with many easy-to-use on-page SEO controls like title tags, image tags, custom page URLs, static page features, and blog page features. All of these elements are built into the WordPress platform and are working alongside all of the WordPress page builder tools and themes.

However, organizing the most technical SEO improvements in a WordPress website requires adding certain custom coding in order to core theme templates, which can be very tricky to do. Instead of that, most users are shifting towards WordPress SEO plugins to expand many features and simplify a lot of tasks within WordPress.

What Are WordPress SEO Services?

There are loads of WordPress SEO services, but the most commonly used are keyword research, content creation, competitor analysis, local SEO, content optimization, regular reporting, technical SEO audits, citation management, and website speed audits.

Many people are wondering why they would need SEO services from someone else when WordPress is so user-friendly. Well, the answer is pretty simple there wouldn’t exist an industry of SEO services for WordPress if there wasn’t a big demand.

Benefits of Using WordPress SEO Services

There are many benefits to using SEO services for your WordPress website, but the most obvious one is that you won’t have to do it yourself, as it requires specific knowledge and time to do that. If you aren’t familiar with all the tools that WordPress is offering, then you will waste a lot of your time on tedious tasks that certain people can do more efficiently.

WordPress makes web design much easier for its clients but if you don’t have the required web design experience, then things won’t be very easy. Just because WordPress is optimizing certain features for its clients, doesn’t mean that they are optimizing the right content that can satisfy Google’s algorithm.

Acquiring someone with professional web development experience, especially on WordPress, will provide you with a lot of benefits. The most benefits will be provided to your website if they have a good SEO experience.

One last thing that is important to note is that you should avoid any person or company that is assuring you that they will rank your WordPress site to the top of a Google search in just a week. You must understand that SEO is an ongoing process that requires time to develop.

Is Acquiring WordPress SEO Services Worth It?

Acquiring a company that offers SEO services to WordPress websites is always worth it, as it comes with major benefits, where the most important one is increasing your website traffic. One thing to remember when using SEO services is that SEO is a marathon, not a sprint.

The company that offers SEO services will help your website when Google updates their algorithm, when it is time to make a new website, or when certain practices evolve in your industry. All of these things will be offered to your WordPress website right on time to gain an advantage over your competitors.

Your acquired SEO company will come well prepared with highly knowledgeable SEO experts that will develop an awareness of your company, its goals, and its website. Ranking your website on the first page on the Google search results instead of on the second page could literally make the difference for your business, especially if you are operating locally.

Nowadays, it is unimaginable for a business to survive for a very long time without organic traffic. Ads are a great way to attract potential clients, as well as social media, but the people that you want to target in the first place are often in need to find you and not the other way around.

How Long Will It Take To See Results?

As we mentioned before, it takes time for the SEOs to show results. Sadly, it isn’t as instant as social media marketing, email, chains, or PPC ads, but it is more effective than all of them. Most marketers are now preferring the use of SEOs to PPC as it is a more valuable resource that comes with a lower cost.

SEO brings organic traffic onto your website that is more likely to become a client of yours by purchasing your products and services. The CTRs tend to be higher, but so do your overall ROI and conversion rates.

The timeframe for seeing results from an SEO depends on certain factors such as the sale strategy, how old is your website, and online behaviour.