The process of building a WordPress site on a budget.

An A to (nearly) Z guide to how we go about building your new website.

Building your site from our library of bespoke-built Gutenberg blocks.

Our WordPress sites all ship with a pre-built library of blocks for use in the Gutenberg editor.

These blocks are designed to cover most sites’ most common (and not so common) content requirements.

Each block is built from various fields you populate with your content.

Blocks can be moved around on the page and copied and pasted into other pages.

They all have options for some basic CSS styling as standard, using a range of helper classes that we’ve built, so you can easily customise your content without needing to call us.

Using our blocks, you’ll be able to build complete pages, build block patterns and quickly grow your website.

Do we use a page-builder plugin?

Certainly not! The site theme uses the built-in Gutenberg editor; adding a page builder, such as Elementor or Divi, would simply add code bloat to the site and slow things down.

You need your site to be quick, so our site build includes optimisation (pre- and post-live) to ensure the best UX and rankings.

Our sites are built to do exactly what you need them to do and nothing you don’t (although they are infinitely scaleable).

Page builders load endless code and CSS whether you are using every component or just one; this creates a slow website and a clunky UI when editing content.

Who actually builds the pages?

We do. Once we’ve calculated how many pages you need, our team will build them once the content is supplied.

We can build out everything for you, or we can build one page for each section of the site for you to clone and repopulate (easier on the budget).

If you already have an existing WordPress site, we can import the content from that directly into your new site (subject to how the current site is built).

However we approach it, we’ll make sure your site is built correctly, optimised for SEO and easy to manage.

The build process.

We follow this A to (nearly) Z structure for building WordPress sites so everything gets done correctly.

Site setup

Firstly, we set you up with a development website on one of our secure servers. The site is on a temporary domain, and search engine bots are blocked to prevent the in-progress site from getting indexed.

WordPress install

We install a fresh and up-to-date version of WordPress and add our theme and must-use plugins to the installation to get started.

Site tools

We have a range of tools we use on all our sites, such as global site settings, links to SEO apps and the project spreadsheet. These are added along with a site audit tool (so we can see who has done what) and optimisation plugins.

Site structure

We’ll add the pages and posts required for the site so we can create the URL structure; this includes adding any categories and tags, together with any custom post types.

Functionality

Forms, required plugins and other clever stuff that your site needs to function as you need are now added.

Content load

Now, we build out your site’s pages and posts according to our agreed-upon approach (all, some, top-level only, etc.).

Block customisations

This happens during this stage if we’re making design or functional changes to the blocks.

On-page SEO

Once the content is in, we complete the on-page SEO so your site has the best chance of ranking in the search results.

On-page SEO

Once the content is in, we complete the on-page SEO so your site has the best chance of ranking in the search results.

Snagging and tweaks

We use a mark-up tool so you can quickly and easily provide actionable feedback on the site. As each comment is actioned, you’ll receive an update.

Go live prep

Getting the site ready to go live, final checks, full pre-live site audit and fixes (if required).

Go live

We move your site to the live server, repoint the domain, and add the SSL certificates (free).

Post-live checklist

We have a 50-point post-live checklist that we run through to make sure everything is as it should be. This includes another full site audit. If you have an old site, we will also implement any 301 redirects that are required.

Google tools

We’ll install the Google Site Kit plugin on the live site and add the site to Google Analytics and Google Search Console.

Handover and training

We are now live, so we complete the handover process and provide training (this is sometimes done pre-live).

Two weeks of support

We provide two weeks of complimentary support once your site is live (max four hours). This is for any snags, not additional development work.

Ongoing support

As part of your subscription, you get 40 minutes of support time per month to use for anything on your site, such as new dev work, design, SEO and so on.

Search engine optimisation

We have options for ongoing SEO support, including content creation, on- and off-page SEO, keyword reporting and more.

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