Many small businesses start off with the same thing in common: they have limited needed skills to grow the business. The owner has to wear all the hats and be a marketer, writer, project manager, operations, etc while also keeping the business afloat.
On top of that, there's the hassle of the website you operate your business through. A vital part of your business’s success, your WordPress site is where your marketing takes place. People who visit your website expect a lot from it. They expect to find what they want, an easy navigation, for the site to load fast and for all their needs and actions to be anticipated.
As a WordPress site owner, this is when you ought to sought a WordPresss developer to take care of your site's needs.
What is a WordPress developer?
A WordPress developer is a professional developer who designs, manages and implements necessary developments on WordPress sites. WordPress developers are familiar with all aspects that make the WordPress system .i.e. the back-end and front-end system.
WordPress developers have key skills they use to to customize and make specific tweaks on different WordPress sites. When businesses that use WordPress to host their sites need help with the site, it is crucial to understand that there is a distinction between developers. In the case of WordPress, you need to hire a WordPress developer specifically and also make sure they have the necessary skills.
Reasons to hire a WordPress developer as an employee
WordPress developers come with different experiences offering varied services and skills. While some are expensive, some are at the beginning of the career and more affordable. While some are focused on doing back-end development work, some are focused on front-end development work.
Whatever the case, the right WordPress developer knows more about WordPress than you.The right WordPress developer knows the best WordPress practices to implement on a website so that it achieves your desired goals.
1. You can negotiate a consistent payment
WordPress is a broad platform with tasks ranging from small and straightforward to big and complex. The prices for these tasks also vary depending on the complexity and the time they take. When you have your own WordPress developer under you as an employee, then these tasks fall on them despite the complexity or simplicity. This is a great way to save money without compromising on your website needs considering the revenue of a small business.
2. Your WordPress gets to be up to date with the latest updates
WordPress has mundane repetitive tasks that have to be implemented consistently for it to be up to date all the time. WordPress updates are particularly important because everytime you update your site, you strengthen your site’s security. While updating your site’s theme and core seems straightforward, it is not. Updates can have detrimental consequences on your site which is why an update by a qualified developer has less risks because they know things to look for before updating.
3. You have internal opinion on your site’s security
Attempted WordPress website hacks happen everyday; successful and otherwise. WordPress sites are particularly targeted because they have vulnerabilities you as a non-WordPress developer would not think of optimizing against. Having a WordPress developer as an employee means they will be someone on top of your site security measures all the time.
4. You have an internal consultant
Hosting your business website on WordPress means having to implement new upgrades and install new plugins to accommodate the demands of your growing business. But since some plugins can be a gateway for malware and successful hacking, it helps to have a WordPress developer to consult with on what would work and what should be discarded. Apart from plugins, a qualified WordPress developer for an employee can even resort to building specific designs for your website instead of relying entirely on plugins.
5. Custom designs for half the price
One of the most expensive WordPress developer services is website design. For a simple blog, the website design may not be that important but for a business, it absolutely is. Businesses websites must be intentional and have great UX and UI. Whether you sell service-based products or physical goods, your website should provide a good buyer experience. This means having a custom design might be non-negotiable. It is certainly cheaper to have a WordPress developer hired on a salary-basis to do the job compared to choosing between a WordPress agency and a Freelancer.
6. Have diverse expertise
The WordPress agency vs a freelance WordPress developer comparison comes down to 2 main things. Agencies are expensive and specialize on certain tasks while freelancers are more affordable and flexible in their services. In hiring a WordPress developer as an employee, you will want to hire someone who fits the freelancer role more i.e. they have diverse skills and are affordable. So whatever WordPress issue you come accorsss, you know your hired developer can handle it without you having to go through different agencies with different specialized services.
7. On-demand technical support
You can find articles on WordPress issues all over the internet. But some WordPress issues, especially those that require coding, are best left for WordPress developers with coding knowledge and skills. It is not out of the ordinary for WordPress issues to require some back-end development to fix. This side of sites is more coding languages based. With a WordPress developer as an employee, you will have on-demand technical support whenever needed.
8. Timely Solutions
Some WordPress issues like 504 gateway timeout and WordPress too many redirects affect the front-end of your website. This means your users are also presented with these errors when they try to access your website. These instances stand to affect your search engine results, increase your bounce rate, give you a bad reputation with potential customers and you lose out on conversions. That’s why such errors need prompt attention to minimize any potential damage as a result. An in-house WordPress developer will always be available to sort out these issues promptly.
9. Confidential website information
Every time you work with a WordPress developer you have to provide them with your site’s credentials for access. Working with the same WordPress developer means you minimize the sharing of your confidential website information. This is important considering that password sharing is one way hackers can easily hack your site.
10. Technical SEO support
Ideally, WordPress developers should have technical SEO knowledge. This knowledge should count for something when designing your website and implementing it. Since SEO is a big factor towards many business's marketing, it is a great advantage to take care of your technical SEO aside from what your marketing team is getting up to. A WordPress developer can be responsible for that.
Closing
We hope this article helped you think better about hiring a WordPress developer. There are many things to consider before choosing a WordPress developer. You can also reach out to us for a chat while you figure out the best route for you. Our services fit the full-time dedicated WordPress hire.
