You must be asking yourself, “how do I start my own WordPress web design business?”. Since we are often asked this question, here is a list defining 7 of best things you must do to succeed when starting your own WordPress web design business.
1. Setup Accounting for Business
Having a historical record of all financial transactions in place is a necessity to your business. With current technology we can enable the use of automation in accounting to essentially save yourself time, and more importantly money.
Freshbooks is the most user-friendly accounting tool for beginning accountants and non-accountants. Send invoices, receive payments, and securely connect to your bank account to automate every transaction.
With the tools provided by Freshbooks you can even track time, and bill clients, for man-hours you have worked. This feature among many others can be useful to you especially on an hourly basis.
2. Create a Framework For Your WordPress Theme Installation
In a work environment with high performance particularly in the development process; using a framework such as a core WordPress theme essentially means you have decided to not recreate the wheel. There are many solutions available and we can take advantage of those on the Child theme level. While the core installation is unchanged, as the Parent.
Imagine modifying many lines of CSS to change the aesthetic of your website. The next day your theme “Twenty Fifteen”, has an update, so of course you click update. You don’t want security flaws right? All of your changes will be wiped out if you aren’t prepared for this using a base Framework alongside a Child Theme.
Here’s another useful tip for high performance: In your WordPress installation, visit Plugins -> Add New. From here you can find the best plugins by navigating through Featured, Popular, Recommended, or even just searching for keywords such as “Contact Form”.
3. Automate Scheduled Backups
Tech guys joke about it with a nervous laughter, without scheduled back-ups especially in a shared development environment you could find yourself in big trouble fast. If you manage the hosting for client websites it is essential to back-up client data frequently.
Navigate to your WordPress installation and visit Plugins -> Add New. You will find many of the best top rated / installed WordPress plugins for backing up your website on a regular basis.
Now, the following is optional but may be one of the most important steps in any version control for any web administration including WordPress.
As git is a distributed version control system, it can be used as server out of the box. Dedicated git server software helps, amongst other features, to add access control, display the contents of a g it repository via web, and help managing multiple repositories.
With the use of git you can operate your changes on a master-detail level and even advance into creating branches for special development to push and pull changes without modifying the master.
This means you can assign projects to certain team members, and manage who is able to push and pull specific changes.
4. How Do I Choose The Best Hosting For My WordPress Web Design Business?
As WordPress design business, you can partner with an affiliate hosting company with a strong previous record of customer service and server performance. Collecting revenue for each sale up to $125-$200 depending on the hosting solution provider!
Being that there are a vast number of WordPress hosting companies offering great affiliate programs, here are a few we would recommend: InMotion (up to $125 per sale), WPEngine (up to $200 per sale).
InMotion Hosting offers up to $125 for each sale. Specializing in business hosting, VPS, dedicated servers and management solutions for your hosting environment.
Sign up here for InMotion Hosting Affiliate Program
WPEngine offers up to $200 for each sale. A niche solution specifically for WordPress, making the price more specific to your WordPress website hosting needs and it’s worth the cost.
Sign up here for WPEngine Affiliate Program
Reliable hosting providers take care of managing the server and have excellent customer support. This allows you to delegate tasks of this nature and earn extra money as an affiliate.
5. Network With Like-Minded People
Being able to delegate to others is a very important part of management, even for websites using WordPress with strategic goals but lacking in resources of great individuals. Build partnerships with agencies and other freelancers.
Find contrasting people who have the skills and experience that you need, and provide them with those heavy-load tasks. With time you will find honest trustworthy skilled individuals you can rely on, and it will be worth your time and effort socializing.
6. Upselling Existing Customers
You have built a relationship and sold a contract, good job! But now what? It’s time to get organized and take inventory of your clients interests and future goals. Keep the relationship strong and relevant.
Showing that you are there for your client makes a huge difference in how they will respond to not only you but your business models and website strategies. Have a strong moral compass and present your work in a professional manor. Don’t be afraid to follow existing customers on social media for updates on their news and stream. Taking advantage of social media alone has the potential to expand your lead generation tremendously.
Remember that the thoughtful little things add up to create a powerful business entity.
7. Create an Email Blast List
It shouldn’t be a surprise to see a recommendation of emailing your customers. Imagine being able to send thousands of customers scheduled emails around the clock.
Once you have gathered a historical database of customers, you can easily convert them into an email list and use the absolute most cost effective and powerful marketing tools to engage your clients. This will allow you to monitor valuable marketing statistics only available through the underlying tools.