Our coders and designers are big WordPress fans, because it’s easy to use and easy to teach. It also allows us to use any design we like, so our designers can be free to follow the creative brief and create a completely unique design for our clients, and then our coders integrate that seamlessly into WordPress.
NOTE: We offer a free consultation so if you are wondering if WordPress is right for your site, you would like to book in with us, fill out our contact form, or you can send an email to team@topleftdesign.com or call the office on 020 7036 0560 – and please quote “Customised WordPress Website”.
WordPress has a lot to offer
When people look for website developers in London, or anywhere else for that matter, more and more are also looking for people who can work with WordPress. And because the availability and abundance of WordPress themes has made it so easy for many people to get an easy to update website with a more or less modern look and feel, WordPress has become the most widely used way to build websites
What started off as a platform for blogging became a platform for “CMS” or “Content Management System”. And, as CMSs go, WordPress ticks all the boxes.
So, the question is, a theme or not a theme?
We at Top Left Design are WordPress specialists. While many people know us for our amazing unique designs, our social media and digital marketing know how, and of course the service and approach ability of our team. But what’s not so easy to see, because it’s hidden in the code, is that our websites are built with WordPress – from custom bespoke designs, and rarely from themes.
WordPress themes can be great – there are plenty, and they are pretty inexpensive to buy. But there are limitations. They can take a few days to put together properly, so it’s not necessarily as inexpensive as you might think. By definition, template means others could be buying the same – so that means your site wont be completely unique.
And, probably most importantly, the result is that when you choose a theme, you need to adapt your message and content into the theme’s framework and layout, whereas with a bespoke design we create something specifically to show off your message and content in the best light possible.
And, themes (also called “templates”) are not all coded equally. Often, when you unpack the theme, you can find frustrating bugs or pages which just don’t quite look right after you have put in your own content and images. So, the ideal scenario, whether you feel ready or not, would be a bespoke design. That way, you get all of the benefits of WordPress, without being limited by themes.
Some examples of websites we have built with bespoke designs, using WordPress:
To show you exactly what we mean, check out these examples below. They are not from themes, they are carefully coded so that each page can be updated easily, by our clients, and without compromising the designs.
To educate you even further on this exciting (but scary for some) change in the world of websites and Google search – we wrote this post:
What’s involved in coding a WordPress website from scratch?
Our coders are responsible for taking our designs and keeping them pixel perfect AND responsive. So, that happens first -but while they are doing that, they are also preparing the code to be ultimately built in WordPress. So, this means planning for coding in custom fields, “widgets” and plugins.
Are you going to be responsible for keeping the site up to date?
It may be you or someone else in your team, but we want to make sure the site is as easy to update as it is to navigate (which means super easy!).
In the planning stages, our coders will look at the site designs and make note of all the boxes and images and areas which our clients are likely to need to update. Each of these can be turned into a custom field. It’s so much more than just “throwing it together”. We are considering ultimately that human beings need to work with this website and update it without it being seen as a hassle or a stress. Typically, we can teach our clients how to update their sites in a 1-2 hours training session. We also provide a written manual.
It should be easy – and flexible
If our clients can use WordPress easily to update their sites, they will be more motivated to do so regularly. The customised areas which are unique to their site are built into the system as “special areas” or “custom fields”. This means the site will remain up to date and “fresh” – content will be regularly added, as will images and blogs.
Usability is equally important from the “back-end” as it is from the front end.
Free Consultation: Reading the above, you may feel inspired – that you are ready for your next site to be the the ultimate combination of design, clarity, messaging, marketing, accessibility and updatability (ie the definition of what we at TLD proudly specialise in).
If you are still looking for more specific answers of how this could work for your business, feel free to book a free chat with us – we are so nice and friendly! – you can fill out the form on our contact page, or email us at team@topleftdesign.com or call us on +44 (0)20 7036 0560 – and please quote “Customised WordPress Website”.