WordPress may be simple to pick up, but it’s not easy to master. It is an excellent choice for startups as well as companies and businesses of all models. If you own business and are thinking about creating your WordPress website from scratch, you may want to hire a WordPress consultant to help you overcome the obstacles that you can encounter.
WordPress consultants can make businesses run smoother. Consultants are sometimes confused with freelances, but their skills are much more specialized. Here’s how to distinguish the two roles:
- WordPress Freelancer – Freelancers are great if you need temporary help with a project or specific tasks. They can install WordPress on your site, help with development or work design, set up your plugins, and accomplish certain goals.
- WordPress Consultant – Consultants provide advice on your overall web strategy. They usually take a much more holistic approach. They can help improve your search engine optimization (SEO), craft marketing funnels, recommend changes to your site design and enhance your site’s performance.
When you hire a freelancer, it’s usually because you need help with specific tasks temporarily. When you hire a consultant, you want advice from someone who has vast experience for a more extended period if necessary.
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What Are The Benefits of Hiring a WordPress Consultant?
It can take considerable time and effort to find a quality, experienced WordPress consultant. There are hundreds of sites with millions of active members offering consultant services. Many of them are undercutting their competitors’ prices and competing for projects daily.
Some consultants offer a wide variety of services, while others prefer to specialize in certain niches. Some of the specialties that WordPress consultants may have include:
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – An SEO consultant can conduct an on-page analysis of your SEO efforts, review your site’s content structure and link building plans, and develop action plans to improve any areas that may be lacking.
- Email Marketing – Many websites are designed to capture email lists (see best WordPress plugins for creating optin forms). Consultants with experience in email marketing can help you establish an effective email strategy.
- Social Media Marketing – If you need help with increasing leads and traffic on your Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other social media accounts, you may want to hire a consultant that knows how to develop effective social media marketing campaigns.
- Website Performance – Your site’s performance plays a vital role in user experience. Many consultants specialize in helping to improve website security (see how you can improve WooCommerce security) and speed.
- Conversion Specialist – Conversion specialists concentrate on drafting a Call to Action (CTA), copywriting, landing pages, and much more. Their overall goal is to help improve your site conversions.
The type of WordPress consultant you hire will depend on your business’ needs. Before hiring a consultant, first, make sure you have a budget to pay his services and get a clear image of what you want to accomplish.
How to Make Sure You’re Hiring the Right WordPress Consultant?
Don’t hire the first consultant that you hear about. You’ll need to conduct exhaustive research before selecting the WordPress consultant that best meets your business needs.
Here are a few things to look for:
1. See how involved they are in the WordPress community
Most WordPress consultants have made a name for themselves in the industry. They are established professionals with an impressive body of work.
You can see how involved they are in the WordPress community by checking to see if:
- They speak at WordCamp or other events or conferences.
- They have guest posts on popular WordPress sites.
- They write and publish books or create courses, themes, or plugins.
- They have many positive reviews from their previous clients.
2. Analyze their past work
Reading reviews and client ratings is one of the first things you should be looking at when it’s time to hire a WordPress consultant. Don’t stop there! You should look at relevant data like the number of projects each potential candidate has completed and their portfolios.
Professional WordPress consultants should have numerous case studies and successful examples. Ask to see their design portfolios if a candidate builds websites.
If the consultant has search engine optimization experience, ask to see Google Analytics traffic screenshots from some of their past projects. If they advertise themselves as email marketing experts, ask to see examples of the email copy that they’ve written or some of the email sequences.
You can also ask for references to get input on what their customers thought about their work with them.
3. Don’t fall to lowball pricing
The right consultant should help you make more money than you spend. Lowball offers aren’t worth the effort if you end up scrapping a very time-consuming project and have to start all over again.
However, low rates aren’t always an indicator of low quality. Learn what the fair market values are and use that information and the other hints mentioned in this article to make your decision.
4. Insist on effective communication
No consultant is going to always be available around the clock. A dedicated consultant will let you know the hours that they are available and will communicate with you regularly. How they interact with you is also important. Lack of clarity or focus and early signs of flakiness are potential warning signs that you’ve hired a wrong consultant.
Stress the importance of regular communication. Feel free to walk away if they’re not open and honest with you. Effective communication is essential for a healthy long-term working relationship. The consultant that you hire should not only be able to do a good job, but they should also be able to explain technical terms in a way that anyone can understand.
WordPress Consultant Conclusion
Having a WordPress consultant on your payroll can be an essential investment in your company’s future. They can help reduce headaches and hassles so that you can focus on operating your business. Consultants can assist you with email marketing, search engine optimization, conversion optimization, and more, depending on their specialty.
Consultants are often “big idea” people that help you understand what needs to be done to make the most of your website’s potential, and when each action step needs to be taken to achieve your goals.
Of course, that all depends on hiring a consultant who knows their stuff. The ideal WordPress consultant should be actively engaged in the WordPress community. They should also have an impressive track record and professional portfolio. You could try looking for consultant on Fiverr or sites like Fiverr (Upwork, Toptal, Freelancer, etc.).
DISCLOSURE: Posts may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, I might get a small commission, without any extra cost to you. Read more about it here.
A WP consultant can help you swiftly go through some of the tricky aspects of running a WordPress website.