WORDPRESS CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

Welcome to ELTEK Design!

ELTEK Design has a long history of internet-based systems and applications.

Although we do design sites using a variety of tools, our primary focus today is creating websites using the WordPress architecture. This platform offers a flexible means for incorporating powerful features as your web presence grows and your have new business needs.

Understanding Website Models

To better grasp why WordPress is a good solution, it is helpful to define the types of websites.

Brochure Type – This type site is basically what the name implies – a brochure or business card funtion. It makes your brand known, tells a little of your business, provides some basic contact information, and most importantly, presents a ‘virtual’ address for your organization that you can promote. This type of site can be an owner-generated one that may be hosted by an established company and many times are simple but effective design templates. This model will be satisfactory for many unless the business requirements change and this template based system cannot accommodate the new requirements. Then a more complex migration will have to be undertaken. WordPress can easily be used for brochure websites, but has the capabilities for future growth.
Full-Service Type – This class of website goes beyond the simple informational aspects of the brochure model. It may have interactive content, membership or registration, blogs, and even E-commerce. These services are where the WordPress architecture shines – and these features are scalable so that as the business grows, the website does not have to be re-designed. In addition, WordPress can be easily configured for the business owner or employees to modify and the content and other data.

We recommend that even though you feel your initial needs may only be a brochure type site, it may be advisable to have a WordPress installation created so as to guard against design and hosting lock-in.

What Makes WordPress a Good CHoice?

WordPress was originally created as a platform for Web Loggers. This description was shortened to Weblog and eventually to Blog. This use was for individuals or groups that could write ‘posts’ or short articles. For a history of ‘Blogging’ you can check here. Over the years, this blog platform gained additional functionality, more people used it, and subsequently a large support ecosystem grew so that now, there hundreds of themes (design frameworks) and hundreds of application programs for different functions that plug into the WordPress installation (‘plugins’). These are created and supported by thousands of programmers around the world. Almost every hosting company has WordPress installations and supporting tools.

In the early days of website creation, the creator had to be a designer and a programmer to bring forth a suitable site. This requirement meant that there were fewer technical people that could fill this dual role, and because of this, creating a website could be an expensive endeavor. WordPress has changed this model somewhat by separating the programming and designer functions. Since most of the heavy programming functions are contained in the Themes and Plugins, the designer can concentrate on using these assets in the configuration to suit the customer’s needs. In essence, programmers program, and designers design.

It is this separation that makes the WordPress model so efficient – the code is re-usable and has been installed and tested many times.

The designer’s function now is the correct selecting and implementing the right applications for the site requirement, adding content, and managing the graphical aspects. Most WordPress designers have a minimum programming skill also, as sometimes code has to be customized.

Some WordPress Capabilities

Along with the common features of website design, a WordPress designer can select specialized functions (widgets) that can easily be installed and configured for specific uses. Notice some of the following as examples:

Dozens of ways to present photos or other graphics

Easy digital play and downloads

Play Alphabet Song

Videos in a variety of presentations

Easy and Flexible Menu Systems – from basic to sexy!

Make a Selection

Popups are an Easy Way to Present Supplemental Information

See Sample Popup

For some wild and crazy examples, take a trip here:

How Do You Create A WordPress Website?

While a simple website can be created using a hosting company’s quick template service, creating a standalone website can involve a few more steps.
If you do not currently have a website then these may be the steps needed:

Domain name – If you have a name for your website in mind (domain name), then you need to check to see if the name has not already been taken. You can easily do this by going to any registrar and entering your desired domain and checking.
Selecting a hosting company – You will need to choose a company to host your website. These can vary in price and quality – some are excellent, others can be mediocre.
The domain name you have registered at your chosen registrar will need to be assigned to your hosting company.
WordPress has to be enabled at your hosting company and initially configured.
A theme should be selected and installed, and some initial plugins installed.
The initial settings need to be entered in WordPress.

At this point, the site is useable and ready for content. The designer then must manage the needed graphics, composition, color schemes, and functionality.

We Can Help!

While the above steps may seem involved, having someone that has done this and is familiar with the many issues can be a big help. ELTEK Design has been building websites for over 20 years and we know where all of the potholes are and what are the best practices. Whether your needs are a turn-key solution, help with a project, or just some simple advice, we can be of assistance. And, the cost is less than what you may believe.