What is Wordpress?
Wordpress is a fantastic piece of open-source (free) software upon which you can base your website. Originally designed as a blogging tool, the power of Wordpress as a website structure soon became apparent and now a significant number of new websites use Wordpress for their website.
Wordpress is an easy to use, intuitive web content management system (CMS) - a 'vehicle' for all of the content, design and related data for your website. You can log into this system yourself and make any changes you need - very different from the old days of FTP and HTML pages! Wordpress is based on 'themes'. Themes are templates which you can buy ready-made or have a bespoke one designed for you.
So Why do you Need a Designer?
Whilst Wordpress is fabulously easy to use and administrate in terms of content, you are still likely to need professional help in terms of design and layout, search engine optimisation (SEO) and functionality. You may want a completely bespoke design but usually you will buy a basic template 'off the shelf' or obtain one free. These will need some design and coding work if they are to be customised for you.
Finding Wordpress Designers
There are a number of effective ways of finding Wordpress designers. The most important thing is that you find someone you feel comfortable with and who designs the kind of site you like. Ask to see their portfolio of work or, even better, some live sites that they have designed, for a good idea of the quality of their work.
Freelance Sites
Many Wordpress web designers advertise their services on freelance sites and can be cheaper than other options. The main freelance sites include Odesk and Elance but there are many others. Competition on these sites is fierce so it may be possible to get great value if you hit on just the right designer. Unfortunately, quality can sometimes be an issue when very low rates are charged so ensure you pay a fair rate and ask to see examples of previous sites.
Web Design Companies
Web design companies will tend to be more expensive than freelancers on dedicated sites. They are a great option if you are wary of using freelance sites and want a strong trail of accountability. Overall, web design companies will have stronger portfolios of work than less-established freelancers will.
Find a Site you Like
If you see something you like whilst surfing the web, scroll down to the bottom of the page. Most of the time you will find the name of the Wordpress web designer embedded in a link to their site or contact details. This is a great way of finding Wordpress web designers because you already know you love their work.
