What does it entail? You will need a domain and a hosting company. The WordPress software and theme will need to be installed. Content is usually provided by the client, but often needs editing or enhanced to fit into the layout. Images and photos need to be researched, curated and sized. Pages and links need to be planned and a blog started or imported from the previous website. As many or more than ten plugins that add important security and functionality need to be procured and configured.

Check for broken links, test for mobile, and publish. Revisit the domain and point to the correct url. Test for broken links again. Test for mobile again. Wait ten days and check again. Finally add Search Engine Optimization with researched keywords and google analytics to track your progress. It’s a lot of work. But the cost is one time and can be financed over months. The site is yours and can be edited and altered as you grow.

You can alternatively go to a commercial website and hosting company such as Squarespace, Shopify or Wix, and many do. They use predesigned templates  that are not builder templates and cannot be modified except with CSS coding. You pay a monthly fee indefinitely and if you decide to change companies, or self publish, you cannot take the site with you.

If you need a simple site that is quick and less complex that may be the way to go. But if you are in the long haul, a self published website is worth the time and effort.

In order to serve you better and improve my services I am creating and sending you a check-box survey in the next week. I hope that you can find time to answer a few questions and add a comment. Perhaps I can offer a new service that you need or more options. Your input will be very valuable and I welcome your suggestions. Again, thanks for your trust in Perugi Design and have a Healthy and Happy New Year!

SECURITY: Weekly updating of your software, WordPress, Theme, and Plugins, will help keep up with security assaults. You may not realize that malware and spam is an ongoing problem for small websites too. The robots sweep through looking for vulnerabilities without discretion to find a place to insert their bad code. Your site becomes the conduit through which the virus  spreads. WordPress itself updates over twelve times a year, then the Themes and Plugins follow suit. Perugi Design uses state of the art software to approve these updates each week or more often, if prompted. If there is a problem, it is hunted down and addressed.

BACKUPS: Your site can go down for various reasons. Sometimes, it gets infected, sometimes the code or php software is outdated. Perugi backups your website once a month, so that it can be restored to a previous, uncontaminated version. If you blog often or have an e-commerce site, you may want to back up once a week. Knowing that you have a safe version of your website that can be immediately restored is reassuring. Each week, I look to make sure your site has been backing up, so you have a fresh version for a possible restore.

CONFLICTS: I will know when the software is not updating. There can be several reasons. It was not updated automatically and the plugin or theme must be downloaded from the developer and reinstalled manually. The plugin is not being updated and was abandoned by the developer. This happens more often than I would like. And the reason I recommend only well established plugins with good ongoing support. There are also plugins that conflict with each other, with the theme or with other software. I will let you know when this is an issue before changing any plugins running on your website.

UPDATING PHP: PHP is the back end scripting language that is used by WordPress, offers a lot of resources, such as commands, functions and codes, which can easily be rewritten and used without incurring any cost. The PHP software does not always get updated by the hosting company and will need to be updated manually or by calling the host company. This is something we look for in our updating process.

NOTE: Necessary changes made that require extra time are billable. It may take up to an hour or more to rectify the problem on your hosting dashboard or calling and speaking with a hosting representative. Only the weekly updating “Manage WP” process is covered by the $10 monthly fee.

The color is Pantone Color 16-1456, or Coral Craze. Last year was Ultra Violet. I saw this color used on a website matched with a alight retro aqua green and it was very eye catching. A definite new color to consider for 2019! Optimistic and a hope for better things to come. When you are tired of the same old colors on your website, month after month, a switch to a new color can be refreshing. Photo credit: Pantone.

1. SECURITY: Weekly updating of your software, WordPress, Theme, and Plugins, will help keep up with security assaults. You may not realize that malware and spam is an ongoing problem for small websites too. The robots sweep through looking for vulnerabilities without discretion to find a place to insert their bad code. Your site becomes the conduit through which the virus  spreads. WordPress itself updates over twelve times a year, then the Themes and Plugins follow suit. Perugi Design uses state of the art software to approve these updates each week or more often, if prompted. If there is a problem, it is hunted down and addressed.
2. BACKUPS: Your site can go down for various reasons. Sometimes, it gets infected, sometimes the code or php software is outdated. Perugi backups your website at least once a month, so that it can be restored to a previous, uncontaminated version. If you blog often or have an e-commerce site, you may want to back up once a week. Knowing that you have a safe version of your website that can be immediately restored is reassuring. Each week I look to make sure your site has been backing up, so you have a fresh version for a restore.
3. CONFLICTS: I will know when the software is not updating. There can be several reasons. It was not updated automatically and the plugin or theme must be downloaded from the developer and reinstalled manually. There are plugins that conflict with each other, with the theme or with my software. I will let you know when this is an issue before changing any plugins running on your website.

If you run into a problem and you don’t have professional help, give us a call at 617-365-3418. Find plans on the Services Page of my website for more information and to sign up.

She wants to know if I can lower the price, and so I ask her what her budget is. I explain to her that a website takes twenty or more hours to complete and $500 is not going to cover my time. But, perhaps, she would want to start out with an easy site by using a different software program, such as SquareSpace. That is a good way to test the waters for a new business. That was the end of it. Or so I thought.

Next thing I know, I get a one star review from her on Google. Unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to erase unfair reviews on Google, but you can respond, which I did. I apologized if she thought I was rude, but the fact is, she was unwilling to accept my quote and I was trying to help her out with a good suggestion.

So, if this happens to you, here is what you do next. Email your favorite clients and ask them to review you on Google. You will be surprised at how supportive they are and how that one low mark can be outweighed by five star reports.