If you’re looking for a solid advice on how to build a professional website with WordPress, this article is for you. We’ll cover everything from key website design concepts to advanced optimization and security techniques. By the end of this article, you’ll be able to confidently design and launch your own professional website using WordPress.

Why WordPress?

WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) used on websites today. It is highly versatile and can be used to build anything from a simple blog to a complex knowledge-base platform. As a tool for website building, it is incredibly flexible and provides a lot of functionality out of the box. This makes it incredibly easy to get up and running with a new web project. Additionally, WordPress is a widely accepted standard. This means that if you want to provide content for multiple platforms, you can use WordPress to quickly build out content in any language or format. Finally, security and optimization experts consider WordPress to be one of the most secured and optimised CMSes available. This makes it a safe and reliable choice for any professional website.

Key Design Concepts

To build a professional website using WordPress, you will need to focus on five key design concepts: markup, content, imagery, CSS, and JavaScript. Within these areas, you will find detailed information on how to properly create a modern and eye-catching website.

Markup

In the world of web design, markup is the part of code that makes up the structure of a website. In other words, markup provides the framework for a web page. It sets the boundaries for how a web browser displays the content and determines where everything belongs (e.g.

,

,

and so on). The most popular markup languages are HTML and CSS. In WordPress, you will find all the necessary tools to create your own unique markup language. You will learn how to use the Text widget to create simple HTML pages and how to style your content using the CPT (content-product-tag) and the FCKeditor. You can also opt to use a third-party tool like the Visual Editor to handle all the dirty work for you.

Content

Just like with any other form of content, your website’s content is vital for drawing in visitors and encouraging them to engage with your site. In order to create the content for your site, you will need to pick a topic and use keywords to find the right people when they are searching for information on your topic. Once you have established content with relevant keywords, it is a simple matter to use software like Google Keyword Planner to find and increase your website’s traffic. Your content will range from short blog posts to eBooks or webinars, and everything in between.

Imagery

An element that is often overlooked when building a website but is without a doubt one of the most important aspects of any web design portfolio is imagery. The right images can make or break your website’s overall visual appeal. In addition to establishing a visual identity for your site, imagery can also be used to enhance your text by providing additional information via visual cues. When picking the images for your site, make sure to opt for high-quality, large images that will retain their quality when downloaded and saved to a device.

CSS

CSS (cascading style sheets) is a type of markup language that allows for flexible, controlled styling of a website’s content. It is vital to keep in mind that style sheets are only as good as they are maintained. This means that if you are ever planning on making significant changes to the layout and design of your website, it is essential to review the different style sheets associated with your project and ensure that they remain up-to-date. In addition to this, you will need to become an expert in using different tools to maintain your styling sheet, ensuring that it is always up-to-date and that it can be easily reviewed by anyone who needs to.

JavaScript

JavaScript is a type of software that can be embedded within your website to provide enhanced functionality and interactivity. It was originally developed as a web-browser plug-in but has since grown to become a completely separate language that can be used for a variety of tasks including front-end website development, mobile app development, and server-side scripting.

The most popular JavaScript frameworks today are AngularJS, EmberJS, and ReactJS. These are all third-party libraries that can be downloaded and added to your WordPress installation. Once you have downloaded and installed them, you can use the native WordPress tools to quickly begin writing custom JavaScript to power your site.

Security

Security is one of the most important design considerations when building a website. This element refers to the measures taken to protect websites and their content from malicious attacks. Malicious attacks can take many forms including, but not limited to, the following:

• Accidental clicks on fake links or buttons that exploit a person’s curiosity.
• Unwanted advertisements or pop-ups that appear when a user visits a site
• Phishing attacks where an impostor attempts to imitate a trusted brand or website
• Snooping or monitoring, where a third party secretly records user’s activity on a website without their knowledge
• Password re-use or sharing where a user uses the same password on multiple sites
• Denial of service attacks where a hacker uses a website to bombard a victim with so much traffic that the victim’s server becomes overloaded and crashes
• And more

The key to ensuring a safe and reliable website is to use proven security techniques and to constantly be up-dating your software and plug-ins. A Content Management System like WordPress provides many built-in security features. These features are activated when you install the software and regularly reviewed and updated by experts in the field.

Optimisation

Website optimisation is a term used to describe the methods and techniques employed to improve the functionality and performance of a website. This can include anything from reducing page load times to increasing the SEO-value of a website’s content.

The most popular way of achieving optimal website performance is through proper

h1

h1tagging. When using HTML or CSS for layout purposes, you can use the

tag to identify major sections of content such as the

heading

of a blog post or the

heading

of a product description on a store front page. When used properly, the

tag can help to improve the overall semantic clarity and organisation of a website’s content.

Another vital part of optimising a website is ensuring that all images are relevant to the context they appear in. Because browsers like Google Image Search and Facebook’s Open Graph are so popular and ingrained in our social media-driven world, it is easy for users to stumble across a website containing questionable or irrelevant images even if the site is completely safe and secure. Make sure that the images you are using are of good quality and relevant to your content.

Key Takeaways

Building a professional website is no easy feat but it is a worthwhile investment that will pay dividends in the form of engagement and increased sales.

If you’re looking to take your online presence to the next level, you can use WordPress to quickly establish a professional presence for yourself or a business brand. With a little bit of research and some trial-and-error, you’ll be able to build a reliable and attractive website in no time.