Starting with WordPress is a huge step in the right direction of building a scalable website. There are endless options for building advanced websites that can handle millions of monthly visitors. It is no wonder that over a third of all websites in the world are built on the WordPress CMS platform.

Because WordPress websites are so popular, thousands of new companies have started to help service the huge influx of website builders and owners. These companies specialize in building themes, plugins and email subscription management.

When you first dive into building a WordPress website you will likely focus only on the core aspects of the platform like publishing posts. To customize your website, you will need to use custom apps and plugins to help fine tune your websites aesthetic.

Customizing A WordPress Website

Before WordPress, website designers had to write code for every visual aspect of the website. This process greatly limited the design options and very few people were able to build a website without the help of a professional.

Today, there are millions of first-time website builders that are designing beautiful websites on WordPress. With the help of plugins, website owners are able to totally customize their websites and optimize for specific traffic.

One of the most popular plugins is the Visual Composure plugin. This plugin allows users to create customized pages using drag and drop templates. These templates include professional graphs, charts, tables and image slider sections.

As your website grows, plugins like Visual Composure will help you better organize your content. A well-organized website leads to a better user experience (UX) that then leads to more time on your website and higher revenue possibilities.

WordPress Website Design

Before jumping into designing and posting to your new website it is important to layout you design ideas. Professional website designers will go through a process called “wire-framing” which essentially creates a road map of how the website will flow.

Drafting a wire frame is much easier than it may sound and just about anyone can create one. To start, brainstorm on scratch paper the core ideas of your website. E.G: If your website is about Pet Bedding, some of the ideas could be; Posturepedic dog beds, best dog bed for small dogs, best dog bed for big dogs, first time pet owner buy guide, luxury dog beds.

From this list you will want to create categories, these would look something like: Luxury Dog Beds, Buyers Guide, Small Dog, Medium Dog, Large Dog.

Next, you want to organize your posts within the categories so that visitors can quickly find what they are looking for. Using the Small Dog Category as an example you could have posts on French Bulldog Dog Beds, Maltese Dog Beds, ect.

You should be able to start seeing the flow from the board category of small dog beds to the more niche post of French Bulldog beds. The goal is to create a website where it is very intuitive on how to navigate throughout the different pages.

Customization Options With WordPress Websites

As mentioned before there are thousands of plugins that will make your life much easier when using WordPress. As you start to grow your website, these plugins can be very helpful in fine tuning your objectives.

One of the most common customizations is adding a sidebar. A side bar is a great way to display feature posts, email subscriber sign-up, and banner ads.

Using the example of dog beds above, it would be beneficial to the visitors to have an email signup where they can continue to learn about the best dog bed as their puppy grows up. Using a plugin like MailChimp, the site owner can create customized emails that drive action from the recipient to re-visit the website or make a purchase.

Growing your email subscriber list is a great way to continually drive traffic back to your webpage and maintain consumer interest. A large subscriber list is also very attractive to brands that are looking to advertise on your website.

Monetizing Your WordPress Website

There are a variety of ways to earn money through your website. One of the most popular ways is through affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is a relatively new form of online marketing where a brand pays a commission to a website owner for any traffic they drive that results in a conversion from the brands website.

Using affiliate marketing is a great way to generate income because it does not involve putting up money upfront for product. Using an affiliate network, you apply to advertise different brands products. If approved, you will have access to links that have tracking codes embedded that track any sales.

When someone clicks one of these links on your website and makes a purchase from the brands website you are paid a commission on the sale. Typically, a percentage but can also be a fixed rate.

As you grow your website traffic you will be able to generate more revenue from people clicking links on your website and making purchases based off your recommendations.

Get Started With WordPress Today

Now that you know the options and benefit of working with WordPress it is time to get started! Be sure to read our other articles about starting a WordPress website and contact us if you need help in building or growing your WordPress website.