Tips & guides

Where to start when designing your WordPress site

It can be difficult to know how exactly to get started when it comes to creating a design for your website. Everyone wants a good looking site, but it isn’t always as simple as it might look in your mind. So here are some tips for how you get started.

Using WordPress for your website

Using WordPress to set up your website means you have a lot of control over what you want your site to end up like. WordPress have a large amount of features that allow you to fully realize all the different aspect of your site that you might want to achieve.

Do you want to create a store? A blog? Or simply show information about your company?

WordPress can help you achieve everything you want.

A lot of big companies have used WordPress to create their websites, like Slack, Samsung and many more. It is obvious that WordPress can be used to create professional and well-functioning sites. This is true even if you don’t have a team of web developers to help you.

WordPress is widely used. Which means there’s a lot of help to find out there.

 

Designing your site

With almost endless possibilities to choose from then it can make it even harder to find out where to start.

Here are some of our suggestions of where to start:

 

Figure out your programming level

 It is a very important to figure out what your programming level is or at least how comfortable you are with the programming world – before you dive into the design process.

This will probably not be foreign to you as it might have crossed your mind as you decided to start building your website. If you are unsure about how much you understand then try reading about the process from the WordPress website. This will give you a good idea about what you are capable of.

If you don’t fully understand it then don’t worry.

No matter your programming level there are routes for you to take.

This doesn’t mean that there aren’t advantages to understanding even the smallest bit of code or code languages. Specifically for WordPress it might be good to look into languages like HTML, CSS or PHP, as it will make the process a lot easier.

Even when you are just starting out on your programming there is no better way to learn than by doing.

 

What is your time limit?

Creating a plan on how much time you want to spend on the design process is a good way to figure out how the process will end up looking.

It doesn’t need to be timed down the minute, but having a few hours or a few days might mean a difference in how you choose to go about it. Your time limit is a great way to figure out if you can do everything from scratch or if you need to get a little more help from themes or plugins.

 

Seeking inspiration

If you are standing in a blank void of ideas of what you want your  website to look like then it might be a good idea to go check out other people’s sites.

Looking at what is already out there is a great way find things that you like or dislike.

It is also a great way to figure out what is actually possible and achievable.

 

Keep it simple

If this website is one of your first projects it can be hard to achieve everything you might want. So, it is important to keep that in mind.

There is a difference between what you envision and what you can achieve, so keep it simple.

It is easier to elevate different parts later on and sometimes it is important to have a place to start. Creating the site can be a daunting task in itself and will only become more difficult if the goal is to advanced for you.

 

Remember to have fun

Enjoying the process of creating your site is important. It can easily be lost in the frustrations of the process and wanting your site be perfect.

At these moments it can be a great help to take a step back and remember to have fun.

If you are having fun and enjoying creating your site it will be evident in the end product. It will also make it more likely to try different things and you might end up with a design you hadn’t otherwise come up with.

Putting your own personal touches and gems into your site might make it fit better with your brand.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, when designing your site it is important think about where you stand both with your ability and time. This will determine what way you need to proceed.

Wanting to much might end up making the entire process harder. So, remember to keep a simple goal in mind and search for inspiration from what others have already done.

You don’t need to everything on your own, so get help from templates or plugins when you need to.

Then just have fun!

WP Nordic DK