Custom WordPress Design & Development

WordPress is Open Source

WordPress website design is an “Open Source” platform. The term “Open Source” refers to software whose source code is available for modification or enhancement by anyone, anytime, anywhere. Source code is the part of website software that most web users don’t ever see; it’s the custom code that web programmers work with in order to determine how a piece of internet software like WordPress works. Developers that have access to a the source code can improve that software by adding new features, custom features or fixing parts that may not always work as expected to create a better, more secure website.

Essentially, what makes WordPress so great is that developers from all around the world continually improve upon it. It’s a global effort by web developers with different and unique views on how things should work that all come together to create the best possible product available to us all.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is an open-source software program that runs on the internet providing website administrators with the ability to make quick and easy updates to their web content. WordPress is typically installed within minutes and most web hosts offer a “one-click install” for the average user to get started without the help of a web developer. Website administrators can log in to their website via a web browser at any time and perform regular website updates, such as text and image additions (or revisions), software updates, and even modifications to things like meta content that help with search engine optimization.

As developers around the globe are continually improving upon WordPress, users enjoy regular core and plugin updates that add new functionality and address things like ever-evolving security requirements. Additionally, like most open source content management systems, there are countless plugins available for WordPress that can be highly customized to suit a specific need for just about any website.

Best of all, WordPress is completely free.

There are key advantages to note when choosing an open-source content management system like WordPress instead of a closed source or proprietary system like Shopify. With WordPress:

• There are regular security updates
• The software is inherently flexible and can be customized on the fly
• Web designers can create custom themes for WordPress
• There are no costs associated with using or updating WordPress software

WordPress is Extremely Flexible

WordPress was first launched in 2003 as a free blogging software that was designed for the everyday web user to install and use without much effort or technical knowledge to begin blogging in minutes. Since then, largely due to the fact that WordPress is an easy-to-use, free open source solution, the software has grown into a mature and stable content management suite that is used by more people around the world than any other web-based platform. WordPress now powers more than 30% of all websites in existence today – that is millions of websites!

The WordPress software is so flexible and versatile that web developers are consistently finding new ways to customize and extend its functionality on the web. This point alone is why we love WordPress website design and make it our favourite content management software system. With a little web development expertise and creativity, our Toronto WordPress designers can easily shape the core software to suit just about any of our client’s unique requirements and provide custom WordPress themes tailored specifically for your business to engage viewers and deliver the exceptional results that our clients have come to expect.

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WordPress is Fast and User-Friendly

Perhaps our second most favourite thing about WordPress web design is how quick and easy it is for our clients to pick up and learn to use in mere minutes. With all of our new WordPress website designs we spend an average of 30 to 60 minutes via recorded screencast training our clients on the WordPress admin tools to manage their new website. Included in all of our custom WordPress theme design projects are hands-on training covering content management and search engine optimization best practices to ensure our clients hit the ground running and make educated decisions to manage their online marketing strategy going forward.

As search engine optimization serves a critical role for every online business today, providing our clients the tools and knowledge to manage the digital marketing aspect of their online presence is a foundational part of our WordPress website design and development philosophy.

WordPress Security

With any website, especially database-driven websites, security is always a pressing issue. Some people may tell you that WordPress is not very secure and is frequently hacked – this is partially true in that WordPress sites are hacked all the time. However, this is largely due to the sheer volume of WordPress websites online and that they outnumber every other platform. Lack of maintenance and attention to software updates is also a factor in the majority of the sites that are attacked.

For comparison, you would not go away for a holiday and leave your front door unlocked. The same goes for your website. There are several ways to secure a WordPress website design and they are all quick and easy to manage, even for the average website administrator. After 17 years of working with WordPress, we’ve created the ultimate guide to maintaining a WordPress website – The Four Pillars of WordPress Security.

Security Plugins

If you do not use a managed WordPress hosting provider, you should ensure that you are utilizing a security plugin like Wordfence. Wordfence Security is a great option that is easy to install and setup within your WordPress install to protect your content, database and themes in WordPress. This enterprise-class security software offers top-notch malicious URL and live traffic scanning, plus two-factor authentication and a rock-solid firewall. Wordfence also boasts built-in tools to verify and repair the WordPress core, as well as any plugins or installed themes without the availability of backups.

You can also purchase a plan from Sucuri and install their WordPress plugin that helps you automatically harden your WordPress installation against attackers with the click of a button. Sucuri will also continually scan your website for real-time threats and notify you by email when action should be taken. They will also clean and restore your website for free in the event of a security breach if you are a current plan holder.

For more tips on securing your WordPress website against attacks read our article on The Four Pillars of WordPress Security.

WordPress Hosting

Choosing the right host for your WordPress website is a critical step for any website owner and the specifics of your website’s programming and unique functions will help narrow your choices. For clients that use our WordPress website design we highly recommend Kinsta as their specialized WordPress hosting is second to none. Core WordPress software updates and daily backups are made automatically for you, their security is best in class, and their site administrative services and support are easy to use and designed with you in mind. Not to mention, starting at $30 per month, we think this is a great deal!

If you choose to host your custom WordPress web design (or any open source content managed a website for that matter) somewhere else, there are a few things to consider outside of security and support. Be sure to choose a Linux-based server, as Open Source PHP software will run more efficiently in this environment than in a Unix-based environment that simply emulates the Linux server. This essentially slows your website down and can result in a sketchy, less stable performance that not only hinders your WordPress website’s search engine ranking and performance but can frustrate your visitors as well.

Also, you should consider a web host that makes a regular backup at least once a day that is readily and easily available to you in the event of an emergency or malicious attack. Most website owners do not possess the know-how to create website or database backups on their own or how to reinstate a website if something terrible does happen.

Ask Us About WordPress Website Design

If the above points are still not enough to convince you to consider a custom WordPress site we encourage you to read our blog article “7 Reasons to Use WordPress as Your Content Management System” or get in touch with us and we’d be happy to answer any questions you might have about choosing a content management system.

To find out more about our custom WordPress development services, please contact our Toronto WordPress Designers or feel free to explore some of our work, such as the JUNO Awards case study.

If you’re ready to start planning your custom WordPress Website design, please fill out our online quote request form, or call us in Toronto at 416 901 8633.