Choosing the right WordPress web designer is the difference between a website that quietly works for years and one that becomes a slow, frustrating headache. If you are hiring in Australia, here is how to find a partner who will get it right.
Look for WordPress specialists, not generalists
Plenty of agencies will build on whatever platform they happen to know. A specialist lives and breathes WordPress, which means cleaner builds, fewer plugins doing the heavy lifting, and a site that is easier for your team to manage. Ask how much of their work is WordPress and how long they have been doing it.
Ask to see real, recent work
A good designer will happily show you live sites you can click through, not just polished mockups. Look at how the sites perform on a phone, how fast they load, and whether they are still standing up well a year or two after launch. You can see the kind of work we mean on our work page.
Check how they handle design and development together
Beautiful design that is badly built will let you down, and great code wrapped in a clumsy design will not win anyone over. The best results come from teams who do both well. Skink is part of the Defyn family, a design-led development group, so design and build stay joined up from the first sketch to launch day.
Make sure it is built to last
Ask whether they build custom themes and plugins or simply assemble off-the-shelf parts. Custom work, done well, is lighter, faster and far easier to maintain. It also means your site is not at the mercy of a third-party theme that might be abandoned next year.
Questions worth asking before you sign
- Who owns the website and the code once it is finished?
- How will I update content myself after launch?
- What happens if something breaks, and how quickly do you respond?
- Is the site built mobile-first and tested for accessibility?
- How do you approach speed and search visibility?
At Skink we have spent more than 12 years building WordPress sites for businesses, galleries and not-for-profits across Australia. If you are weighing up a new website, start a project with us or call 02 9834 4119 for a friendly chat.