WordPress website development in Sri Lanka offers an array of possibilities for your company.
From a straightforward small business site to a complicated online store or even a unique application-like website, a WordPress website can be tailored to any requirement. It is also worth noting that your website will not be cookie-cutter – any given project can be as simple or as elaborate as your company needs or wants it to be.
However, it is important that a WordPress website you invest in is not simply a theme with a couple of pages added.
A WordPress development project must be customer-based, mobile responsive, secure, and SEO optimized. This article discusses the WordPress development process, its benefits, features, costs, and considerations for hiring a developer in Sri Lanka.
What is WordPress Website Development?
WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that enables users to post and manage website content through a CMS dashboard.
WordPress development can build a wide variety of sites, including:
- Small business websites
- Corporate business websites
- E-commerce websites
- Construction company websites
- Hotel and travel websites
- Educational institution websites
- News and blog websites
- Property listing websites
- Membership-based websites
- Booking websites
- Portfolio websites
- Custom business platforms
Although a number of WordPress themes and plugins are available for general use, a professional WordPress development company can offer a custom-made and optimized solution. This includes a properly configured dashboard, themes, plugins, performance optimization, and security hardening. An overview of features offered by WordPress can be found on their Features page.
Why Consider WordPress Development in Sri Lanka?
WordPress development in Sri Lanka is a good choice for a company that needs a solution that can scale from a simple informative page to a complex application, manage content easily, and be built on a flexible platform.
Easy Content Management
After initial training, a business owner can update website content, images, blog posts, and products by themselves.
There is no need to constantly contact a developer for every minor change.
Flexible Design
WordPress platforms are not limited to a single design or theme. A company can choose to install a theme and edit its appearance or build a custom design from scratch.
Capability to Scale and Grow With Your Business
A company can begin with a simple information-based website and later upgrade it to a fully-fledged online store or application. Examples of features that can be added to a WordPress site include:
- Online payment options
- E-commerce plugins
- Booking options
- Project galleries
- Customer accounts
- Language options
- Learning management systems
- Property listing inventory
- Quotation forms
- Custom dashboards
It is important to consider future developments when building an initial website.
SEO-Friendliness
WordPress is optimized for SEO, featuring SEO-friendly URLs, headings, media, and code. A number of SEO plugins are also available for WordPress, including All in One SEO. An SEO plugin can help optimize pages by suggesting titles, headings, descriptions, and other SEO-related options. However, keep in mind that aside from technical optimization, your website needs good quality content, technical performance, keywords, and overall appeal in order to rank well in search results.
Features of a Professional WordPress Website
The exact features of a WordPress site will depend on the company’s requirements and budget. Nevertheless, there are a number of features that should be present on any professional WordPress website.
Mobile Responsive Design
A website should look good and function properly on mobile phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers.
On mobile devices, the website should allow for easy navigation, reading, and contacting you. The text should be easily readable without the need to zoom in or out, and the menu should also be easy to navigate.
This is especially important for businesses in Sri Lanka, where the majority of customers tend to browse the internet on their mobile phones.
Navigation
The website’s navigation should be intuitive, making it easy for a visitor to determine what services you offer, what you do, and how to contact you.
The main navigation options on a simple business website may include:
- Home
- About
- Services
- Projects/Portfolio
- Pricing
- Blog
- Contact
It is best to avoid adding too many options to the main menu, and instead organize information and services into logical categories. Every page should have a defined purpose.
Contact and Enquiry Options
The contact information on your website should be easy to find and use. Some contact options that can be added to a WordPress website include:
- Call buttons
- WhatsApp buttons
- Contact forms
- Email links
- Google Maps
- Quotation forms
- Booking forms
It is important to test all contact forms before launching your website or publishing new content. Ideally, an enquiry form should send an email to a specified address and also confirm to the sender that their message was successfully received.
Security
A WordPress development project should also consider website security. This is especially important for business sites that have customers’ personal information. Security hardening options may include:
- Installing an SSL certificate
- Strong administrator passwords
- Limiting user privileges
- Securing the wp-admin area
- Using trusted themes and plugins
- Regularly updating WordPress, themes, and plugins
- Backing up the website
- Website malware scanning
- Firewall protection
More information on WordPress security can be found on the WordPress Hardening page.
WordPress Development in Sri Lanka For E-Commerce
An e-commerce website can be built using the WooCommerce plugin. It allows you to post and manage products, process payments securely, manage orders, provide coupons, and much more. A WooCommerce-based website will also allow you to sell products directly from your domain while retaining control over your content, inventory, and data. However, it is important to note that an e-commerce website requires a better hosting plan, improved security, and regular maintenance compared to an information-based WordPress site. You can learn more about e-commerce development in Sri Lanka on the Unix Designs E-Commerce Development page.
WordPress Plugin Development
Some businesses require plugins that are not available on the official WordPress plugin directory.
Custom plugin development allows creating a bespoke solution based on your WordPress website’s requirements and specifications. For example, a custom WordPress plugin can be built for:
- Certificate verification
- Property listing directory
- Project management
- Quotation generator
- Booking system
- Customer dashboard
- Custom product enquiry
- Application forms
- Document verification
- Internal reporting system
It is important to make sure that a custom plugin is secure, compatible with your WordPress version, and easy to use. Ask the developer whether they will offer updates and technical support in the future.
SEO for WordPress Websites
A professional WordPress development project should include a basic SEO strategy from the ground up, including:
SEO Titles and Meta Descriptions
Every page on a WordPress website should have a unique SEO title and a meta description. Those elements are used by search engines to understand the context of a webpage and can also entice a user to click through from a search result. It is important to make sure that your primary keyword appears in the title without stuffing it with too many keywords.
Proper Headings
Every page should have one H1 heading, and the rest of the content should be organized into H2, H3, and lower-level headings. Headings should be used to make the text easier to read and to indicate what the content is about. Avoid using headings solely for styling purposes.
SEO-Friendly URLs
A website’s URL should be easy to read and understand. It is better to use a URL like yourwebsite.lk/wordpress-development-sri-lanka/ than yourwebsite.lk/?p=1234 or any other random string of characters. Avoid using special characters in URLs.
Internal Linking
Internal linking allows you to connect related pieces of content together. It also helps search engines discover your website’s content and improve your SEO. For example, an article about WordPress development can link to Unix Designs website development services page, Unix Designs website projects, and blog posts related to WordPress development.
Image Optimization
It is important to optimize all images before uploading them to your website to reduce their file size. Every image should also have a descriptive file name and alt text. Large image files can hurt your website performance and user experience, especially on mobile devices.
Website Performance and Speed Optimization
A WordPress website with a great design can still fail if it does not load quickly enough.
A website’s performance can be affected by a number of factors, including:
- Large image sizes
- Website hosting performance
- Plugins and themes
- Poorly optimized code
- Script-heavy themes or plugins
- Large databases
- Lack of caching
- External resources, such as videos or fonts
A website’s speed can be checked using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool. Although it is important to optimize your website, it is also important to remember that some visual effects can negatively impact performance. It is a good idea to optimize your website for speed without sacrificing too much visual appeal. A faster website leads to a better user experience, especially on mobile devices.
How Much Does WordPress Development Cost?
The cost of WordPress development depends on a number of factors, including the number of pages, design, content, features, and level of customization. A small WordPress website in Sri Lanka can begin from Rs. 40,000 to Rs. 70,000. Larger corporate websites, e-commerce stores, and custom applications cost significantly more. The final cost will also depend on the following factors:
- Number of pages
- Level of customization
- Themes and plugins
- E-commerce features
- Number of products
- Payment gateway
- Booking options
- Multilingual support
- Custom plugin development
- SEO
- Content writing
- Hosting and maintenance
It is important to note that not all of the above options are mandatory. Likewise, it is a good idea to compare what different WordPress developers offer before selecting one based purely on price. Make sure to ask whether domain registration, hosting, security, backups, mobile responsiveness, and technical support are included.
You can view Unix Designs website packages and pricing page. The listed prices and offers are subject to change. Feel free to contact us to get a personalized quotation based on your requirements.
Website Maintenance and Technical Support
Once your website goes live, it is important to keep it updated and secure. WordPress core, themes, and plugins must be updated regularly. Maintenance and technical support can include:
- WordPress updates
- Theme and plugin updates
- Regular backups
- Security monitoring
- Database optimization
- Performance improvements
- Link maintenance
- Content updates
- Error fixing
- Hosting support
It is important to note that some updates can break a website, especially for e-commerce sites and sites with custom plugins. Therefore, it is a good idea to ask whether the developer will provide maintenance and updates after launch.
Unix Designs offers WordPress maintenance, server support, technical support, and website backups as part of their Digital Services. Unix Designs can also manage and maintain your website on an ongoing basis.
How Long Does It Take to Develop a WordPress Website?
A simple business website typically takes 2-3 weeks to develop, whereas an e-commerce site or a custom WordPress application can take 4-6 weeks or longer. The time depends on a number of factors, including:
- Number of pages
- Amount of content
- Level of design customization
- Features
- Product catalog
- Payment gateway
- Booking options
- Approval process
- Testing and debugging
It is always a good idea to prepare your website content, images, logo, and other materials in advance in order to speed up the development process.
Choosing a WordPress Development Company
Here are some questions to ask a WordPress development company before hiring them:
- Can I see examples of your previous WordPress projects?
- Will the design be mobile responsive?
- Is basic SEO optimization included?
- Can I update the content myself?
- What themes and plugins will you use?
- Do you offer premium themes and plugins?
- Will the website be secure and backed up?
- Do I own the domain and hosting?
- Will you offer technical support after launch?
- What is the renewal cost after the first year?
- Can you develop custom features?
- Can the website scale in the future?
A reliable WordPress developer should be able to answer those questions in detail and provide a detailed quotation. It is best to avoid companies that are not transparent about their renewal costs, website ownership terms, and technical support options.
Why Choose Unix Designs?
Unix Designs offers WordPress development in Sri Lanka for small, medium, large, and international businesses. We specialize in custom WordPress website design, corporate business websites, WooCommerce development, and mobile responsive design. Unix Designs can also help with SEO-friendly website development, custom WordPress plugins, speed and security optimization, and server configuration. We also offer WordPress maintenance and technical support services.
Unix Designs can also assist with SEO, digital marketing, graphic design, app development, POS systems, and social media management. You can view our completed WordPress projects in our Portfolio.
Let us help you take your business online and establish a strong digital presence. Get a quote for your WordPress development project on our Contact page.
Phone: +94 71 176 5173 | +94 77 300 9014
Email: info@unixdesigns.com
Website: www.unixdesigns.com
Address: No. 296, Dr. Subramaniam Road, Chunnakam, Jaffna, Sri Lanka
Your WordPress website should be intuitive and easy to use by your customers while also being easily maintained and updated by your team. It should also help grow your business in the future.