Good question.  There are a number of website templates out there which you could use. But they don’t give you the freedom for functions and design that you will most likely desire.

Also, we would suggest, use your time to do what you do best, and leave the web development process to us.  That’s what we do best.

Choosing a domain name is an important first step in setting up your website.  If you haven’t chosen one as yet, we can assist you with that process, ensuring what you choose is available and is user-friendly.  We will register your domain with a domain registrar, choosing one which provides security, at a reasonable annual cost.

We will recommend a hosting service to you, giving you information on their stability, security, and support expertise.  In particular, we will recommend a host with extensive experience and support for WordPress.  

Divi, the theme builder we use, provides an excellent tool for creating responsive web designs, adapting well to phone and tablet screens.  We can tweak that design for better visibility or conciseness on mobile devices.

Like all things in technology, WordPress, theme builders and plugins are regularly updated for improved functionality and security.  In addition, the underlying technology used by these tools is updated regularly by the hosting companies.  Keeping up with those changes is critical to maintaining the integrity and security of your site.  We provide that maintenance for a period of time after site launch, usually one month, and can continue to do so for you, invoiced on a quarterly basis.  If you have the time and skills to take this task on yourself, we will guide you in the proper steps to update and test your site.

In the initial setup of your hosting service, we will install an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate.  This ensures that your site is encrypted, and safe for users to view on their devices.  There are levels of SSL, most of which are shared and no-cost, but for more sensitive sites such as eCommerce, a paid private SSL certificate may the answer.

Future revisions or changes to your website can be done on a project basis, with a shortened design process to accomplish that.  These can be quick, easy changes, or major changes to pages or new pages added.

WordPress is a CMS (Content Management System) used worldwide.  Using it to develop a website takes training and expertise.  However, using it to simply update content on your website is something you may be able to do on your own.  It will take some commitment to learn the tool, just as it woud to learn an advanced word processor or design tool.  In particular, if you plan to include a blog or make regular changes to your web pages, it may be cost-beneficial to take that on yourself.  

One of the tools we currently use is Yoast SEO, a plugin that enables us to create basic SEO for websites.  This will be included in your design project.  We are not, however, SEO experts, or have SEM (Search Engine Marketing) skills.  If you feel you will require a higher level of SEO or marketing, we can help you find a firm to handle that for you.

The answer to that question is, it depends.  If your site uses the tools we are familiar with, we can discuss ongoing maintenance of your site. 

We can assist you in setting up your Google Business Profile and make your Google reviews viewable or linkable on your website.

If you have social media accounts, we can set up your website to access those right from the site.

And if you require email account(s) associated with your domain name, we will assist you in setting those up.