DIY WordPress

Have you considered designing your own website to save money? Choosing the right platform is incredibly important, but so is knowing you have support.

At first glance, there appear to be 2 options for building a website:

  • Option 1: Sign up for an account on a limited page builder service and hope you can figure it out/get it to do what you need it to do.
  • Option 2: Hire a studio like cyclone press to provide consulting and done-for-you service.

Those are the only options, right? Nope.

  • Option 3: A DIY WordPress website with cyclone press.

Start designing your own self-hosted WordPress site without having to learn any of the backend technical stuff.

Our DIY WordPress website comes pre-installed with a demo site and ~50 more available at the click of a button. Design can be as simple as replacing demo content, or creating blank pages and building from scratch.

Whatever you decide, we’ll be here to help – we can provide tech support and technical configuration when you’re ready to launch. You can design your own website, but do it with support.

do-it-yourself web design without the risk

You get the benefit of our years of experience without having to spend the hours we did to acquire it. When something weird happens or you can’t find the setting you need, just drop us an email and we’ll send screenshots/screen recordings with instructions. If halfway through you decide DIY isn’t for you, we can jump in and tidy things up at our hourly rate. Our Managed WordPress Hosting Plan includes ongoing maintenance (weekly updates, backups, and uptime/security monitoring) so that’s one less thing for you to worry about.

But the biggest benefit?

Right before launch, we’ll jump in with our designer eyes and touch up the little areas where the spacing needs work or the wrong module was used. We’ll submit sitemaps to Google to jumpstart your SEO and take care of all the little hidden settings you’d never know to change. You won’t find our personalized attention to detail anywhere else. If this sounds like the package for you, schedule a discovery call to get started.

iMac displaying a film creator/composer's DIY WordPress website design
An interactive site by a composer/film creator.

DIY WordPress Package Includes:

  • setup and launch of self-hosted WordPress website
  • 1.5GB storage, 10,000 unique monthly visitors, free SSL certificate, 1 limited staging site
  • pre-installed demo and contact form
  • access to ~50 demo websites that can be installed in 5 minutes
  • BeaverBuilder drag-and-drop website builder with design extensions
  • $689-$2400 worth of premium plugin licenses, recommended options pre-installed and configured
  • Mailpoet Premium email marketing is included: create subscription forms/pop-ups and send newsletter or automated posts notifications through your website (up to 5,000 subscribers)
  • add-ons available, like digital contracts, online booking, and more
  • 1 hour of technical support
    • connect Mailpoet to your domain (if using)
  • at launch, request pre-launch technical configuration:
      • form notifications
      • integration with email mailing lists
      • setup Google Analytics/Search Console
      • SEO sitemap submission
      • quick mobile testing
      • basic design cleanup
      • connect domain name
  • ongoing managed WordPress hosting includes maintenance, security and uptime monitoring
  • discounted hourly rate for future support as needed

Need a URL (yourbusiness.com)? We register, renew, and connect domain names too.

website design by our awesome clients

Other than general recommendations and occasional support, the sites below were designed (and are updated by) the website owners.

why we love WordPress

Here’s our #1 problem with websites like Squarespace and Wix: your website is locked into a platform you don’t own. Think of Facebook; no one is under the illusion that they “own” their Facebook page or they can take it somewhere else. If Facebook goes down tomorrow, your page goes with them. We certainly don’t think Squarespace is going to disappear anytime soon, but when one of our clients decided to put a business on hold, there was no way to export her site. It’s pay forever, or lose it.

WordPress is open-source software that you run on your own server. You can back it up and take it anywhere, at any time. Don’t like your hosting? Export it and move on. Here’s how you set it up:

Traditional WordPress Setup:

  • Step 1: research and select a hosting company, purchase a hosting plan
  • Step 2: log in to the backend and install the WordPress platform
  • Step 3: choose, purchase, and install a WordPress theme (overall site structure/layout)
  • Step 4: design the header and footer, set up pages, menus and contact forms
  • Step 5: design the pages: add content, photos–the actual designing of the site
  • Step 6: launch, testing and finalization/SEO best practices

cyclone press DIY WordPress:

  • Step 5: design the pages: add content, photos–the actual designing of the site

With our DIY WordPress packages, you get to jump straight to Step 5 - the actual design. Initial setup is done for you, and when you're ready to launch, we go through our prelaunch checklist and take care of that as too.

client-maria-seedorff

“I had an all around amazing experience with Sarah and Cyclone Press. She made it important to understand my business and the image I wanted to create. She also offered bits of advice along the way, to make sure I had addressed all the steps necessary when starting a business.”

Maria Seedorff
Greek Girls Gourmet

let’s build a better website.

Book 15 minutes with Sarah Schumacher to get tech questions answered and find clarity on the next steps for your business.