A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating and Running a Successful WordPress Development Company
If you listen to enough successful WordPress agency founding tales, you’ll realize that they sound strikingly similar:
The business of a freelancer and that of a WordPress Development Company are vastly different. There’s even a distinction to be made between a tiny WordPress Development company and a full-service agency.
While running their small (or solitary) businesses, the founders worked as freelance designers or developers, constructing websites. They eventually began to wonder if there were any chances they were overlooking that would make their work easier, their lives more rewarding, and their businesses more successful.
That stated, regardless of the path you take, none of your growth will be possible without:
- A devoted group of professionals
- Processes and documentation that are well-oiled
- There are a plethora of automations and templates available
- That isn’t to imply that as a WordPress freelancer, you don’t have these aspects in place. However, working for a WordPress business necessitates taking it to the next level
If you’re in a similar situation where you’re happy with the work you’re doing but don’t feel like you’re getting the most out of your time or money, it might be time to turn your freelance business into a full-service agency.
We’ll show you how to get a WordPress business up and running, as well as how to scale it for better success and sustainability, in this guide on launching a WordPress agency.
Table of Contents
- What Is a WordPress Company and How Does It Work?
- What Is the Best Way to Start a WordPress Company ?
What Is a WordPress Development Company and How Does It Work?
The business of a freelancer and that of a WordPress agency are vastly different. There’s even a distinction to be made between a tiny WordPress company and a full-service agency.
What you should take away from this is this:
WordPress Development Company have the ability to make far more money than a single freelancer or small team. However, this isn’t always the case.
If you want to make money from your WordPress agency, you’ll need to put in a lot of effort, so don’t mistake employing a crew for greater output. There’s a lot more to it.
What Is the Best Way to Start a WordPress Development Company?
Step 1: Make a mission statement
According to a recent FlexJobs poll, the following are the top obstacles that freelancers face:
- Clients to find
- Creating a steady stream of revenue
- Managing their independent contractor business
It’s difficult to focus on a mission that’s anything but: It’s difficult to focus on a mission that’s anything but: It’s difficult to focus on where you’ll get your next client or how to balance managing a business with building websites when your focus is on where you’ll get your next client or how to balance managing a business with building websites when your focus is on where you
That all changes after your WordPress business has grown and you’ve established some consistency in your work. It’s at this point that you’ll need a rock-solid objective around which to base all of your decisions — one that shifts the attention away from your own troubles and toward the people you want to serve.
Step 2: Select Your Providers
Now that you know who you’ll serve and why, it’s time to figure out what you’ll do for them and how you’ll do it. Yes, you’re a WordPress marketing firm… But which one is it?
This is something that your niche can help you with.
Take, for example, Itineris. The following are the services provided by this WordPress agency:
You may better pick which services you need to provide by specifying who you are going to aid. In the case of Itineris, this means:
- Exceptional web design
- Branding on the internet
- Media that can be auctioned
- SEO
Then there’s WP-Tonic, a company that specialized in WordPress development for LMS and membership sites.
What’s the bottom line? Don’t make the mistake of thinking that a WordPress agency should provide the same services as all the other similar businesses.
Instead, think about what your clients truly require. Then consider how that relates to your strengths.
Also, don’t worry if your agency’s vision isn’t something you can support with your present staff. Place those extra services or items on the shelf and gradually work your way up to them.
For the time being, concentrate on giving exceptional value in the services you do provide.
Decide on the essentials: the ones you can provide and the ones your customers require. Move on to the next stage after writing them down with a brief description of each.
Step 3: Decide on a price range.
You might be hesitant to advertise your prices online if you own a small business. You want prospects to focus on your value rather than how much a WordPress website would cost them.
However…
A WordPress agency’s identity is inextricably linked to premium pricing and value. As a result, there’s no reason to keep that information hidden from the general public.
You can also rapidly sort out any prospects who don’t have the funds for what you do by publicizing your development charges and monthly retainer rates on your site.
Step 4: Decide on a name
I understand that this seems like something you should accomplish sooner, but I believe it is critical to determine what your firm will offer and at what degree of service it will provide before deciding on a name.
It’s time to choose a name once you’ve figured out your business identity. When doing so, keep the following suggestions in mind:
Remove your name from it unless you want to be the company’s face and be active in every endeavor.
Keep it brief.
- Make it as simple to say as possible.
- Make a point of emphasizing your distinct value proposition and strengths.
- Instead of using words that your clients may already have a strong association with, use made-up words.
- Make sure it or a variant of it isn’t already in use by another company.
- Check if the domain name you want is available.
Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, run them past others, including your coworkers, previous clients, and even your social media followers.
Get a sense of how people feel about it by asking them. Because they aren’t as close to the situation as you are, they are more likely to detect if something is “wrong.”
Once you’ve decided on a name, start working on your logo and other branded aspects.
Step 5: Create a New Website
A website for an agency must be able to walk the walk. In other words, prospective clients should first go over your website to see what you’re capable of before looking at your portfolio of work.
Your website must also serve a purpose other than simply informing visitors. You want it to do as much work as possible for you, almost as if it were a team member.
Step 6: Sort Out the Legal Issues
Get the legal things out of the way after you’ve nailed down the branding and before you start enrolling clients.
This is the least exciting component of starting a WordPress firm, but it’s also the most important. You never know when or where a legal issue will develop, so it’s important to put all of the pieces in place now so you’re ready.
- Here are some things you should do right away:
- Create an account for your business.
- Register your logo as a trademark.
- Purchase a domain name.
- Apply for a business license in your area.
Obtain any necessary business insurances (such as liability, property, and workers’ compensation).
To your website, add a privacy statement, terms and conditions, and a cookie notice.
It’s also a good idea to start considering where you’ll get support with tax planning, human resources, and legal matters.
Your company may not require such assistance right now, but once you get started, things will move rapidly, and you don’t want to lose sight of the crucial support mechanisms in place to protect you and your company.
Step 7: Complete Your Team
To manage a successful WordPress agency, the first step is to put away all of your hats, or any hat that doesn’t fit well. So, first and foremost:
Reduce the size of your role
Make a list of everything you do. This is what it entails. What motivates you to accomplish it? What role does it play in the bigger picture?
Make a “Keep” column for all of the tasks you enjoy doing and that you can do better than anybody else.
Put all of the tasks that you don’t want to do or that take up too much of your time in the “Delegate” column.
Then decide who you’ll delegate the Delegate tasks to. Consider the following scenario:
- The Project Manager receives all client onboarding emails.
- The Office Assistant is in charge of invoice generation and follow-up.
- The Marketer is in charge of social media posting.
You’ll know there’s a new role to fill when you come across a task that doesn’t have a great match. It might not happen right away, but you’ll know it’s time when those important obligations start to pile up and weigh you and your team down.
Step 8: Assemble Your Toolkit
This may seem contradictory, but if you want to generate more money, you’ll need to invest in a better toolkit.
As a result, here’s what you’ll need to do:
- Examine Your Current Toolkit
- Make a list of all the business tools and software you’re currently utilizing, as well as the purpose they serve.
- If it isn’t, it should be removed.
You require tools that will enable you and your team to work more quickly and efficiently than ever before. It’s the only way you’ll be able to scale your services and increase your revenue.
Step 9: Create and Document Your Workflows
Your agency will require a great deal of structure. This is advantageous for a variety of reasons.
For starters, having a well-defined and documented process makes it easier to provide clients with consistent results. Second, it makes it simple for new staff to get up to speed quickly.
Again, it’s all about enhancing your company’s speed, agility, and accuracy. And well-established systems will suffice.
Step 10: Setup Internal Reporting
It’ll be difficult to keep track of everything as your company, customer list, and crew expand. However, you’ll need access to such information in order to make better business decisions for your firm.
While you should set aside time to evaluate your data, the actual task of creating reports can be automated. Here are a few places where you can do so:
To measure website traffic, referral sources, bounce rates, conversions, and other crucial performance indicators, use Google Analytics (or one of its competitors). This tutorial will show you how to integrate Google Analytics into your WordPress site.
Keep track of leads coming into your sales pipeline, conversion rates, customer lifetime value, and predicted revenue in your CRM.
Check project statuses, bottlenecks, wasteful workflows, and more with your project or task management software. Here’s a detailed comparison of two of the most popular tools: Trello vs Asana, as well as a few more options.
Slack or Microsoft Teams are wonderful solutions for your communication tools to communicate fast and effectively with your employees. Check out our side-by-side comparison: Teams vs. Slack
Monitor team performance, keep an eye on scope creep, and more with your time tracker.
a problem and an issue Follow up on unsolved mistakes, reoccurring difficulties, missed customer care opportunities, and so on by keeping track of records.
To discover team successes and areas for growth, use online reviews and client feedback reports.
You can spend more time taking action by automating these reports, whether it’s assembling your team to celebrate a huge achievement, working with a team manager to remedy a leaky process, or deciding to discontinue an unpopular service.