WordPress Websites for Business: How Anyone Can Maximize Website Performance and Results – Michael Cordova – WildBlue Press – Published 12 December 2017

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Synopsis

Ok, so you’re company’s team has finally agreed to build a new website, but all you know is what you knew when you built the last one, and it failed miserably. Nobody in the company wants to go down that same road again, but at the same time, nobody knows how to do it any different than the last time.

Just like so many other things in life, doing it right doesn’t take much more time than doing it wrong. It just takes the knowledge of how to do it right the first time. In the case of building a website, it takes the knowledge of many others to get optimal results from your website, and this book brings them all together in one concise place for your reference.

I have seen many people/companies make mistakes in the creation of their website. Their mistakes have led to Google penalties that they never recovered from. Simple preparations and settings discussed in the book ensure that you don’t make those same mistakes. Each new website has different scenarios, and those particulars are discussed so you can customize your installation to show you how to avoid making critical, and possibly crippling or complete show-stopping mistakes that can set you back for months or years.

My thoughts

This book crossed my path at the exact time that I needed it. I have been using WordPress for a number of years on a free blogging basis, but have recently been asked to coordinate, design and build an externally hosted WordPress-based website for an advocacy group. Everyday I was learning something new and finding that I had endless questions that needed to be answered. WordPress Websites for Business was the ideal solution to those questions. There is something about a book that seems more trustworthy than a variety of random website sources (I guess I am a traditional librarian at heart). However, WordPress Websites for Business has an informal, website feel to it. Short chapters and an informal, personal writing style contribute to this feeling. The author frequently references his own experiences and his qualifications for writing such a book and links to examples.

The first section of this book briefly outlines the book’s purpose, intended audience, and the author’s experience. The next section then outlines a short history of the internet, giving context to some of the techniques and technology used, CSS for example. The remainder of the book is then split into a range of sections which vary from SEO optimisation and security, to plugins and child themes. The chapter headings themselves are quite helpful, “Wordpress.com vs. WordPress.org – Always Pick the Latter for Business”, for example.

I read the first half of this book chronologically, that is from front cover to about midway through the book. I then moved on to flicking backwards and forwards through the chapters, using the very detailed table of contents to navigate my way through the topics that suited my needs at a particular time. In that way, this book will be a valuable resource which will prove helpful throughout the various stages of website building.

I would recommend the book has another through copy edit as there were a number of punctuation mistakes, typos, and missing words, including within links. However, the copy I received may be an advanced reader’s copy and not reflect the final edition.

WordPress Websites for Business integrates a range of recommendations for website creation, from plugins to steps to improve SEO, and includes many real-world examples. I found that a large proportion of the book is spent justifying these recommendations, which detracts from it being an easy step-by-step manual, but does offer plenty of personal experience examples. There were also a few sections where I either completely missed the point or where there were limited instructions. For example, there is a whole section on the importance of page-load speeds, with a number of seconds-to-dollars calculations, but ultimately, the only instruction I could understand was to get my hosting provider to configure it all for me. And this doesn’t work with what I need to be able to to do. However, further steps were provided in later chapters.

Overall, WordPress Websites for Business is a valuable starting point for those who need guidance through the process of setting up a business (or other, all the points are relatable to a range of website types) website. Everything from the basics to more advanced techniques are fully justified, instructions briefly outlined, and a wide range of examples and linked further reading resources provided.

The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.

More information

Category: Non-fiction.

Genre: Technology: Website design

Themes: Websites, Design, SEO, Plugins, Business, Marketing,

Published:  12 December 2017  by WildBlue Press.

Format: Paperback, ebook. 228 pages.

ISBN: 9781942266792

Find it on Goodreads