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WordPress

Connor Burke
Connor Burke
1,868 Points
Posted by Connor Burke
Connor Burke
1,868 Points

Taking over management of a client's current website..

My first client has a current website they are unhappy with and has given me the chance to build them a new website with Wordpress. What information do I need to obtain from them in order to start building a new Wordpress site? (I do not believe their current website uses Wordpress) And is it possible for me to start building a new Wordpress site without their domain or hosting info?

Thanks!

2 Answers

Joel Bardsley
Joel Bardsley
31,249 Points
Joel Bardsley
Joel Bardsley
31,249 Points

There is nothing to stop you from starting to develop a WordPress site locally. If you've not seen it already, there's a short course detailing how to get started here: Local WordPress Development.

With regards to your client, from a technical perspective you'll ideally need to know:

  • Does the client have full control and access to their domain name or did their previous developer register/manage it for them?
  • Does the client have full access to their web hosting account? They may have login details but not full privileges if it's one of multiple sites hosted by the previous developer.
  • If they have their own web hosting account, make sure it meets the WordPress system requirements. If they made their current website themselves using a website builder like Wix, you'll likely need to find a new hosting option.
  • If the current site uses a CMS, can they provide administration-level login details? (Not as important if you're making a new site from scratch)

Hope that helps.

Jacob Mishkin
Jacob Mishkin
23,118 Points

This is solid advice, the only thing I would add before coding you need a solid IA, and make sure you and your client are on the same page about deadlines and features.

Craig Watson
Craig Watson
27,930 Points
Craig Watson
Craig Watson
27,930 Points

Hi Connor,

I just wanted to add to the above answers as I went through this very same process in January this year with a Job Board and a Recruitment website for a relative.

My emphasis would be on the new hosting and backups, they need to understand the benefits of a good hosting provider such as WP Engine. WP Engine creates you a staging site to test your code on their servers away from the public eye before deploying to live. This is the essence of a good WordPress workflow. Backups are a must and it is import you explain the cost involved with secure and well managed backups.

In my experience when I explain the benefits of good hosting secure sites and backups to clients it does nothing but grow there confidence in your ability to provide a top of the range service.

So to summarise, research WP Engine :)

Craig