A WordPress Expert is someone who is skilled at different aspects of the WordPress Content Management System including – building websites with WordPress, maintaining WordPress sites, creating WordPress solutions and informing about WordPress.
A WordPress Expert is good at every process of making a WordPress website come to life from creation to sustenance.
In this post, I will look at all the aspects of the WordPress CMS and what the WordPress Expert does.
1. Building Websites
WordPress is a Content Management System that helps with creating websites without the need for expertise with programming languages. WordPress is written in HTML and some programming languages so an understanding of those languages may be an advantage but it is not necessary.
Some WordPress users have gained so much experience with building WordPress sites that they can navigate their way around creating any kind of website. Most of the time, people in this category would understand the basics of HTML and CSS by the reason of frequent use. Working on many websites will involve inspecting and editing both HTML and CSS and this will get them familiar with the languages even without formal education.
Anyone in this category has already ticked one of the criteria of being a WordPress Expert. In contrast, WordPress Developers are those who have formally acquired some programming skills and are able to use them to provide WordPress solutions. WordPress Experts are not programmers but they can design WordPress websites just like a WordPress Developer will. A WordPress Developer may have the advantage of understanding the whole processes in the front-end and the backend of the website, while an expert may just understand the front end.
He/She will be able to change basic stylings on websites with CSS by using the customizer tool or using the editor in block-themes websites.
Knowing how to design a WordPress website alone does not make one a WordPress Expert but a WordPress Web Designer. In other words, a WordPress Web Designer is one who has mastery of designing WordPress sites. This does not include creating solutions or tools like a WordPress developer or a WordPress Expert will be able to do.
Now let’s move on to the next aspect that makes one a WordPress Expert.
2. Maintaining WordPress Sites
A WordPress Expert is able to maintain websites in aspects of security, hosting, domain, redesigning or any other aspect that helps a WordPress site achieve its aims.
Security
The security of a WordPress site is as important as designing the website. A WordPress expert will be able to create and sustain a web infrastructure that keeps a WordPress site alive. He/She may not be a cyber-security expert but he/she will know what to do to keep the site from being hacked. There are basic security practices to be maintained in order to keep a site from attacks. For example, installing security plugins, enabling 2 factor-authentication, enabling auto-updates on themes and plugins, monitoring traffic for strange occurrences, and preventing comment spam, amongst others are what a WordPress Expert is expected to be proficient at.
This does not in any way make the WordPress Expert a Security Expert or an Ethical Hacker, but a WordPress Expert will be able to identify risks and know when to consult an Expert or a Security company like WordFence for example, when the skill required is beyond his/her capabilities.
Sometimes, proficiency is not just having the skill to solve a problem but knowing who to consult or where to get the solution to a problem is also a skill. In as much as the WordPress Expert may not be able to write the codes or edit the codes to block an attack, he will have a basic knowledge of threats and vulnerabilities and how hackers work. This will help him in knowing when to consult a Security expert and what information to provide for them so they can resolve the issue or prevent an attack.
Hosting
A WordPress Expert will be able to launch a website from scratch on any kind of hosting platform, Managed WordPress Hosting, Windows Hosting, Cloud Hosting etc. The WordPress Expert will be able to navigate the Graphical User Interface whether it is Cpanel or a custom interface. The WordPress expert can also transfer sites from one hosting to another without problems with plugins or manually.
Although there are plugins that help with migrating sites, WordPress is still able to manually download websites from one hosting platform, upload it to another and then take it live. This also infers that the WordPress expert can export the database of a website upload it to another server and connect it with it the website he has uploaded.
When working on a non-WordPress hosting, the WordPress Expert is able to create databases, database users and connect the database to the files of a website through the wp-config file.
A WordPress Expert can also work on staging servers and even localhost using local servers like XAMPP, WampServer etc., and then take the site to a live server.
A WordPress Expert is good at every process of making a WordPress website come to life from creation to sustenance.
Domain
A WordPress Expert will be able to register domains, edit the DNS of existing domains, redirect domains etc. When integrating third-party platforms like Google Search Console or Pinterest, one of the methods of verification is to add a TXT record, a WordPress Expert should be able to do this. This Expert should also be able to direct more than one domain to a website if needed.
A WordPress Expert also understands domain extensions and which one will best suites a WordPress website.
Redesigning
WordPress Experts also have the ability to redesign an existing WordPress website whether they were the ones that designed it originally or not. They can work with any pagebuilder or without any pagebuilder and achieve any result. They are not restricted by themes.
3. Creating WordPress Solutions
WordPress Experts are able to create new solutions for WordPress sites. When they are in charge of maintaining a website, they are tasked with creating new solutions as the site evolves. Creating the solutions may involve the installation of new plugins, editing of codes or creating new concepts. For example, I devised a means to use the Ads Inserter and Breadcrumb NAVXT plugins to insert breadcrumbs in WordPress sites without editing the theme files.
Sometimes the WordPress expert might suggest some styling strategies to create a site that is mobile-friendly. The WordPress Expert knows the best plugins to use.
He/she carries out some SEO functions like optimizing for Speed and optimizing schema markup either in Microdata or JSON LD. He/she can submit a new site to search engines, ensure the sites are crawlable by Search Engines and there are no indexing errors on the WordPress sites. These are all creative solutions the WordPress Expert should be able to carry out.
Although not a pre-requisite, the WordPress Expert may be able to create calculators with the aid of some WordPress plugins like Calculated Fields Form, Gravity Forms, Forminator etc. When the WordPress Expert is not able to do this, the service of a WordPress Developer will be needed.
4. Inform about WordPress
A WordPress Expert is knowledgeable enough to train and answer questions about any aspect of WordPress. He/she is more like a degree holder, understanding the core structure of WordPress, Themes, Plugins, Hosting and Design. A WordPress Expert can write authoritatively about any WordPress subject, can organize WordPress meetups etc.
What is the Difference Between a WordPress Expert, WordPress Developer or WordPress Web Designer?
The three terms or personalities bearing them have some points of intersections but they are not exactly the same.
A WordPress is able to do everything a WordPress Web Designer can do and a few things a WordPress Developer can do. For example, a WordPress can change colours of elements, hide elements and do some other things with CSS. A WordPress can also read and understand the structure of HTML when the source code of a page is viewed. But a WordPress Expert cannot write a plugin, a WordPress Developer is good at that. When a WordPress Developer writes a plugin, the WordPress Expert puts it to use and makes the best out of it.
The WordPress Developer can also function in designing a website but he is more skilled at creating functions in plugins and themes than in designing. Just like in building, a Civil Engineer can produce the raw materials used in building a house, in fact, he may be able to build a house but the house may not be as beautiful as the one designed by an architect. The architect understands the raw materials created but specializes in putting them together to achieve a design. The WordPress Web Designer is more like an Interior decorator who specializes in just creating a look and feel but not the technical aspects of the WordPress site. This is not a perfect analogy but it is gives a sketchy picture of what the differences between the 3 terms are.
Here are the differences in summary,
WordPress Developer
- The WordPress Developer is a programmer who understands the structure, technical functions and the languages in which WordPress is written.
- The WordPress Developer specializes in programming not designs.
- The WordPress Developer can design but that is not his/her area of focus.
- The WordPress Developer can read, edit, and write HTML, CSS, PHP and some other programming languages.
WordPress Expert
- The WordPress Expert does not program but he/she can read and edit HTML & CSS
- He/She is an Expert at designing WordPress websites
- He/She can work on any aspect of a WordPress site, SEO, design, hosting etc,
- He/She creates solutions and consults for WordPress websites
- He/She is an authority concerning on WordPress related subjects
WordPress Web Designer
- A WordPress Web Designer is excellent at creating the look and feel of a WordPress site.
- A WordPress Web Designer is not tasked with the functionalities of a WordPress site.
Conclusion
As earlier said, this is not cast in stone. The WordPress Web Designer may sometimes start a website from scratch including hosting and buying domains and the WordPress Developer may sometimes design a website but these are the basic guidelines in distinguishing between the 3 terms.