“Help I broke my WordPress site!” That is a call our web design team often receives from small businesses who have a site developed on the WordPress platform. While there can be many reasons for the issue the underlying cause is generally the same: the technology is constantly changing which means your WordPress themes and plugins need to change as well, and updating them (or not updating them!) can cause problems. Without a true partner in the web business you could be left with a website that doesn’t function properly leading to a wasted investment.

There are a number of reasons why an existing WordPress website may need to be updated. Let’s dive into some of the primary reasons below:

Outdated Plugins

Most WordPress websites use plugins to add extra features and functionality. These plugins need to be manually updated as newer versions are released, to remain compatible with the evolving WordPress software, and to patch any security risks that come up.

While clicking “Update” might seem like an easy task, plugin updates can conflict with other plugins, leading to broken features on your site or even crashing the site. A developer can ensure that updates are performed regularly, as well as troubleshoot any version conflicts or errors that might arise from an update.

Just not good plugins

Plugins are built by third-party developers, which means the quality of plugins is not always consistent. While a plugin might seem to work well initially, it may be poorly programmed and either break later on, or open your site up to security vulnerabilities.

Our team has experience and knowledge of the most well-regarded WordPress plugins, for contact forms, ecommerce, social media integration, site performance, security, and more. We can help identify if a site issue is due to a bad plugin, and recommend and set up a more reliable plugin to perform the same task.

Broken Themes

Like plugins, themes are another component of the site where issues can come up. Since a theme controls the look and layout of your entire site, it must stay up-to-date and compatible with the WordPress core software. In 2018, WordPress overhauled its page editing interface. Any older themes that did not update to be compatible with the new editor would render their sites impossible to edit moving forward. Our developers can debug minor issues with an outdated theme, or migrate a site’s content to a new, more modern theme.

Business and Trends are Constantly Changing

Even if your website was state-of-the-art when it first went live, both web technologies and design trends are constantly changing. A design that seemed modern even a few years ago can feel dated today. Google search result criteria, social media platforms, and web conversion tools keep evolving. In addition, your business may have changed, grown, or refocused on bigger and better clients. Your site should be reassessed and adjusted at least every couple years to stay relevant.

Responsiveness

Now 50% of web traffic is conducted on mobile devices, not desktop computers. New smartphone and tablet models are introduced onto the market each year, bringing with them an array of different screen sizes. Additionally, Google has announced that mobile responsiveness is now a ranking factor in its search results. An outdated website designed for only one or two screen sizes can provide a poor user experience to mobile users, increase your website bounce rate, and drop your search rankings. Our designers can update an old design to make it responsive, or provide a new mobile-first design.

Migration to Another Hosting Platform

A website’s hosting service can have a huge impact on your site’s speed and security. The general rule of thumb is you get what you pay for. Cheap hosting is typically slow and low on support features when you need assistance. We often recommend clients switch to WPEngine, a managed WordPress hosting platform that delivers premium performance and security tailored specifically to WordPress websites. To avoid redundant features and optimize performance, WPEngine bans the use of some caching, backup, and database-intensive plugins. By making this switch, it may expose some of these plugins, causing issues with your site. Our team can identify those plugins and find alternatives if needed.

Just Plain Not Effective

Sometimes a small business owner will come to us because their website is just not as effective as they expected. The site is not converting visitors or isn’t ranking in Google search results as desired. Our user experience and analytics team can evaluate your website content, structure, and performance, identify factors contributing to poor conversions or rankings, and work with you to get the results you want.

The primary issue we see with the WordPress platform is that web designers create a website and then hand it off to the client with no ongoing maintenance or updates. While this may seem cheap it ends up costing a customer more in the long run in lost revenue and sales due to website issues. A successful website is a frequently changing marketing tool.

The internet landscape is constantly evolving. From business changes to recent developments and critical technology changes having a partner in marketing for your website will not only keep your site up to date it will make your marketing investment dollars go farther.

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We are proud to announce that we have won a 2020 AVA Digital Gold Award for developing and creating the website for your local PBS Station. The AVA Digital Awards are sponsored and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). This international organization consists of several thousand production, marketing, advertising, public relations and freelance professionals. Founded in 1995, AMCP sponsored competitions have grown to one of the largest of their kind in the world. The 2020 competition award winners were selected by AMCP from 2,500 entries. These entries came from throughout the United States, Canada, and twenty-three other countries.

Winning the AVA Digital Gold Award

“I am so proud of our entire creative and web development teams for their hard work on the KVIE website,” said Capitol Tech Solutions CEO Bobby Reed. “Winning the AVA Digital Gold Award is a huge honor for our company. This recognition is a direct result of the dedication and passion Capitol Tech Solutions puts into each and every client.”

The KVIE website also recently was awarded Best Broadcasting Mobile Website for Capitol Tech Solutions’ work in redesigning the station’s website. That award is presented annually by the Web Marketing Association.

History of Excellence

Capitol Tech Solutions was started in 2004 and has grown into one of the largest and most honored creative digital agencies in the region. They have created cutting-edge websites and digital strategies for a wide range of corporate, small business, non-profit, and media clients. Capitol Tech Solutions also is an award-winning user experience agency that creates innovative digital strategies for a diverse client base across the country.

In addition to winning the AVA Digital Gold Award for www.KVIE.org, Capitol Tech Solutions has been honored with the Davey Silver Award, a 2017 Web Award, and was named by SEO Blog as a top-rated SEO Agency in California for 2019. Additionally, they were named recently by Yelp as the “Number One Sacramento Web Design Agency.”

“Receiving the AVA Digital Award for our work on the KVIE website out of 2,500 entries shows that our web development and digital services are truly first class. This is a great way to kick off the new year, and we look forward to continuing to develop more award-winning websites for our clients,” concluded Reed.

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Is Your Website Working For or Against You?

How important is a website to a law firm? Today, three out of four people needing the services of an attorney will turn to the internet first to begin their search. A website enables a lawyer or law firm to provide important information as to why they are an individual’s best choice for providing legal services. But considering that a website is most likely the first introduction a person will have to your firm and services, the content and design is critical to making the right first impression.

Essential Legal Firm Website Design Features

Inform, Educate and Activate Potential Clients

In addition to written content graphic components are critical to the overall appearance of your website, but they should be skillfully placed without being distracting. Ideally, photos should be taken by a professional photographer. If you want to include videos, these should also be professionally done. However, be mindful of how long your videos or hyperlinks take to load. A prospective client may lose patience and move on to another site if the load time is slow.

Visitors to your website should also see a call to action with a clearly posted means of contacting you. This could be a phone number, or a form for a visitor to enter their contact information. Consider offering a free consultation as enticement for potential clients to contact you.

Ensure Your Law Firm’s Website is Mobile-Friendly

Invest in SEO to Get Found for Your Legal Services

Get Your Website Done Right and Hire a Pro!

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Our Web Design & Development team at Capitol Tech Solutions has years of experience building award-winning websites that are custom, fast, and scalable. Whether you need to build a website for a small or large business, government agency, or nonprofit CTS has the resources and experience to build you a winning website.

At Capitol Tech Solutions, we keep updated on the latest best practices for web design and development to ensure we are providing the best value for our clients. The internet is a constantly evolving space and at CTS our designers and developers are constantly evolving as well. As trends change, so does our approach. Although we have years of experience under our belts, our team is always focused on learning and exploring new paths to success on the web. You don’t have to take our word for it, our awards and recognitions speak for themselves!

Best Broadcasting Mobile Website

Top Web Designers in Sacramento

Three Best Rated recognizes Capitol Tech Solutions as one of the top Web Designers in Sacramento.

“We are honored to be recognized as one of the top 3 web designers in Sacramento,” said Bobby Reed, CEO, and founder of Capitol Tech Solutions. “The web developers at CTS work countless hours ensuring our clients’ websites are top-notch. This recognition is a testament to the hard work they put into designing and developing websites. I’m very proud of the team, they’re outstanding!”

Every year, Three Best Rated selects the top 3 local businesses, professionals, restaurants, health care providers, and everything in-between in several cities. Three Best Rated employees make their decision by checking a business’s reputation, history, ratings, costs, trust, general excellence, reviews, and more using their 50-Point inspection.

Website design and development resources? You need them, we got them!

Having an online presence is the most effective way of reaching more conusmers for your business. Reach out to us today if you are ready to take your website to the next level with the help of our award-winning CTS team. We invite you to read our blogs on 4 tips for creating a successful website and how much a website costs in Sacramento to help get you started!

We also recently became a WP Engine Partner, which demonstrates our expertise in developing a website, improving a current website, and managing hosting. Please visit our WP Engine Partner blog for more information.

Ready to create a website? Our friendly and professional User Experience team is happy to help!

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Before you start your next website project, Capitol Tech Solutions invites you to learn more about the different web development choices available in Sacramento. Make sure you get the most bang for your buck by understanding what determines the cost of a website and what options might be best for your unique project.

How much does it REALLY cost to build a website?

In Sacramento there are several different options when it comes to web design. You can either create your own website, work with a freelancer, or hire a fully stacked agency like Capitol Tech Solutions! Keep reading to learn about the budget and benefits of each of these options.

DIY – Do it yourself

Freelancer

Hire an Agency

How much does it cost to build a website with Capitol Tech Solutions?

We know that every business is different, and therefore, we do not take a “one size fits all” approach to website design. The cost to build a website with Capitol Tech Solutions depends on what you are looking to develop.

Our website projects range from essential ten-page designs all the way up to government and corporate sites that have thousands of pages and unique functionality requirements.

At CTS we provide your business with a depth of knowledge and unparalleled results. When you work with CTS, you are working with an entire team of skilled professionals, each ready to contribute to the overall success of your website. Our team includes award-winning designers, developers, content writers, and digital advertising experts.

Converting your web visitors into customers is our goal, and that is what sets us apart from the competition. We don’t only want to design you an attractive site, we want to utilize our expertise to get that site working for you and your business.

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