6 Things your developer wants to know

Who makes up your audience

While your designer is more likely to care heaps about who is using the site, your WordPress developer can take this information to a more technical side of building a site.

For example, if your audience is primarily 20-somethings, they will use a different browser than an audience of folks in their 70s.

Armed with the information, your developer could also suggest integrations that would not only benefit your site visitors but you as well.
Speaking of integrations…

What integrations are required

It is mission critical that you clearly communicate your tech requirements to your developer before they start coding the site.

This can be things like “I use Infusionsoft” or “we are going to use pop-ups on almost every page.”

As long as your developer knows what to plan for, everyone will be spared a lot of time troubleshooting issues when features + functions are added at the eleventh hour.

Where you are most concerned

Maybe you aren’t the least bit worried about your new site, which is awesome! Kudos to your team for getting you there.

If there is something leaving you with the nervous sweats, even if it doesn’t seem like a huge concern, tell your developer at the start.

When I’m setting up a new project + I hear that my client is nervous about how the forms will work, or if leaving a comment will be easy as pie, I factor that into my process. How so? I tend to start with the point of concern.

That way I am able to calm nerves well in advance so they don’t eat away at my client. If your developer can do the same, you get to feel that worry lifted from your mind + be less distracted heading into your new site launch.

When your team needs access

Not every project takes a village to set up. but if you have a team of individuals running your online business, let your WordPress developer know when those team members need access before coding starts.

Let’s say the Infusionsoft expert you adore needs to check forms on the new site, but your developer didn’t know. They might save those forms for the last step the day before launching…when your expert is unavailable to help. Yikes!

Send over a list of email addresses + dates of any team members that need access before the launch date. It might be a very short list, and that’s ok! Your developer can then create the necessary accounts + ensure the areas your team is checking on are ready for review.

Why you’re launching on the date you picked

Odds are you have your launch schedule mapped out — or at least the date you want to throw your online party. Why did you pick that date?

If we (as online business owners) are being honest with ourselves, 90% of our launch dates are picked arbitrarily.

There’s no shame in that game. However, it’s important to note when a launch date is arbitrary versus picking a date that falls 3 days before you are set to be interviewed on The Today Show. An event that could send hundreds of thousands of site visitors your way (on a single day) is important for your developer to prepare for.

Plus, if your launch date is arbitrary, your developer knows that they might be able to launch in advance if they finish early OR they could spend an extra day really nailing the functionality you requested before launching.

How many pages you have

Is your designer designing a layout for every page you need set up? I’m guessing not. Imagine them handing the files off to the developer + your dev getting to work on the site. Only you know how many pages are being missed in this scenario.

Simply listing out your pages in an outline can set your developer up for knowing how all pages are connected + what needs to be created before your new site goes live.

You can go a step further by providing them with a document of the page content for each page on your site — since having content before development starts is always a great idea.

on your keyboard hit enter to search or esc to close