It depends. If your website was built within the last 3 years, you are probably safe. However, if your website is 3 years or older, you may need an update.

Newer technology and design principles make newly-built websites more user-friendly and perform better in search. Older sites may not look as great or perform as well on all screens, leading to poor user experience and lost leads.

For more advice on how to tell if you have an outdated website, read our article: 7 Warning Signs Your Website Needs To Be Updated.

Again, it depends. The greatest variables in determining a site build’s cost are the features and size of the site.

Features may include e-commerce, paying bills online, image galleries, user accounts, password-protected areas, and interactive elements. There are different levels of complexity within each of these features, each of which will affect the site’s price. We work with you during a discovery process to determine the scope of work. 

The number of pages can impact a site’s cost, since you would expect a 15-page website to be less expensive than a 15,000-page website. If you are a service-area business with multiple locations or a professional service company with a dozen or more providers, you will want to have more pages than a basic website.

A website timeline depends on the size and scope of the project, as well as any additional functionality you desire. For YDOP, we typically plan on 120 days for a new website build, with more complex websites taking longer.

This may be a longer process than a DIY option like Squarespace or other agencies that use pre-built templates. But the end result – a custom-designed website that meets each of your business & marketing goals – is worth it and will pay off in more leads and business.

One of the main reasons why a website project gets delayed is due to missed approval deadlines by the client. We get it, you are running your business full time while also adding a website project to your plate. That’s why we normally recommend building a website in your shoulder or off-season, so you can dedicate more time to giving us approvals and keeping the project on-time.

Yes, there are plenty of DIY options for building a website, and platforms like Squarespace or Shopify make it easy to build a beautiful website. But no matter whether you go with a freelancer, hire a web development agency, or take it in-house, you get what you pay for when hiring a web developer. As more of your competition invest in their online presence, a DIY or theme-based website will not stand out among the crowd.

We build every part of a custom website in-house. From strategy to content to design and development, our team performs the work on your project.

Some marketing agencies are good at one portion of a website build, so they outsource to local freelancers or oversees contractors. At YDOP, we have created an award-winning team of content writers, creative designers, and front-end developers, all working together to build your next website.

We build websites on WordPress, the most popular CMS platform on the internet. While started out as blogging software, WordPress has matured into a versatile, powerful platform for building all types of websites. Plus, it is completely open-source, so you don’t have to worry about paying extra fees for the software running your website. 

We could build websites on platforms other than WordPress, but why would we? Seriously, there are some great CMS choices out there, but we haven’t found one that tops the flexibility, power, and compatibility that WordPress provides. Plus, recent studies have shown that WordPress sites rank better than sites built on Squarspace, Weebly, and Wix.

As a marketing agency, we regularly work on sites that are built on other platforms. But when we build a new website, it is always on WordPress.

Yes, any site that YDOP builds is 100% owned by the client. You own the domain, the code, the content, and any design elements and assets.

This is not the case with many web development companies, who lock clients in with proprietary software systems or holding your domain or content hostage. We do not follow this unethical policy; we believe you should own and control all your digital assets.

When built right, a WordPress website should be user-friendly and easy to update. With all our websites, we code it in such a way that you can easily edit or change nearly everything on the site. Plus, our developers provide in-person or video training to you or your team, so you know exactly how to make updates. We even record these sessions so you can go back and see what to do.

Your website will be 100% custom, including the design. ou will have a custom-designed website that will be completely unique.

Some web development agencies rely on pre-built templates to build websites. While this can save some money on upfront costs, it makes your company look like any other company online. This is especially true with industry-specific templates, including dentists, lawyers, and HVAC companies. Don’t force your company into some pre-defined template; create a website that highlights the uniqueness of your company.

How your company’s website appears in Google’s search results is dependant on hundreds of factors, including site layout, content on the pages, and even the design and speed of the site. If you are investing in a responsive website with new relevant content, you should see your rankings improve. 

There are cases when a new website launches and the company’s rankings tank. This is often the result of a mistake the website developer made when building the site. Check out our guide on Avoiding Common SEO Mistakes with a Site Rebuild.

Gone are the days of mobile-only websites. Today’s modern websites are designed responsively, which means they show an optimal website experience no matter the screen size.

Responsive design includes flexible content blocks that adjust as the screen changes, larger buttons and menus for navigating by touch, and design elements that scale down for mobile screens.

Speed is also a concern for mobile devices; that’s why a good responsive website is built to load fast on all devices and internet connections.

Websites should be easily accessible to all people. That’s why YDOP works so hard to design and develop sites that rely on UX and accessibility best practices and ADA guidelines.

A growing number of lawsuits against companies due to their non-ADA compliant websites has business owners concerned. A pre-built website template will not help make your site ADA compliant, and most web development companies are woefully unprepared for ADA compliance.

The greatest security concerns facing a website is the site’s hosting and codebase. YDOP hosts websites we build on WP Engine, a web hosting platform known for its speed, performance, and security. WP Engine offers real-time security threat detection, free SSL certificates, and actively monitors and patches the WordPress install. 

Another liability with WordPress websites is unsecure plugins. Plugins are extensions of the WordPress codebase, which offers additional functionality to a site. Yet plugins can also introduce vulnerabilities to your site. We have our developers code most of a site’s functionality by hand, and only rely on the most trusted WordPress plugins, like WooCommerce and Advanced Custom Fields.