Anthony McGrathWhat does WordPress website design involve?
WordPress website design covers strategy and structure, design, copy and content, build, launch and after launch. People decide in seconds whether a business looks credible. Anthony McGrath does the work himself, with 22 years in digital marketing, for businesses in the UK, the US, Dubai and Australia.
- Best for
- Businesses, publishers and service firms running, or moving to, WordPress
- What you get
- Strategy and structure, Design, Copy and content, Build, Launch, After launch
- First step
- Talk it through: a short call about your site, who it is for and what it needs to do better.
- Where
- The UK, the US, Dubai and Australia, working remotely across time zones
- Who does the work
- Anthony McGrath, hands-on, with 22 years in digital marketing
Why design matters more than it looks
People decide in seconds whether a business looks credible. A slow, generic or confusing site sends them straight back to Google and into the arms of a competitor, however good your service is.
Every design starts with your customers: what they search for, what they worry about and what makes them pick up the phone. The structure, words and calls to action come first, then the visual design, so the site works as a sales tool and not just a brochure.
Before and after
An example of what a redesign focused on enquiries can do for a service business.
- Enquiry conversion rate: 1.1% before, 3.2% after
- Mobile PageSpeed score: 41 before, 91 after
- Bounce rate: 68% before, 44% after
An example of the kind of change this work aims for, based on typical starting points. It is not a promise or a specific client result: every business starts somewhere different.
What's included
Everything a new business website needs, from first sketch to launch day.
Strategy and structure
- Customer and competitor research
- Sitemap and page plan
- Keyword research for every page
- Clear calls to action
Design
- Wireframes before visual design
- Custom design system and components
- Brand colours, type and imagery
- Mobile-first layouts
Copy and content
- Headlines and page copy that sell
- Service and location pages
- Case studies and reviews laid out to convert
- Content moved from your old site
Build
- Custom block theme, no bloat
- Editable blocks and page templates
- Forms and booking integrations
- Accessibility checked to WCAG 2.2 AA
Launch
- Redirects from old URLs
- Speed and Core Web Vitals checks
- GA4, Tag Manager and conversion tracking
- Search Console and sitemap set up
After launch
- Training video for your team
- Monthly care and updates
- Conversion improvements over time
- Support when you need it
How it works
- Talk it throughA short call about your site, who it is for and what it needs to do better.
- Plan and priceA written plan: pages, features, plugins, timings and a fixed price for each stage.
- Build and testBuilt on a staging copy, tested on real phones and browsers, checked for speed and accessibility.
- Launch and look afterLaunched with redirects, tracking and backups in place, then kept updated and secure.
Platforms and tools
Questions
How long does a new WordPress website take?
Most business sites take four to eight weeks from kick-off to launch, depending on the number of pages and how quickly content is agreed.
Will I be able to edit the site myself?
Yes. Pages are built from editable blocks, and you get a short training video, so you can change text, images and pages without a developer.
Will I lose my Google rankings?
Not if it is done properly. Every old URL is mapped and redirected, and the SEO basics are checked before and after launch.
Do you write the website copy?
I can. Clear, persuasive copy is part of what makes a site convert, so I can write it from scratch or improve what you have.
About Anthony McGrath
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A UK-based freelance digital marketer with 22 years across Shopify, WordPress, WooCommerce, Magento, conversion rate optimisation, funnels, Google, Meta and TikTok ads, SEO and tracking. He works directly with businesses in the UK, the US, Dubai and Australia, so the person who plans the work is the person who does it. More about Anthony or connect with him on LinkedIn.
Ready for a website that brings in work?
Tell me about your business, your customers and what your current site gets wrong. You get a plan, a timeline and a fixed price.
Talk about your new website