Does Your Security Guard Company Website Suck?

I recently had the need to start a new website, which I have done on several occasions.  The process of building a website usually involves finding a web designer and going back and forth for weeks until the site is complete.  Based on my experiences and a short timeline, the traditional route was not going to work.  So rather than go that route, I decided to do it myself. Although it started out seeming like a monumental endeavor, it turned out to be a great learning experience.  So much so, that I wanted to share it for anyone who is looking to start or upgrade their security guard company website.

The project began with me evaluating two options: 1)Wix.com and 2) WordPress.org.  I was introduced to Wix.com by a client who had used it to build his security guard company’s website.  Wix.com is a drag and drop website builder that allows you to build a website quickly and easily.  But after doing a little research, there were two things about Wix.com that made it a less than optimal choice.

First, there is not an ability to change your website theme.  A website theme allows you to easily change the way your site is displayed, without modifying the underlying code.  Changing your theme is similar to changing the background display of your mobile phone or computer.  When you change the background of your phone or computer it looks different, but nothing else changes.  Have you ever seen a security guard company website that just looks old?  Well being able to change the theme of your website allows you to easily update your site to something newer with just a couple of clicks.

Second, Wix.com scored poorly in search engine optimization (SEO).  The ability to optimize your website for search engines (i.e. Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc.), allows the search engines to determine what your website is about.  Poor SEO can mean the difference in coming up as the first choice on a Google search for “Security Guard Service” and coming up on the 53rd page of that search.  The closer you are to the top of the search results the more opportunity that you have to attract new customers.

Because of those two data points I decided to use WordPress.  WordPress is one of the most popular website platforms in use, with more than 70 million websites using it.  I was also fairly familiar with WordPress because it is the platform that OfficerReports.com uses for the blog that you are currently reading.

WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com

If you research WordPress you will find two versions of this popular software, WordPress.org and WordPress.com.  The difference in the two comes down to flexibility.  Wordpress.com is easier to use, but it is also more restrictive and automatically comes with a WordPress.com domain (for example http://officerreports.wordpress.com instead of https://www.officerreports.com).

WordPress.org, on the other hand, is a little more complex to set up but the flexibility that you get is worth going through the setup process.  With WordPress.org you download the WordPress software onto your server (aka your hosting company’s server).  Installing the software on your server provides advanced features and options.  Using WordPress in this way is referred to as a self-hosted version of the software.

Finding A Host For Your Security Guard Company Website

If you decide to use WordPress.org the first thing that you have to do is find a company to host your WordPress.org site.  You may already have a hosting company but if not there are hundreds, if not thousands, of choices for a hosting provider.  Before you decide on any particular hosting company make sure that they meet the minimum requirements.  I have used several hosting companies over the years including myhosting.com, Bluedomino.com, and GoDaddy.com.

Sidenote: Although I am sure that GoDaddy works well for some people, I have always found it to be too complicated and not very user-friendly (Your mileage may vary).

Based on personal experience I would recommend Bluedomino.com because of ease of installation and 24/7 customer support if you run into trouble (again…your mileage may vary).  On my latest install of the WordPress software I ran into a problem, but their tech support team had me up and running in about 10 minutes.  Did I mention that they have great customer service…

Installing the Software

Installing the software is relatively easy.  In many instances you will be able install the software with just a few clicks.  With Bluedomino.com, those few clicks get you right to the WordPress install screen.

security-guard-company-website

 

Setting Up Your Security Guard Company Website

Once the software is installed it’s just a matter of learning your way around the WordPress Admin Panel.  As you can see from the image below, there is no need to know how to write code.  Using the dashboard/admin panel you can easily create pages, posts, and format the website to your exact specifications.

security-guard-company-website-wordpress-admin-panel

Choosing Your Security Guard Company Website Theme

This is the fun part of building the website, choosing the theme.  The theme that you choose will determine the overall color, layout, and flow of your website.  There are hundreds if not thousands of different WordPress themes to choose from.  Choose the theme that is right for your company and you will be on your way.

I will be posting a video “how-to” as a follow-up to this post that will walk you through the entire process. Although we won’t be creating a security guard company website, if you are interested in seeing what that process looks like please subscribe to the blog using the SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG VIA EMAIL option above or just check back in a couple of weeks.  If you have questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

 

By Courtney Sparkman

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Most Popular

Subscribe To Our Weekly Newsletter