I began my new law firm last month. It’s a solo practice and, like most people starting a new business, I’ve been shopping for how to run this new business efficiently and at low cost. I finally got around to creating my own website, but I had a few requirements:
- I know very little HTML coding, and I didn’t want to take the time to learn it.
- I didn’t want someone else hand-coding my website, because I wanted to be able to have complete control over the site in order to make my own changes (again, without having to learn HTML).
- I didn’t want to hire someone else to design my site. I wanted to see how far I could get on my own, and my girlfriend Jen McKnight, who teaches graphic design at the University of Missouri, had offered to give me further advice.
- I didn’t want to use many of the online do-it-yourself websites, in that many of them had limitations. I wanted to have the power of being a design coder without actually being a design coder.
- I didn’t want to spend a lot of money.
Well, there is a wonderful answer that addresses all of my concerns. I used WordPress as my foundation, using a free theme called OceanWP as my theme and using a free page builder plugin called “Elementor” as my page builder. I actually used the paid version of Elementor ($199) which gives me one year of updates and support plus numerous pro features. This would allow me to build a sophisticated law site, then turn my attention to revamping my workhorse website, Dangerous Intersection. I also have personal site that needs attention. Then I could use my new non-coding expertise to help others with their sites.
I watched several YouTube instructional videos and about a dozen how-to videos by Elementor. I am quite familiar with WordPress, but learning Elementor took a few days of getting familiar with the many options, initially running into dead ends and blowing things up, re-watching instructional videos and walking things through methodically.
This website is the net result. It’s mostly finished, but will always be a work in progress, as I better learn what I can do with Elementor (and with OceanWP). I’m quite pleased with the end result so far. Come back in a few months and you’ll undoubted see that I’ve delved further into Elementor and used more of its numerous options.
