What to Look for in a WordPress Developer (And What to Avoid)
Whether you are a South Jersey WordPress user or elsewhere, when it comes to building a digital presence that actually drives business, choosing the right WordPress developer can make or break your success. Especially for small businesses and agencies in the South Jersey and Philadelphia region, working with a developer who understands both local markets and modern web standards is essential.
If you’re searching for South Jersey WordPress expertise, here’s what you need to know—and what to watch out for.
Look for Local Expertise and Proven Results
Hiring someone local means more than proximity—it means they understand your customers, your competitors, and how to position your business online. At Upper Level Development, founder Greg Taylor has built a reputation as one of the leading South Jersey WordPress experts, working with small businesses and national brands alike.
Take the recent collaboration with Bette’s Triples, a community initiative powered by the Philadelphia Phillies. The WordPress site needed to handle merch sales, charitable donations, and media attention—all while telling a compelling story. The result? A fast, scalable site with an easy-to-manage backend and SEO baked in.
That’s the kind of performance and polish you should expect.
Avoid Cookie-Cutter Templates and “One-Size-Fits-All” Packages
If your developer’s first question is, “Which theme do you want to use?”—run. A true WordPress expert starts with your business goals and works backward, building a site that’s purpose-driven, not just pretty.
We see this all the time: someone hires a cheap developer, ends up with a bloated theme full of useless features, and the site crashes under real traffic. With clients like Davis Cosmetic Plastic Surgery, we built a sleek, customized WordPress environment that supports advanced SEO, lead gen, and blog content—all without sacrificing speed or design.
A pre-packaged theme wouldn’t cut it. And it shouldn’t for you either.
Look for Performance, Maintenance, and Long-Term Support
Websites aren’t a one-and-done project. They need ongoing updates, backups, speed optimization, and security monitoring. Ask your developer how they handle long-term maintenance—and if they can’t answer clearly, that’s a red flag.
At Upper Level Development, we offer world-class WordPress Maintenance services tailored to growing businesses. We don’t just build your site—we stick around to keep it performing at its best. Clients like 301 Pro Link, a tech startup specializing in advanced redirect solutions, rely on us for high-performance hosting, plugin management, and continuous optimization.
Avoid Poor Communication and Slow Turnaround
Too many businesses get burned by developers who disappear mid-project, miss deadlines, or fail to explain what’s going on behind the scenes. That’s why trust and transparency are non-negotiable.
Greg Taylor brings two decades of experience to every project, combining clear communication with expert execution. Whether we’re building a digital storefront or scaling your SEO, you’ll always know what’s happening, why it matters, and what comes next.
Look for SEO and Content Strategy Knowledge
A beautiful site that no one finds is useless. Great WordPress developers understand how to structure pages, write metadata, and implement tools like schema and caching—all of which help your site rank in search.
From South Jersey WordPress service pages to full-blown SEO campaigns, we help clients build sites that Google (and customers) love. For example, Davis Cosmetic Plastic Surgery’s blog consistently ranks for competitive local and national keywords—because we took the time to build a content strategy tied to real business goals.
The Right Developer Builds More Than a Website
When you partner with a true South Jersey WordPress expert, you’re not just getting a developer—you’re getting a strategist, designer, and problem-solver rolled into one. You’re getting someone who knows how to take your vision and turn it into a high-performance tool that attracts, converts, and grows with your business.
At Upper Level Development, we build sites that work hard and look great. Whether you’re a South Jersey small business or a Philadelphia-based agency looking for a collaborative partner, we’re ready to help.
Ready to build something that performs?
Contact Upper Level Development today and let’s talk about how we can turn your ideas into results.
