Common Mistakes to Avoid When Converting PSD to WordPress

You have created a PSD design and now you would like to turn your stunning PSD designs into a full-functional WordPress website. 

Converting PSD to WordPress is a good strategic move for anyone looking to establish a strong internet presence. The concept is to use WordPress, the most popular content management system on the planet, to turn your beautiful Photoshop design into a dynamic, live website.  

This seems like a good move, but developers often make some common mistakes when converting their PSD design into WordPress. 

If you don’t want to make those mistakes and ensure hassle-free migration or maybe you are facing those mistakes and you are looking for a solution – this guide has got you covered. 

7 Common Mistakes Throughout PSD to WordPress Conversion!

1. Not Slicing the PSD Properly

Mistake: A common mistake developers make while transforming a PSD design into a WordPress site is their inability to slice the PSD files properly. Poor slicing will result in incomplete or broken designs that will not convert in the way we want it to be. This generally occurs when significant components such as buttons, images, or logos are left out, cropped or exported at low resolution.

Solution: To slice the PSD files properly, it is necessary to inspect the complete PSD files while converting to make sure that each image part is exported at the required resolution, and format and, that all designs that need slicing are precisely cut. Correct slicing helps embed all the design features in the WordPress theme while maintaining the intended look and functionality. 

2. Ignoring Responsive Design

Mistake: The mobile is the future and customers are browsing through their phones all the time. So, you can’t afford to ignore a responsive design as it affects the customer experience along with SEO. Nevertheless, responsive design is still not a consideration in the very early stages of converting the PSD into WordPress in a number of companies. This neglect usually results in designs that look good on desktops but fail when it comes to mobile devices. 

Solution: To address these problems, developers have to take a mobile-first strategy. This strategy enables you to first design for small screens, and then expand the design for large screens. In doing so, you also make sure to include key elements such as navigation, images, and text that are suited for use in mobile devices. 

3. Poorly Structured HTML/CSS

Mistake: A majority of web designers make when they are converting a PSD into WordPress is that they tend to write HTML and CSS code in a messy manner. These annoying or unstructured codes can create several problems, such as higher loading speed, difficulty in future maintenance, and poor SEO results. Also, the cluttered code makes it harder to troubleshoot, update, or scale the website as and when needed.

Solution: Write clean codes that are easy to follow. Take advantage of useful HTML tag types by making sure that they are semantically meaningful. When it comes to CSS, do not use too many unnecessary and overly specific selectors and logically group-related elements. All of these clean and semantic coding practices result in faster, more efficient websites that are easier to manage.  

4. Not Optimizing Images and Assets

Mistake: Another common error that developers make throughout the PSD to WordPress conversion is not optimizing images and other assets. This would slow down the performance of the website, usability of the website, and search engine rating as well.  

Solution: 

1. You need to optimize and compress all images, and other assets before uploading to the WordPress site.
2. You can start off by saving the images in appropriate formats such as JPEG for normal images and PNG where a background is needed.
3. There are certain tools such as Photoshop, TinyPNG, etc that you can use to compress files without compromising the quality of the images.
4. There are some popular WordPress plugins as well that you can use such as Smush, and EWWW Image Optimizer when it comes to compressing images and files after upload.

5. Neglecting Cross-Browser Compatibility

Mistake: Developers neglect cross-browser compatibility, assuming the design will work the same across all browsers without testing. However, different browsers can render websites differently, leading to inconsistencies in layout, functionality, and appearance.

Solution: To avoid this problem, you need to preview your WordPress site on different browsers such as CHROME, SAFARI, FIREFOX, EDGE, and OTHERS. It guarantees a seamless operation of your website regardless of the browser. There are some tools that you can use such as BrowserStack or CrossBrowserTesting to test the cross-browser compatibility and ensure consistent user experience.