WordPress websites for Chicago small businesses
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Quick answer: WordPress Chicago is the Chicago service of 45Squared, a Midwest web studio that has built WordPress sites since 2015. We build new WordPress and WooCommerce sites in about a week, move sites to WordPress in 48 hours, and host them for $35 a month. You own everything we build.
- New site
- About a week
- Migration
- 48 hours
- Managed hosting
- $35 / month
- Building sites since
- 2015
What is WordPress Chicago?
WordPress Chicago is a service of 45Squared, a small web studio based in the Midwest. We build and look after WordPress websites for small businesses in Chicago’s neighborhoods and the suburbs around it.
We keep the list of things we do short on purpose. We build sites, move sites, host sites, and audit sites. That’s it. Doing four things every week means we do them well.
Why WordPress suits a Chicago small business
WordPress is free, open-source software that runs 40.2% of all websites, according to W3Techs. That scale matters to a small business for three reasons:
- You’re never stuck. WordPress developers are easy to find, in Chicago and everywhere else. If we disappeared tomorrow, someone else could pick up your site.
- You own it. A WordPress site isn’t rented from a platform. You can move it to any host.
- It grows with you. Add a blog, bookings or an online store with WooCommerce, without starting over.
Page builders like Wix and Squarespace are fine for a start. Many businesses outgrow them. We wrote a plain comparison in WordPress vs Squarespace and Wix.
How working with a remote studio works
Working remotely is simple, and it keeps costs down. You never pay for a downtown office. Here’s the shape of a typical project:
- A short video call. We learn what your business does and what the site needs to do.
- A fixed quote. You see the price and the date before anything starts.
- A build you can watch. You get a private preview link and send feedback in plain email.
- Launch and handover. We launch, check everything, and show you how to edit your own pages.
Read more on how a project runs.
What it costs
Prices depend on the size of the site, but some are fixed. Moving a site to WordPress starts at $1,500 and includes 30 days of support after launch. Managed hosting is $35 a month, with updates, backups and monitoring included. A new WordPress site is quoted after a short call, so you know the full price before we start. See pricing for what’s included in each.
Who we’ve built for
We’ve built sites for businesses like Wilde Thyme Foods, a family food brand that sells online, and Boulder Creek Golf Club, whose team now updates the site themselves. We host more than 30 sites today. Most belong to small, owner-run businesses, the same size as the Chicago shops and firms we work with now.
Sources and further reading
What we do for Chicago businesses
A custom WordPress site, mobile-first and fast, typically live in about a week.
Leave Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, Weebly or Shopify with your content, rankings and redirects intact.
Your site on its own server with CDN, SSL, daily backups, monitoring and every update applied.
A broken update, a form that stopped sending, a slow or hacked site. A person looks at it and quotes the fix first.
Menus people can read on a phone, hours that are always right, and one tap to reserve or order.
What the ADA means for a small business website, the barriers that matter most, and how to fix them at a fixed price.
Sell online from your own WordPress site with WooCommerce, with no platform taking a cut.
Find out why search engines miss you and where your site fails WCAG 2.1 AA, in plain English.
Before you decide
Lincoln Square, Lakeview, Evanston, Oak Park and beyond. How neighborhood searches work, and what your site should say.
Published prices for hosting and migrations, and how new sites and stores are quoted.
Plain-English guides on WordPress, website platforms and accessibility for small businesses.
Timelines, ownership, hosting, migrations, accessibility and working remotely.
What clients say
“I’ve worked closely with Aaron VanSledright and 45Squared for a good number of years, as a very satisfied customer. … I’ve never had a single regret. Working with Aaron was effortless, truly. We discussed what I was hoping to accomplish, along with my “why”. His suggestions were to develop a website – simplistic, yet completely adequate – an absolutely perfect solution for my needs. The website was implemented in a timely and professional manner, and pricing has remained exceptionally reasonable over the course of time. I could not be more pleased with Aaron and 45Squared and recommend them highly, without reservation. For any business interested in exploring website development and affordable long-term management, THIS is your company!”
“I was impressed with how much they listened and how they delivered our vision.”
Work you can look at
- Wilde Thyme Foods: an online store with custom product photography for a family-owned food brand (case study)
- Boulder Creek Golf Club: a club website the team keeps current themselves (case study)
Common questions
Do you have an office in Chicago?
No. 45Squared is a Midwest studio, and we work with Chicago businesses remotely. Kickoffs and reviews happen by video call, and everything else happens by email. You get a private preview link, so you can check the site from your own desk. Most clients never need to meet in person, and none of them pay for our office rent.
How long does a new WordPress site take?
About a week for a typical small-business site, once we have your content. That means your text, your logo and any photos you want to use. Larger sites and online stores take longer, because products, payments and shipping all need testing. Either way, we give you a firm launch date before we start work.
Who owns the website when it's done?
You do. The domain, the content, the design and the WordPress install are yours from day one. We don’t lock you into our hosting or a custom platform. If you ever want to leave, we hand over a full copy of the site and the database. Any WordPress developer can pick it up from there.
Can you fix my existing WordPress site instead of rebuilding it?
Often, yes. Start with a free audit, which checks search visibility and WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility. If your site is sound, we fix what’s broken rather than sell you a rebuild you didn’t ask for. If it isn’t worth saving, the audit explains why in plain English, and the choice stays yours.