Dagency Theme Setup & Mastery for Digital Agencies

Free Download Dagency - Digital Agency WordPress Theme

Digital agencies don’t win work with vague slogans—they win with clarity, proof, and a frictionless path to contact. This end-to-end guide shows how to install, structure, and optimize Dagency – Digital Agency WordPress Theme with a developer-friendly workflow. We combine a precise checklist for fast setup and a pragmatic playbook you can reuse for every client project.

1) Pre-Flight: Assets, Environment, Workflow

Environment

  • WordPress on PHP 8.x, HTTPS, memory limit ≥ 256M, upload size ≥ 64M.
  • Tools → Site Health: no critical issues.
  • Pretty permalinks (/%postname%/).

Assets

  • Logo (SVG), brand palette, two type families max.
  • 12–18 curated project images (WebP/AVIF, 2000–2400px), 3–5 testimonials, 6–9 service blurbs.
  • Copy blocks: positioning headline, subhead, proof points, CTAs, FAQs.

Workflow

  • Staging → QA → Production.
  • Child theme for custom CSS/JS; keep a change log.
  • Define a performance budget and re-check LCP/CLS after each media/layout change.

2) Clean Installation Without Conflicts

  1. Upload and activate Dagency via Appearance → Themes → Add New → Upload.
  2. Install/activate any prompted companion plugins.
  3. Re-save Settings → Permalinks to flush rewrite rules.
  4. Deactivate overlapping builders or legacy shortcodes; keep the stack lean.
  5. Confirm memory/time limits meet importer requirements.

3) Starter Import: Full vs. Lean

Full Import (fast baseline)

  • Use the theme’s Starter/Demo Importer for Home, Work, Services, and Blog.
  • Import demo media only if you need placeholders to visualize structure.

Lean Import (performance-first)

  • Import Customizer + widgets; skip demo media.
  • Assemble sections using Dagency’s blocks and your assets to keep the library clean.

Set a static homepage (Settings → Reading) and assign menus (Appearance → Menus).

4) Information Architecture That Wins Briefs

Core Pages

  • Home: outcome-driven hero, selected work, service highlights, testimonials, CTA.
  • Work (Archive): filterable grid; consistent thumbnail ratios to prevent CLS.
  • Case Study (Single): business context → process → system → outcomes → CTA.
  • Services: overview + one page per core service (Branding, Web Design, Dev, Growth).
  • About: team, process, values, tools.
  • Contact: short form + SLA; optional booking link.

Navigation

  • Header: Work, Services, About, Blog, Contact, primary CTA (“Start a project”).
  • Footer: condensed sitemap, social, legal, newsletter.

5) Home Page Blueprint (Ship in One Afternoon)

Above the Fold

  • Headline = outcome + audience (“Websites and brands that win pitches”).
  • Subhead clarifies offer and timelines.
  • Primary CTA (“Start a project”); Secondary (“See work”).
  • Visual: static hero for speed; define width/height for all images.

Proof Band

  • Logos row or metric trio: “+47% signups,” “3× faster launch,” “LCP < 2.0s.”
  • Numbers must be defensible.

Work Grid

  • 6–9 projects; hover reveals a one-line outcome; link to case pages.

Service Cards

  • 3–4 blocks with deliverables and “learn more” deep-links.

Testimonials

  • Role + company + outcome; keep each to 25–40 words.

Final CTA

  • A single sentence that restates value + button.

6) Case Study Template (Reusable)

  1. Overview: client, sector, challenge.
  2. Objectives & Constraints: business targets, timeline, compliance.
  3. Approach: discovery → strategy → design → build → launch.
  4. Design System: color, type, spacing, motion, components.
  5. Outcomes: measurable changes (conversion, speed, retention).
  6. Credits & Timeline: who, how long.
  7. Next Project CTA.

Curation Rules

  • 12–18 images per case; crop tightly around the interaction that matters.
  • Include one diagram or annotated UI to explain a system decision.

7) Services Pages That Convert Skeptics

  • Start with who it’s for and a one-line value prop.
  • Deliverables: component library, CMS build, analytics, performance budget.
  • Process: 4–5 steps with outcomes per step.
  • Pricing cues: ranges or “from …” to set expectations.
  • FAQs: timeline, revisions, handoff, maintenance.

8) Design Tokens for Cohesion

  • Type scale: H1 56–64, H2 32–40, H3 24–28, body 16–18, small 14.
  • Color tokens: primary (CTA), secondary (accents), neutrals (surface/border/text).
  • Spacing: 8-point grid; section paddings 80–120px desktop, 48–72px mobile.
  • Elevation: soft shadows for cards; hairline borders for hierarchy.

Centralize tokens so brand updates ripple site-wide.

9) Two Complementary Build Styles

Conversion-First

  • Outcome headline, metric-backed proof, single primary CTA, static hero.
  • Minimal motion, high contrast, crisp rhythm.

Narrative-First

  • Craft-led headline, secondary CTA (“See selected work”), gentle micro-interactions.
  • Respect prefers-reduced-motion; keep effects purposeful.

Alternate section backgrounds and keep container width 1200–1320px for comfortable reading.

10) Performance Playbook (Lighthouse-Friendly)

  • Images: WebP/AVIF; define width/height; lazy-load below the fold.
  • Fonts: two families max; subset; font-display: swap.
  • Scripts: defer non-critical; conditionally load analytics after consent.
  • Cache: page caching, compression, immutable asset headers.
  • Video: poster images; short muted loops; keep hero loop under ~2 MB.

Targets: LCP < 2.5s, CLS < 0.1, INP < 200 ms on mid-range devices.

11) Accessibility That Builds Trust

  • Contrast AA; visible focus states; keyboard-navigable menus/modals.
  • Alt text that describes intent; labeled form fields; clear error states.
  • No auto-playing audio; respect reduced-motion preferences.

12) SEO Without Noise

  • Single H1; meaningful H2/H3 outline.
  • Descriptive meta titles/descriptions; unique OG/Twitter images for key pages.
  • Schema: Organization, Breadcrumbs; Article for posts; FAQ where appropriate.
  • Internal links: Home → Services → Case → Contact; Blog → Services/Case.

13) Copy Patterns to Ship Faster

Headlines

  • Outcome + audience: “Ecommerce rebrand that lifts AOV.”
  • Avoid generic slogans; make claims testable.

Body

  • Front-load value; short sentences; verbs over adjectives.
  • Replace feature dumps with jobs-to-be-done phrasing.

Proof

  • Role + number + timeframe. Concrete beats superlatives.

14) Editorial Rhythm That Compounds

  • Case study every 6–8 weeks.
  • Process article quarterly (“How we build a performance budget”).
  • Homepage refresh twice a year (hero, featured work, CTA test).

15) Forms and Lead Handling

  • Fields: Name, Email, Budget Range (3 options), Message.
  • Anti-spam: honeypot + server-side validation.
  • Auto-reply sets expectations (“We reply within 1 business day”) and links to a short discovery checklist.

16) Troubleshooting Quick Wins

  • White screen: temporarily rename /plugins/ to isolate conflicts.
  • Demo import stalls: raise memory/execution time; import Customizer first.
  • CLS spikes: define media dimensions; standardize card heights; preload key fonts.
  • Slow admin: limit dashboard widgets; clean transients; prune oversized images.

17) Where to Get Dagency and Explore Themes

(Three links embedded on anchor text only.)

18) Final Word

Treat the site like a product: tokens, components, content patterns, and performance budgets that compound. With Dagency, you standardize how you ship and reserve attention for the hard parts—curation, narrative, and measurable outcomes. Keep the homepage honest, the grid consistent, the case studies proof-driven, and the contact path short. That’s how you turn visits into briefs.
gerczakhuggins@gmail.com

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