Welcome to WAcademy: Who Are We? How Do We Work? Where Are We Headed?

Wordpress website building and updating intructions

Welcome to WAcademy: Who Are We? How Do We Work? Where Are We Headed?

Since the beginning of WAcademy, we have successfully trained hundreds of web design interns and helped create more than 30,000 websites for SMEs. Discover how we achieved this!

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Wordpress website building and updating intructions

We live in a digital world. A kind of world that is fully powered by the internet. We work remotely. When we want food, we order it online and have it delivered by autonomous delivery robots. We shop, meet people and pay bills online. It may seem we live virtual lives. However, while some find living in a digital world restrictive, others have discovered endless possibilities. 

This is especially true in the fields of education and employment. You no longer need to move cities or countries to access better education and work opportunities. And you are no longer bound by financial restraints if you want to further your education. As long as you have access to the internet, you can learn. And as long as you can learn, you have more opportunities.

EdTech (education technology) has further bridged the gap between learning possibilities and employment opportunities. At WAcademy, we believe that EdTech is the future, and we have been successfully combining theoretical knowledge, skill building and practical experience to ensure that aspiring web/UX/graphic designers have better employment opportunities once they exit the WAcademy internship program. 

Education, however, is not the only driving force behind WAcademy. We are also passionate about providing opportunities to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are trying not only to adapt to the digital world but also to become a successfully operating part of it. Our passion is what drives us to become better and, simultaneously, help others reach their goals.

WAcademy history: How it all started

WAcademy started as a web design company. In 2017, we began running WordPress design and development internships to find the bright talents of tomorrow. Our internship program quickly morphed into a fully-fledged EdTech operation that attracted interns from all around the world.

While we were confident our interns would significantly benefit from theoretical knowledge, access to the top web design tools – including WordPress, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Sketch, Figma – and skill building through practical tasks, we wanted to offer first-hand experience working with real-life projects too.

Insert SMEs. Small and medium-sized businesses can significantly benefit from high-quality websites, but they often do not have the funds to build them.

Independent web designers charge between $1,000-$3,000 per project, but they offer no support, and that means that website owners eventually end up spending even more money for maintenance. While using a website builder might seem like a good option, it is crucial to take into account that the average $20-$30 monthly charges add up. Also, web builders come with limitations and are not always easily customizable. For businesses that do not want to spend time and money on template websites, this is not the ideal option. 

So, the problem at hand is that SMEs need professional web designs that fit within their limited budgets, and aspiring web designers need experience building websites. We realized quickly how important the relationship between SMEs and WAcademy interns could be.

A simple idea quickly turned into a well-oiled machine that has supported hundreds of interns and tens of thousands of small business owners wishing to reap the benefits of business and ecommerce websites. As you can see, we’ve been pretty busy since 2017.

WAcademy’s mission & vision

WAcademy is on a mission to provide aspiring web designers with real-life work experience and help them jump-start their careers regardless of their backgrounds and geographical locations. Simultaneously, we aspire to assist small business owners trying to bring their services and products online. 

Today, at WAcademy, we train and guide beginner web/UX/graphic designers while helping SMEs take their brands online. However, our vision is much bigger than that. In 2023 alone, we plan to double the number of both certified web designers and small businesses that are supplied with free web design services. 

So, how do we make it all work? How do we lift our interns and assist our business clients? The answer is simple – with tons of dedication, effort and passion for what we do. And we couldn’t do it all without our restless achievers, self-movers, honest communicators and team players who stand at the core of WAcademy. 

How WAcademy helps interns

The WAcademy internship program is based on five different stages that fully prepare inexperienced web designers for exciting employment opportunities in the future.

Stage 1: Theory

Stage 2: Assessment

Stage 3: Collaboration

Stage 4: Experience

Stage 5: Certification

First, WAcademy instructors teach web design basics and introduce interns to web design trends. Simultaneously, we introduce them to industry-standard tools that prepare them for practical skill-building. The assessment phase allows us to see how interns are applying the knowledge and skills they acquire.

During the internship, all interns communicate with dedicated project managers and designers, who help them throughout the entire internship. Project managers, for example, work specifically to find real-life projects that our interns could work on to further build their skills and, simultaneously, their portfolios, which is crucial when entering the job market. 

Finally, once the internship is complete, we provide certification that proves the acquired skills and experience. 

WAcademy internship program benefits for interns

Here are the top benefits of joining the WAcademy internship program:

  • Professional training
  • Practical experience working with real-life projects
  • Experience working with some of the most popular and advanced design development tools (WordPress, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe XD and other Adobe apps, Sketch, Figma, etc.)
  • Professional portfolio
  • Full certification
  • Better employment opportunities

How WAcademy helps business clients

Registering for a free web design service from WAcademy interns is a quick and simple procedure that can be completed in a few steps.

Step 1: Choose whether you need a business website or an ecommerce website

Step 2: Provide details about your website (e.g., purpose, style, goals)

Step 3: Communicate with a WAcademy project manager to further provide details of your dream website

Once your idea is fully formed, we assign a trained intern to your project so they can start building it. Professional designers and project managers guide and supervise our interns throughout the process to ensure top results.

How long does that take? We commit to a 20-30 business day timeline. And once an intern presents the website, the client has an opportunity to request changes. Once those are applied, the fully functional website is handed over to its owner.

WAcademy benefits for business owners

Here are the top benefits of joining WAcademy and having your website created by interns:

  • Quick and easy registration process
  • 100% free web design services
  • Continuous support from a professional project manager
  • Full customization according to your needs (no templates used)
  • Full ownership once the website is up and running
  • Easy upgrades with additional Web Services

To ensure your website is up and running, getting a domain name and securing website hosting is necessary. While these services are not included in the WAcademy free web design service package, our trusted partner Getspace offers an amazing cost-effective deal to all our clients. The offer includes WordPress hosting, a domain name, data backup, an SSL certificate, professional email inboxes (5 per website) and an Elementor Pro license.

Whether or not you already have a domain name, we can assist you in acquiring it and setting hosting up so we can start creating your website ASAP. 

WAcademy future: Bigger community, better services, internship market globalization

WAcademy has built a community of web designers who, after successfully completing the internship program, started their careers. We have also built a community of small businesses that have had the chance to grow due to functional, attractive, professional-looking websites.

In 2023, we plan to double our community and continue training aspiring web designers and assisting SMEs. We will support this ambitious growth plan with a platform that will make the management of both interns and business clients’ projects more efficient and smooth. Although we are taking the route of platformization, we remain dedicated to providing direct in-person feedback to ensure that our interns receive first-class training and keeping communication channels open so that our clients’ voices are always heard.

This year, we are scaling our English and Spanish-speaking markets, with a specific focus on the South American market. Due to this, the WAcademy internship program is growing, and we have signed partnership agreements with five universities in Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Honduras! We are also excited to introduce new products and more services to students to increase their chances of hireability. In fact, we aim to ensure 95% hireability after completing the internship program. 

We are also on track to globalize the internship market and even hold 1% of the overall market share in the coming years. Above all, we will continue working hard to build trust among global communities and empower them to learn and grow remotely with the help of accessible EdTech. After all, EdTech is the future, and it will soon transform the job market into a global one.

Let’s connect

The future is bright, and we cannot wait to see how WAcademy changes in a year, five years or a decade. If you are curious too and wish to be notified of all exciting updates, news and stories from our world, subscribe to our newsletter!

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