Website Maintenance
Welcome to the next installment of discussing your Digital Presence. In this edition, we are going to cover website maintenance. This is sometimes referred to by various names like “Wordpress Care Package” etc.
We are not going to delve too deeply into the specifics of various offerings around this service. Instead we are going to ask ourselves some key questions about the service. Like:
- Is a maintenance package right for you and your business?
- If so, what is the right fit for the services you need?
- How do you know if you’re getting good value for your money?
- What are the main differences between basic and advanced packages?
Before we answer those questions, let’s quickly define what is Website Maintenance just to make sure we are on the same page.
Website Maintenance is like any other maintenance whether it’s for your vehicle, home, or your body, mind and spirit. If you view if from that perspective not performing regular maintenance leads to more costs and less productivity down the road.
Is a maintenance package right for your business?
This brings us to the first question. Is a maintenance package for your website a good fit for you and your business? In general I would say yes. My reasoning is simple. One of the most valuable things you have is your time. There is never enough of it and there is always something else grabbing your attention. So unless you have a passion for tinkering with websites and the requisite skills, it’s probably best to hire someone who does possess those traits.
Ok, we have established you are not a backyard website mechanic who loves to work on their website as a hobby. So what service should you look for?
What level of service is right for you?
Most service providers will cover the basics, backup, checking broken links, making sure you haven’t been hacked and your website sends all your customers to your competition. Which happens more than you might think.
Beyond the basics, you need to ask yourself what purpose your website is fulfilling. Is it a brochure to let people find you? Is it a service catalogue listing? Does it generate sales leads? Or is it a full ecommerce website where customers can browse and purchase your products or services right away? Like a car, if your website is a major component of your revenue, then you probably want to make sure it’s working to its fullest potential.
Getting value.
Let’s move onto the next step. We have decided we want someone to take care of our website, we understand the role it plays for our business. Now we just want to make sure we are getting the right level of value for our money.
This should be a good area of discussion for a potential service provider. Things like regular SEO updates, Mobile Optimization, regular reporting on performance and ROI are all areas to consider before spending more money on upgraded services.
Then monitor your service providers performance and make sure they are delivering as promised. If your website is near the top, people give you good reviews on it, and revenue flows freely. You can focus on something else knowing you’re in good hands.
Basic, Intermediate or Advanced?
Take some time to understand the differences between each of the levels. Based on the criteria we discussed earlier.
Not all packages will be created equal and knowing what is of value to your business can really help drive this piece.
For some packages updating your content is key, other SEO, still other Social Media Management. Some providers prefer an A La Carte approach to let you tailor your services exactly for you.
Once again this comes down to your business needs. Do I need the full size service van? Or the Comfortable interior to drive clients around?
Now that you have considered the various types of services and you have decided a Website maintenance package is for you, set up a meeting and start the discussion.
Companies like Web Anatomy will take the time to work with and go over your business needs to help you select the right services and package for you.
Once you’re up and running that’s one more item off your To Do list. Giving you more time. Time which can now be spent on what you do best, running your business and taking care of your customers.
The result, your business flourishes, and isn’t that what it’s all about?
