There is only so much time in a day.
Website maintenance is an important part of a healthy, relevant business web site. You can’t just build a web site and forget about it for a couple (or sometimes many) years.
Employees come and go. New projects are completed and should be highlighted. Members and clients need to be notified about conferences and events. White papers, annual reports and webinars are regularly published. Blog posts need to be added for your content strategy.
When I work with a new client on their web site project I ask them how they want to make updates after the site is live.
This is an important question to think about. Do you have the time to take over the website maintenance of your site and do-it-yourself? Do you want someone else to take over that task so you don't have to worry about it?
There are some pros and cons for each.
Do-it-yourself website maintenance.
Pros
Building a web site in WordPress, Wix, Square or other content management systems makes it easier for non-tech people to make updates. You don't need to know any HTML or programming to make changes.
You won't have to pay any web site company or webmaster a monthly retainer or hourly fee.
Want to make a change to your content or add a photo to the site at 4am? Go ahead. No waiting necessary.
Cons
But do you have the time to spare in your busy life? Maybe 4am is the only free time you have to work on the web site because of all of your other business duties. This is usually why some sites are not updated for years.
What if something goes wrong when you upload a file? Or you want to add a new page to your site and you are not sure how to do it?
With no webmaster in place you could be on your own for troubleshooting. Taking up your precious work day trying to fix your site when you really want to be making money selling your services or products.
Using an experienced website webmaster.
Pros
With your own website webmaster on hand, you just send them a list of changes and updates and let them do the work. This frees up your time to do what you are good at—concentrating on growing your business and membership.
You won’t be getting bogged down in the small, frustrating details that make your site function. The webmaster helping you with your maintenance will already know the coding or programming necessary to quickly make the changes and updates you requested.
A good website webmaster will anticipate the needs for your site and make recommendations for improvements.
Cons
Not all website webmasters have quick turnaround for changes so make sure you choose a company wisely. If the web site company who built your site was not reliable during that project chances are things will not change when you ask for updates and changes.
You will also have to spend a little work time to project manage and make sure the tasks are completed, correct and on time. Again, depending on the web site company you choose to work with this process can be very easy. Or very difficult and frustrating.
By Kim Adams