Website support for your business is important.
You’ve invested time and money in establishing your website and everything looks great. Neat, tidy, cool and inviting for visitors to engage with you or buy from you. But that’s just the beginning. The internet is ever-changing and you have to keep pace with it to avoid damage and loss. Software changes regularly and there are plenty of nefarious people trying to hack, disrupt and steal from easy targets online.
You need an effective safety net. Most business people are experts in their own market and have skills and knowledge that bring them a good income. A small percentage of these people are also skilled at keeping their online assets functioning smoothly and safely. Having an expert looking after your website is essential today. Business people use the services of solicitors and accountants for their specialist skills and digital consultancy services are required as well.
Who is the best person to have manage your business website? Ideally, you are looking for a digital partner. Someone who has your business’s back. The person who built your site could be the best choice but some digital agencies don’t offer after-sales support so it’s crucial to know this upfront.
What needs to be maintained?
Assuming you are serious about running a business website (and you should be), you’ll need a digital consultant to ensure the following:
- Content management system (eg. WordPress) is always kept up-to-date for security reasons.
- Software including plugins are maintained and kept up to date for functionality and security reasons.
- Database and files are backed-up regularly (at least weekly) for disaster recovery reasons.
- Help if security issues arise your site (i.e. it gets hacked)
What else should I look for in a digital support consultant?
- Contact availability. You should be able to call at any time to ask a question.
- A ticketing system or email system that suits the way you work. Have an open mind as consultants may have their own system that makes it easy for you lodge requests for content changes or new functionality.
- Prompt replies to email if you are too busy to call. Often the ticketing system is a better option for this but you need to be happy that your digital partner is responsive in a mutually acceptable way.
What about training for me and my team?
Any good digital business consultant will ask what level of training will be required after the website launch. Knowing this upfront allows careful planning and inclusion of team members along the journey (where appropriate). The amount of training depends on how active the business team will be online. Some people hand everything over but plenty update their own content, blog posts, product tweaks, imagery etc. We offer video tutorials covering all aspects of how to maintain a WordPress site. They are broken up into short duration modules designed to provide quick and easy-to-consume instructions.
Another thing to look for is the quality of Frequently Asked Questions provided by the digital consultant. We try to keep ours up-to-date on our site with the intention of providing good quality information that can be self-served by our potential clients.
If you have a business website that you need support with we’d be happy to take a look and see what level of support we can provide. Please feel free to contact us soon to discuss.
