One of the things to consider before hiring a web developer to build a website is how the updates and maintenance of that website will be handled
Who is going to do the updates? How much will they cost?
In this Website Design Frequently Asked Questions (Web Design FAQs) video blog, I address the question Will I be able to update my new website myself? by looking at 4 factors that impact website maintenace.
(The article below is a summary of the video, but you’ll get more details and examples if you watch the video.)
4 Factors that Impact Website Maintenance
1. Cost and Time Efficiency:
First, let’s consider… What are the pros and cons of maintaining a website yourself versus having a developer do it for you?
Maintaining the website yourself will take more of your time but it will typically save you money. That’s the advantage of maintaining it yourself. Advantage of updating the website yourself is that you can do it anytime that you want.
If you have a developer maintain it for you, often times there’s going to be some kind of a lead time it might be a few days, it might be a few hours sometimes it takes a week or more. Typically it’s going to be a lot quicker for you to be able to maintain the site yourself.
2. Ease of Use:
The ease of use largely depends on the platform your developer chooses for your website. Platforms like WordPress are known for their user-friendliness, making it easier for individuals with limited technical knowledge to manage their websites.
When discussing your project with a prospective developer, ask about the platform they plan to use and how accessible it will be for you to handle.
3. Training & Documentation:
Another factor that will impact your ability to update your website is whether the developer provides you with any training or instructions teaching you how to update your website.
These may include video tutorials, instructional manuals, or documentation, offering step-by-step guidance on updating your website. Ensuring that you have access to such resources is essential in building your confidence and ability to manage your site effectively.
4. Support:
Finally, the support provided by the developer is going to impact your ability to update the website yourself.
Do they have live phone and chat support available if you have an urgent issue? Are they quick to reply to emails? If not, this could make updating your website yourself difficult and frustrating.
Bonus: Software Updates vs Content Updates
It’s also important to understand the difference between content updates and software updates, and who is going to provide each.
Software updates are the regular updates that need to be done to the content management system, plugins and theme to keep them secure and up to date. If you use an online website builder to build your website, these updates are done by the website service provider. If you build the website yourself or hire a developer to do your church website design, you will either need to do these updates yourself or have a developer do them for you like with our Full WordPress Service.
Content updates include things like adding events to the calendar, publishing sermons, and updating info about your ministry or business. Most organizations do content updates themselves, but some of our clients have a monthly content maintenance service and send us their sermons or content updates.
We hope this video and article help you decide the best way to manage and update your website.
If you have any other questions about business, nonprofit or church website design or SEO services, we would love to talk with you. Compete the form below to schedule a free consultation!
Comment and discuss
- Do you prefer to update your website yourself or have a developer do it for you? Why?
