Web site support

I’m often asked why I suggest an annual support contract for a web site and what I do for the money I charge. So here is a summary of the tasks that I do on a regular basis throughout the year to help keep a client web site up and running and continuing to achieve the objectives of your web site and your business.

The support needed depends on your organisation and on the size, and style of your site and your in-house skills. Updating your web site with fresh information is important because it shows your organisation is active and interested in its clients and prospective clients. You may also have events and training courses, case-studies and customer references to post.

Updating your web site yourself is an option if you have the skills and the time available but someone needs to do it and you should allocate time and resources to it either in-house or use a specialist like me to do the job for you.

Typically on-going support includes these tasks:

• Updating the website with new information. The update & publish process is:
• receive update request from client (usually by email with attachments, but sometimes hard copy or a phone call)
• reformat data for the web site
• check spelling and grammar for web docs, query anomalies
• reformat images and photos to suitable resolution for the web
• locate suitable images if needed
• convert word docs to pdf (so they can be opened, read and printed by anyone and so the content can’t be changed easily)
• add new web pages, sections and navigation buttons as necessary
• if creating a new public page add keyword and description meta-tags
• put links to new items on home page and other related pages and on latest updates page
• check the update is OK
• email requester to confirm publish done
   
• Respond to queries from the client and help with any content management  tasks being done in house
• Respond to queries from web site users
• Keep site up to date with web and computer technologies. For example, new browsers, monitor standards etc. also operating systems and software versions for the database
• Manage any issues with hosting and domain names
• Review keyword and description meta-tags and resubmit to Google etc. Update the Google site-map.
• Report on visits and traffic to the web site, on-line searches and activity on the members database
• Liaise with linking web sites
• Consultancy and support on any web-site or web marketing issues

In addition there is web site marketing and search engine optimisation to get visitors (prospective clients) to your web site. That’s a different issue and I’ll deal with that in another article.