Monday, September 22, 2008

For Growth You Must Perform Website Maintenance

By TheWebsiteDesignStore.com: Bill King


Often when people create a new website they don't consider how often they will need website updates. Website maintenance should be one of the things you consider even as you plan to launch the first revision of your website. Determine the method and budget you need to establish for your website maintenance.

It may be more effective and efficient to contract a website design store to build and maintain a business website. This act alone could free up valuable employee or business owner resources to allow them to perform other needed business functions. The website maintenance store protects the business from neglecting the website and stagnating growth.

1. Check the quality of their work. Can they provide you with references and examples of their work? Testimonials and portfolios can be indicators of quality. Cheap isn't always best.

2. Get an estimate for the cost and of the amount of time the work will take. If you are billed at an hourly rate for your website design or website maintenance, still get an estimate. Inquire if there is a minimum charge by the website maintenance store.

3. A individual website designer may at first seem like a bargain compared to a website design store but make sure that they do not have a significant project backlog and that they will be available to you for future website updates. Ask about discounts for a subscription based service or a website maintenance package if you need frequent updates.

4. The website design store that you choose does not have to be local but reliability and good communication are essential. If you and your designer cannot understand each other it may cause you to become frustrated quickly. Make sure you can reach someone with questions or concerns via telephone, email or live chat. In the event of an unresolved dispute make sure the website design store that you select is subject to the laws of your country.

Frequent communication with your clients and potential customers could mean more sales for your business. One of our business goals should be to expand our reach, and frequent webpage updates allow the business to do that by offering information that enriches its client base.

You can create constant relevant content by having a website design store add a newsletter or article capability to your existing website. By doing this you can separate your core product offerings will still offering valuable refreshing content. As an alternative you can get the website design store to add or design a blog or forum related to your business or organization. The increased traffic should provide you an opportunity to share with your new potential clients the product that you have that can make them more productive and profitable.

If you do not use a website maintenance store and your webpage is static or does not change very often and you do not have the website design experience to maintain a blog or forum, there are still other options available for updating your website. You can have your website designer add a CMS or Content Management System to your website. It will be beneficial if the web designer knows you want this capability as early as possible, as it can affect the way the website is built. Adding a CMS to an existing website can be costly and time consuming and in some instances very difficult to do, but it has a good return on investment. If you have a busy schedule, maintaining the website using a CMS system may not be the best option for you; you may want to use an RSS feed or the services of a website design store instead.

Remember, that these are introductory steps to improving your business but they work!

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