You’ve read the article, why do I need website maintenance, and are now wondering how to choose a website maintenance company. Well, you’re in the right place. Today, we’ll look at some of the everyday things to look out for when choosing a website maintenance company. It’s vital your site stays up to date to protect your business and your customers. But, website maintenance is also essential for SEO and marketing your organisation.
Choose a website maintenance company
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of website maintenance companies out there. The majority of them provide other services and are not solely maintenance companies. They may be web developers, hosting providers or a marketing agency. The first place to start is by researching your options and finding out what you need for your style of site.
Understanding your website
Every business is unique, and your website should be too, but most business sites online today fall into only a handful of categories. Knowing how your website is built and operates can narrow your search for a maintenance company. Here are a few things to find out so you can begin your search.
- How is your site built? Most websites are built using a content management system (CMS), find out the framework in which it’s built, and you can look for a maintenance company that specialises in your site style. Some of the most popular site CMSs include WordPress, Shopify, Magento, Drupal, Joomla, OpenCart, X-Cart, Wix, Squarespace
- How large is your site? Is the website just a brochure site showing a handful of service pages, or is it a vast e-commerce shop with thousands of products?
- Do you have lots of plugins and extensions to manage functionality or design? The more extensions you have, the more complicated your website updates could be.
- Have you had maintenance previously? If your site is particularly outdated, you may need some work done before a website maintenance company can take you on as a continual maintenance client. Read about website audits.
- Where is your site currently located? Some providers will only provide maintenance if you host your website on their servers. This ensures that the server setup can be modified for your site if necessary.
These are the basic details a website maintenance company may ask for if you approach them for help. A good maintenance company will be able to help you find this information if you are not sure where to look.
The right package for your website
Once you’ve started to research options, you will likely be presented with various options from the providers. Look through each one carefully and see if it matches your needs. Some things to consider include:
- Do they have experience with my type of website?
- What type of maintenance is included? Framework, security, plugins, themes?
- How do they keep track of changes they’ve made?
- Do they provide any reports?
- Does it match your budget?
Most importantly, can they provide detailed information if you have any questions about their services? If they want your business, they should be able to clearly explain what they provide and why they provide it. Trusting a company before you hand over the reins to your website is crucial for your business’s protection and reputation.
Experience & Scalability.
Once you’ve found a provider that matches what you need, it’s time to look at their previous experience.
- Do they have examples or case studies of previous work on sites similar to yours?
- Can they provide reviews or testimonials from other clients?
- Have they any data to show improvements to sites, if that is what they are advertising?
Another consideration is whether they can handle your site or business growth. Websites should never be static, they should constantly be evolving. If your site starts to expand in terms of functionality, design or amount of content, can the website maintenance company adapt to these requirements? It’s likely you will need to be bumped up to a different package, but it’s good to consider your long-term plans and whether a maintenance provider can help or stifle your development.
My Extra Recommendations for a Website Maintenance Company
I have some additional recommendations if you choose a website maintenance company.
- Can they provide hosting of your website and domain? I believe it’s better to have your maintenance performed by a company that is hosting your site because it means they can change server and domain configurations when necessary. It also means you have only one butt to kick regarding issues, not passing the blame to another provider.
- Can the provider do other work on the website? If you need SEO, social or other marketing updates, it’s great to have just one company to go to. An existing provider will understand your site’s structure thoroughly; therefore, any changes that need to be implemented are much more likely to be done in a way that will not damage your site. Unfortunately, having several companies working on a website can lead to confusion and frustration if something goes wrong.
If you are looking for website maintenance, I work with several providers I can highly recommend. Get in touch with me to discuss my recommendations.