gardening your web sites
TRANSCRIPT
Plan
I’ll talk about:
Why gardening is a good analogy for successful web sites
The 3 ‘layers’ required for ongoing success
Realistical ways to cover everything
Opportunities for web professionals
then:
Open discussion about the challenges of ongoing support, maintenance and generally improving web site success in the long term.
Great things happen when you view your website project as a “living thing”
...not static or a project that is “done”.
The question is not
“how do I maintain my web site?”
but rather
“how do we continue to enjoy the benefits of this garden?”
Maintenance Reactive Proactive
Technical
Business
Content
Security scans, backups, DNS, plugin updates ...
Bug fixes, small changes, disaster recovery ...
Technology changes that increase business success of the website.
Monitoring ... Editor help, “how do I” questions ...
Does the web site fit with the wider marketing goals?
Broken links, automated social media sharing ...
Monitoring & webmaster tools alerts ...
New content and data driven marketing changes.
Keeping the weeds down
Coping with the weather
Growing a better garden
Examples
of what
is involve
d:
Structure and process matter … a lot.
Use tools for repetitive tasks e.g.
ManageWP for plugin updates across multiple sites
WP CLI for scripting
WP Pusher for automated deployment
PingDom for uptime and performance monitoring
Structured communication
Use support software to manage requests (eg SupportBee)
Be clear on responsibilities and expectations
Best practice development e.g.
Use source control and child themes
Test changes on a staging site
Be consistent
Same process for one site or many
Maintenance Reactive Proactive
Technical
Business
Content
Security scans, backups, DNS, plugin updates ...
Bug fixes, small changes, disaster recovery ...
Technology changes that increase business success of the website.
Monitoring ... Editor help, “how do I” questions ...
Does the web site fit with the wider marketing goals?
Broken links, automated social media sharing ...
Monitoring & webmaster tools alerts ...
New content and data driven marketing changes.
Automate!Hosting, plugins, 3rd party tools
Productised services!
Good strategic advice = most
effective projectsHow we m
ight
tackle
these
;
effici
ently!
Plugins and tools to help with the maintenance and reactive layers of ongoing web site success.
This list is just a tiny sample of the huge array of tools and services, our challenge is not that the tools do not exist, rather it is how to use them and have everyone involved work together for success.
Wordpress hosts (that include updates & related services)
WPEngine
SiteGround
GoDaddy!
Managing multiple websites
ManageWP
InfiniteWP
WPRemote
Managing support communications
SupportBee
FreshDesk
Trello
Training & editor help
WhiteLabel CMS
Video User Manuals
User Switching
Security
JetPack (BruteProtect)
Akismet
WPEngine
Monitoring & automated testing
Pingdom
GhostInspector
Content
Broken Link Checker
Yoast
Simple 301 Redirects
Code & Deployment
GitHub
WP CLI
WPPusher
Reactive support
WPCurve
GoWP
WP.org forums
Backups
VaultPress
BackupBuddy
ManageWP
Resources to help you provide retainers to your clients
Marie Poulin’s very practicle advice on creating retainers: http://freelancetofreedomproject.com/implement-retainer-based-payment-model/
Brennan Dunn’s excellent article with advice for freelancers: https://doubleyourfreelancing.com/freelancers-guide-client-retainer-agreements/
My own guide describing how you can use “value add” retainers to compliment your core service(s) (suitable for agencies as well as freelancers): http://www.happyporch.com/value-add-guide/