About Web Maintenance

Keeping the information on your web site current is important for its success. Besides a high degree of visitor interaction, the best way to attract people to come back to your site again and again is by having content they need, updated on a regular basis.

While we offer web updates and content changes at any time, it can be more effective to think about your maintenance as a routine process and schedule.

We provide several levels of Web Maintenance Packages so that you can choose the package that most suits your needs. Insure that your website is always up to date with fresh, new content in your most important content zones.

What Is an Update?

Updates include any content additions or changes, including media, text or modules. All updates are uploaded promptly on request.

What Should Be Updated Routinely?

Every website is unique, and every business has different needs.  So ask yourself:

"What content do I have that would attract visitors to my site a second, third, or fourth time?"

"What content do I have that lends itself to regular updates?"

Remember, every update for your site creates an opportunity to inform your customers that something new is happening. Make sure that all the effort you put into the design and marketing of your site does not go to waste.

Does All of My Website Need the Same Level of Maintenance?

Determine which parts of your web site will benefit from maintenance. It is counter-productive to create a special self maintenance program for an area of your site that receives very little traffic, has little data, or does not require regular changes. In this case, most of the work could be done much less expensively by the designer.

Don't let your zeal for self maintenance leave you with a bloated and ineffective web site!

Getting Started

We use an initial consulation to discuss maintenance issues and options.

Planning how updates to a web site will be made is integral to the design process.

If updates are infrequent, it will be more cost-effective for you to have us make the updates for you.

If you want to dedicate staff time to doing updates, we'll be glad to work with you to set up training and procedures that support your goals.

If you want to take control of the site, we can train you in various methods of maintaining the site yourself.

Checklist FAQ

Can I and Should I Do My Web Maintenance?  Do I Want to Pursue Training and Buy Software?

People who want to maintain their own sites often have limited or no HTML coding or programming experience. On smaller web sites, Julia O'Reilly Design Studio can train you to use an HTML-editing software program (that you will need to purchase).

A certain level of expertise is necessary for even the most basic site maintenance. You may wish to hire a designer to accomplish your initial goals. We can help you make an informed decision.

What Sort of Editing Will I Need?

The type of editing you want to do will make a difference in the software you need to purchase. Contact us for more information..

Manage Your Digital Assets

You will need a way to edit and manage your digital assets: movies, photographs, graphics, artwork, and downloadable files such as Adobe Acrobat pdf files.

Content for the web must be prepared for the web: compressed, sized, and formatted for internet upload and/or streaming, in the case of movies.

Write for the Web

You will also need to know how to effectively write and then format your content copy so that it complies with your website formatting and reads clearly and powerfully. (See our article on Writing For the Web for help.)

Do You Have an Online Database?

Larger, more complex web sites may require a database program where the user can make changes, additions, or deletions in a password-protected, form-based environment that then automatically updates the web page itself.  See our Business Sites section for more details about our robust databasing packages.

Important Note

If you decide to maintain your site, it is important that we are clear in the beginning about your intentions. (If you don't inform us before work begins that you intend to maintain the site on your own, you could undo, or asking us to undo much of the technical and design work we've done, and incur additional repair costs just to get back to where you started!)

What To Expect for an Average Mainenance Plan

Most updates and content changes take no more than 23 minutes of billable time.

If your content copy (text) is clean and ready to insert and format, updates go much more quickly.

For pictures or other media, files should be appropriately sized, named and compressed for web according to the specs of your site design. We are happy to format and compress your media for you. It will add slightly to your maintenance costs on a single update basis but is included in all our maintenance plans.

 

Monthly Maintenance Packages

Economy Monthly . . . $25

Up to 2 updates per month

Basic Monthly . . . $75

Up to 4 updates per month

Gold Monthly . . . $150

Up to 12 updates per month

Platinum Monthly . . . $400

Unlimited updates per month

Annual Maintenance Packages

Updates include any content additions or changes, including media, text or modules. All updates are uploaded promptly on request.

Economy 1-Year Subscription . . . $275

Up to 2 updates per month. One month free!

Basic 1-Year Subscription . . . $825

Up to 4 updatesper month. One month free!

Gold 1-Year Subscription . . . $1650

Up to 12 updates per month. One month free!

Platinum 1-Year Subscription . . . $4400

Unlimited updates per month. One month free!