websites with character
What is an Annual Site Management Plan?
And how do I know if I need one?
Jim Feuerstein
Once we’ve finished building your site, it’s yours. We can give you the keys, and you can drive it off the lot.
Practically speaking, that means we’ll help you set up your own account with the hosting service — with your own username and password — and we’ll transfer the site into that account.
Later, if you need our help, you can give us access, and we can get in and edit things.
If you have the staff, the expertise, and the time, that approach can make sense, and it’s what some of our clients do. Most, however, ask us to manage their sites for them.
February 12, 2024
With a site management plan, we take care of maintaining your site.
WHAT’S INCLUDED IN A SITE MANAGEMENT PLAN
To keep things simple, we offer an Annual Site Management Plan. You pay an upfront yearly fee (or, for a small premium, a monthly fee), and here’s what you get:
We take administrative responsibility for your site
We pay your fees for website hosting and domain registration, and we make sure those subscriptions are kept up to date. This is a small thing, but it removes a headache for you, and it can prevent (an unlikely) disaster: We recently built a new website for a client that had — due to staff turnover — lost their old website’s account name, password, and confirming email account. They couldn’t prove to GoDaddy that they owned their site, so they had to simply abandon it, along with their domain, and start from scratch while the old site tottered toward its expiration date.
We handle all communications with the hosting service
If there are any problems — whether it’s accounting problems or technical issues — we deal with the hosting service. We have a priority support relationship with the service, so we can get a support person on the line in minutes, and it will be someone who truly knows the system. This is included with the Site Management Plan, it’s at no additional cost, and it’s unlimited.
We take care of keeping your site up-to-date
During the year, you’ll almost certainly need to update your website. You’ll need to add a new employee, update some photos, edit a product description. You may even want to add an entire new page. We’ll take care of that for you. If you prefer — and if you do a lot of regular editing — we can also teach someone on your staff how to make updates. Each of our Site Management Plans includes a certain number of hours for that kind of work. If you want more of our time, you’ll get it at a discounted rate (24% less than our full rate).
So, if we strip it down to basics, here’s what’s included:
1. Site administration, including payment of hosting and domain fees
2. Unlimited communications with the hosting service to resolve issues
3. A fixed number of hours for editing, training, and other services
4. A discount (24%) on any additional hours
WHAT DOES THE SUPPORT PLAN COST?
The fee varies, depending on your website. For example, the plan for an e-commerce website costs more than a website that doesn’t include a store. In general, however, the plan for a business website runs from $1,750 to $2,500 per year (or $165 to $250 per month).
When we agree on a design for your site, we’ll be able to give you a price for your plan. Note that all plans run for a year, including plans that have a monthly payment schedule.