Every action has a beginning phase where you launch your
activity, a middle period in which you must sustain and develop
it and a conclusion. Many people set up a website
enthusiastically but then they find that they don't have the
skills or knowledge to maintain and develop it. So, what are the
challenges in this middle phase of a website's life and how can
you meet them?
Updating the site: The beauty of a website is that it is not
static like a brochure or printed document. You can change it to
reflect new products or new developments in your enterprise. You
can launch new campaigns, and at any time you can add more
content.
The problem for some companies and individuals is that after
they have paid a good amount of money to have their site built,
they do not have any personnel who can make changes to the
website, such as adding new text or photos etc. One solution to
this is to make sure you have a good maintenance plan included
in the contract or agreement you make your with your web
designer, so that minor changes can be made by your original
designer
Another solution, and one that gives you more flexibility, is to
train someone in your organization to be able to work with an
html editor (like Frontpage, Dreamweaver, or other similar
programs). While not everyone has the skills to design a site
from scratch, someone who is able to use the normal word
processing programs can learn how to modify text and upload
files to the server.
Promoting the site: If you just sit on your hands you cannot
expect your website to live up to its promise. Many web
designers do not have a clue about things like search engine
optimization or submission, and the new website owner is left
with a nice looking site, but no traffic. Furthermore there are
other website related promotional tasks such as reciprocal
linking, newsletter editing and mailing list maintenance which
do not fall into the duties normally performed by the site's
original designer.
Once again check with your web designer or developer and see if
they can perform any of these tasks economically or give you
some help. If not, then some of these activities may have to be
outsourced. Search engine optimization and submission, and even
reciprocal linking, the activity of finding link partners, can
be contracted from among the hundreds of companies offering such
services.
You or a designated member of your staff can learn some of these
tasks by reading online tutorials, e-books and newsletters (like
this one!). Though this takes time, again it gives you
flexibility and an ability to work at your own pace and within
your budget.
Finally if you can't afford the outside services needed to
maintain and develop the site, and if you are not sure how to
train yourself or your staff, a third solution exists in the
form of Ken Evoy's Site Build It
(http://buildit.sitesell.com/webpromote2.html). In which
powerful hosting, design, maintenance and promotional tools are
provided along with step-by-step guidance enabling complete
beginners to build, develop and manage effective websites.
Even before you start your website you should be thinking one
step ahead, so that you can develop the site intelligently and
vigorously, and ultimately be successful in your web project.
About the author:
Donald Nelson is a web developer, editor and social worker.
Hehas been working on the Internet since 1995, and is currently
the director of A1-Optimization
(http://www.a1-optimization.com), a firm providing low cost
search engine optimization, submission and web promotion
services.
