Why to offer web maintenance services with WordPress
If a client asks you to create their new website and you don’t offer a maintenance service for when the work is finished, you lose both parts. And if not, pay attention to what we are going to tell you.
Why are you losing out?
You, as a professional, give up to get more income and generate a better brand image.
The client, because in a while he will find himself with an outdated website, with performance and security problems and that he will have to change sooner rather than later.
Websites are like cars. The better maintenance you do on them, the longer their useful life will be and the more profitable the investment made in them will be.
In this article we are going to analyze the importance of web maintenance and the reasons why you should offer this type of services to your clients.
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The importance of offering a good web maintenance to your WordPress clients
A good web maintenance aims to ensure that there are no significant problems on a page and that it works optimally despite the passage of time.
Offering this type of services to your WordPress clients can be an effective way to grow your business and get a large number of potential customers who may have a website, but need someone to keep it ready.
In this WordPress website maintenance guide we explain all the necessary tasks for a good maintenance and how to do them.
You can create maintenance plans or packages or simply add an additional cost to the total project budget that covers these tasks for X amount of time.
In case we haven’t convinced you with this introduction, let’s see the main reasons why you should start offering web maintenance services right now:
#1 Earn recurring income
This type of services can allow you to generate recurring income (hallelujah!). Instead of charging in hourly rates, you can offer monthly plans for ongoing maintenance work.
Whether you are self-employed or part of an agency, there are times when the number of projects tends to decrease. That’s why having a recurring maintenance that arrives every month to your account will give you a lot of peace of mind.
It is true that they are usually low budgets and that some month it will be expensive for you (if there is any big problem with an update that depends on you). But it will usually be profitable, as many tasks are on autopilot.
Also, if the client is satisfied with your work, it will be much easier for the client to recommend you to friends or family by being present in the day-to-day of their company.
#2 Reducir peticiones por parte del cliente
#2 Reduce customer requests
As a professional in the sector we are sure that you know perfectly the importance of a good web maintenance, however, it is very possible that your client is not aware.
What happens when it’s not done? That over time, problems begin to appear on the web, and therefore, with your customers.
First, because they are very rarely going to take care of maintenance. And if they do, it will be one of the most basic things.
This can cause the website to break and the level of requests from the client to increase considerably towards you, who are the expert.
On the contrary, if you are the professional who is in charge of this service, the processes will be carried out correctly from the first moment, avoiding awkward conversations.
There are many tools that allow you to simplify these aspects. For example, with Modular, we not only allow you to manage all your websites from one place, but you can also manage all these maintenance tasks without having to log in to each one of them.
#3 You can build long-term business relationships
Offering maintenance support can allow you to strengthen the relationship with your customers, as well as build longer commitments.
In this way, you can increase your income while customers are satisfied with the good performance and functioning of your website.
Think that if they are satisfied with the website you have designed, they will also trust you to carry out the maintenance and security.
And, without a doubt, you will be the first choice for their next projects. They will consider you part of their team.
#4 Your customer will understand why maintenance is important
There are many customers who think that once a website is created it will work forever and they will not have to worry about it again.
What they don’t know is that WordPress and its plugins are constantly being updated. That being the most used CMS in the world hackers are always trying to find new security vulnerabilities to take over your site. Or that at any time there may be a server failure and you may run out of web.
The daily work and the realization of a good monthly reports can help you to really understand what is behind a proper web maintenance. If they do, they will value your work much more.
In addition and one thing that even non-technical people understand, you have to let them know that having an optimized and always working website will help Google to see it with good eyes, and therefore, improve its SEO positioning.
#5 Avoid content loss
Imagine that the website breaks and there was no previous backup, it is possible that the client has lost all the content. And you know who it’s going to be the fault for. For you, because you haven’t been able to solve a problem for him.
It doesn’t matter that they’re not paying you for maintenance. You’re probably the one responsible. And even if your work has already been done, that client may not recommend you anymore. We don’t want that.
This is one of the main reasons why it is convenient for you to offer maintenance services. WordPress does not have a built-in backup solution, so customers have to keep in mind that these backups are mandatory if they really want to protect their investment.
But beware, if it is also an online store, it is important that the customer knows that backups have to be made almost daily, or on the contrary, a one-time failure can become a real drama.
#6 Provide quality accommodation
This is one of the key points to get to sell your maintenance services, and is that the costs of hosting and domain are something inevitable for a website to work.
And if the customer has to pay the same, why not offer them within your maintenance service so that they can centralize everything in the same person? It will be much more comfortable for them.
In this way, you make sure of its quality (how important it is to have a good hosting nowadays) and to have control of it in case of emergency.
In addition, working with a large number of clients, the cost of hosting will be much lower for you and you will be able to earn a higher margin. All while the client receives a better service than if he hires it directly on his own.
#7 Happier and more knowledgeable customers
While WordPress is still one of the most user-friendly management systems, most website owners will need help managing their WordPress website. They will even be afraid of not being able to count on her if something happens.
Having the confidence that they can write or call you if something happens or they have a question about the website will give them a lot of peace of mind and they will be happy to have you.
Conclusion
As we have seen in other posts, a good maintenance is something fundamental for any WordPress website. And it is something that you should know and make your client see.
The good thing is that this need will give you the opportunity to offer a highly automated service that will allow you to add more value to your client, get recurring income and avoid problems with the websites you have made.
May all the hard work you’ve done on a website not be ruined by an unexpected WordPress update after six months.
We hope this post has been useful to you. We love to inspire you, but also to make your life easier. And since you’ve come this far we invite you to try Modular completely free of charge. Where you can manage all your WordPress websites from one place, automating maintenance tasks and giving access to your clients so that they understand what is being done on their website.
Let’s go!
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