There are many reasons why designers and developers choose to build websites with WordPress. But as anyone who’s spent enough time with the content management system will tell you, it’s got its flaws.
Security is a big concern. Speed can be difficult to manage. Seasoned WordPress users understand the CMS’s weaknesses and are able to craft monthly maintenance and support plans to ensure that all bases are covered long after launch.
While it’s clear what sort of benefits your clients get from maintenance and support, you stand to reap a ton of benefits by adding it to your service offering, too:
Competitive Edge
The clients understand the value of protecting their investment and want help maintaining the website.
Build your portfolio
You put a lot of work into the websites you build and you should be proud to show them off. But when left in the hands of your clients, you run the risk of your portfolio quickly going down the drain.
Update process
One of the awesome things about performing WordPress maintenance is that a lot of it can be automated, so you’re not really “performing” much at all. It becomes more about monitoring and support.
What’s more, if you initially build security, speed and SEO automation into your websites, you’ll have even less work to do when maintenance plans kick in. And an awesome justification for raising your web design rates.
Additional Revenue
Once you see how beneficial it is to build WordPress maintenance into your offering, you might not want to stop there. Your clients might not either. So, keep your ears peeled. If clients start asking for help with the same kinds of things (e.g. managing their hosting, handling their content marketing, running SEO audits, etc.), think about how you might add that to your offering.
The Drawbacks Of Managing WordPress Maintenance Services
WordPress maintenance is beneficial to your clients and it does a lot of good for your business, too. But there are some things you need to be aware of before you jump in.
The competition
While offering WordPress maintenance will certainly make you a competitive and formidable force in the eyes of existing and former clients, that might not be the case with newbies. Not only will you have to compete against other web designers and agencies, but you’ll also have to compete with dedicated WordPress maintenance pros like WP Buffs and SkyrocketWP.
A new offering
Without the right tools or automation in place, WordPress maintenance services could become an even greater burden on your business. Remember, you want to move away from time-based services, so this needs to be set up properly if you want to make it work.
Technical Skills
Website maintenance is a highly technical matter. If your skillset is mainly in design or strategy, this might not be the right recurring revenue service for you. That’s why it’s important to secure the technology and process before you start selling any new solution.
Support is required
Although we usually just refer to these services as maintenance plans, support has to be baked in. You’re not just working behind the scenes to do backups or patch vulnerabilities. You have to make yourself available if a client notices that their site is down, they’ve been locked out of the admin or they simply need help editing a page.
