1. Help Your Small Business
Client Maintain Their Own
WordPress Site
Jonathan May
2. Agenda
§ Introductions
§ What This Is – and Isn’t – About
§ The Four Steps to Self-Maintenance Nirvana
§ Questions, Success Stories and War Stories
3. Introductions
• Who are you???
• Freelance Website designers/developers
• Small business or not-for-profit people
• In-house IT guys
• Tool developers (themes, plugins, etc.)
• Not Sure/Other
4. Introductions, cont’d
• Who am I?
• Currently a freelance Web Hmmm…
whatever
marketer, designer, developer happened to
and chief-cook-and-bottle- COBOL???
washer at
YourPresenceOnTheWeb.com
• I have been programming,
project managing, consulting
and loving/hating everything to
do with computers and software
for over 30 years
*COBOL => COmmon
• Relatively new to WordPress… Business-Oriented
and loving it! Language
5. What This Is – and Isn’t – About
• This is NOT about technology
(very much)
• It’s all about becoming a trusted advisor to
your client
• As a trusted advisor, you are:
• More valued than a whiz-bang code jockey
• More likely to obtain follow-on business from a
client
• More likely to be referred to other clients
• The catch: It doesn’t come easy
6. What This Is – and Isn’t – About
• The scenario:
• You are a freelance Web designer/deverloper
• Joe’s Tax Service wants you to create a WordPress
site for them
• Joe is just getting started in business, doesn’t have
much cash flow, and – to keep ongoing expenses
down – doesn’t want to pay someone else to
maintain his Website
• What should you do?
a. Jump right in and hope for the best – it’ll all work out
b. Walk away from this soon-to-be mess, or….
c. Take the Four Steps to
Self-Maintenance Nirvana!
7. The Four Steps to Self-
Maintenance Nirvana
1. Evaluate the Risk
2. Plan the Approach
3. Execute the Plan
4. Re-evaluate and Adjust
• This is really “Consulting 101”
11. Pop Quiz #2
A: Matt Mullenweg is the original creator of
12. Step #0: Provide Some “Escape
Clauses”
• Build at least a modest amount of “warranty
time” into your development agreement
• Consider offering the client a “bare bones”
ongoing maintenance and support agreement
• Small monthly retainer (perhaps at a discounted
rate) for a minimum number of billable hours
• Additional time supporting the site above and
beyond the minimum to be billed at your standard
hourly rate
• Minimum duration of 3 – 6 months
13. Step #1: Evaluate the Risk
• Before you start the project, assess how risky it
would be to have the client self-maintain the site
• Why do that?
• WordPress is supposed to be the Website
development tool for the masses, isn’t it?
• Well, yes, but…
• But it takes training, experience and some basic
aptitude to avoid botching up a site
• A botched-up Website will hurt the client’s
business, and possibly your business, too
• Before you sign up for this gig, determine if the
level of risk is acceptable
14. Step #1: Evaluate the Risk
• Scenario #1: Acceptable risk
• Site design is relatively simple, e.g, a basic
“brochure site” with
• 6 – 8 pages
• A few key plugins
• Little/no custom code
• No e-commerce
• No plans to make major changes/enhancements
to the site immediately after launch
• Site owner has some computer savvy
This could work!
15. Step #1: Evaluate the Risk
• Scenario #2: Danger, danger, Will Robinson!
• Complex site design
• Owner will be depending on site to generate
significant revenue
• Big plans for ongoing enhancement of the site
after launch
• Site owner possesses little/no basic computer
skills or aptitude
Consider a different approach!
17. Step #2: Plan Your Approach
• Provide ways to reduce how much time they
need to spend in the tool
• Example: submit posts via e-mail
• Work with your client to determine how they will
get the training and experience they need to
become a self-maintainer
• WARNING: Do not attempt this with someone
who lacks basic computer skills/aptitude
18. Step #2: Plan Your Approach
• Plan the Training
• Create a simple inventory of the set of skills the
client must have
• Focus on the 80/20 items
• Start early in the process
• Training Resources
• Books (Lots of them available, but probably
better as reference guides)
• You (in a limited way only)
• On-line videos (now you’re talking!)
• Free: wpapprentice.com and freewptraining.com
• NOT Free: lynda.com and wp101.com
19. Step #2: Plan Your Approach
• Create a practice plan
• Set up a practice sandbox
• To avoid conflicts with development, consider creating
a site at wordpress.com
• Start with simple exercises, move to more
complex
• Drive off the skills inventory with 80/20 focus
• Again, start early – “doing is learning”
• Last but not least:
Make sure the site owner buys into the plan!
21. Step #3: Execute the Plan
• Do regular progress check-ins with the client
• Have them show you the practice work they
have done
• Your role should be primarily to answer
questions and provide feedback
• Make sure any time you personally spend on
training them is focused on high-leverage topics
23. Step #4: Re-evaluate and Adjust
• If the client is really floundering or just isn’t
making any progress…
• Time to “Have The Talk”
• As needed:
• Step up training/practice efforts by the client
• Invest more 1-on-1 training time with the client
• Suggest re-considering at least a bare bones support
agreement
