Small businesses looking to maximize their marketing often invest in professional web development. But what happens when the developer steps away and the business takes over?
All too often, it’s complete inaction, says Carmen Krupar, web developer and founder of
Cybervise. (She advises revisiting your website content at least quarterly, by the way.)
Before the launch, Krupar was working with a company that rolled out website after website, shrugging off client requests for ongoing maintenance and updates. Krupar began doing the work herself, first during the evenings after work and, later, out of her
Hamilton County Business Center office, where she says she already networks enough each month to cover the rent -- and then some.
Cybervise fills the gap between the creation of a website and the ongoing maintenance needed to keep it ranking well on search engines and up-to-date for clients and customers. Sometimes, this means creating new pages or reorganizing a site, but it might also mean simply fixing glitches left behind by other web developers. It can even involve some interpersonal work.
“Folks that call us have an existing website, but their web developer has let them down,” Krupar explains. “Usually, the project’s taking too long to finish; they’re at an impasse where nobody can compromise – everyone’s stuck on their own idea of what the website should be, or they’ve lost touch with developer. We’re doing things like updating information, fixing broken functionality and creating graphics (like buttons added to the site), as well as code cleanups for search engine optimization.”
Krupar, who is available on retainer, says the best way to avoid needing her services is to build your initial site with room for expansion, and to avoid free, quick-fix tools. Her favorite content management system is WordPress, though her team can handle nearly any system, she says, noting that most people with computer skills can learn to use it, and it’s search-engine friendly.
“Ranking for search engine optimization is hard enough -- don’t make a site that search engines aren’t going to move through easily,” she says.
By Robin Donovan