You’ve put in an enormous effort to have an all-new, professional website designed. Where do you go from here? The next logical step is about hosting, maintenance, management, and marketing. Basically, who manages it from here and how do we ensure this new website doesn’t end up sitting idle, becomes out of date, or worse…falling apart. No matter where you find yourself in this process, it’s imperative that you have a solid and flexible web presence. With more and more people working from home and doing life online,  this adjustment has changed the way the world communicates, researches, and shops online.

A recent shift in web development is the importance of maintaining control over your website at all times. Most companies have one of three choices when it comes to managing their online presence, but this topic is quite vast and who has time to read 1,500 words about web development these days?

Here are the core issues and options for those needing to adjust their web development and management strategy.

1. Having a large, well-known agency on retainer

This was a popular choice for many years, but it is becoming a less common practice because the turnaround and efficiency are too old school. When you need to make a change it needs to happen fast like everything else in society today. Fast-paced is a way of life. Efficiency is a new trend in web development, and quite honestly, it’s hardwired into Generation Z, which means it’s not going away.

Waiting days, weeks or even months for a change can alter ROI and desired outcomes. Large agencies will always have food on their tables. The question is whether it’s a fit for you and is the big financial commitment worth it.

2. Hiring in house

Having to hire an expert, or three, that knows all the ins and outs of not only your website but also data protection, information technology, graphic design, hosting, maintenance, and trends is a tall order. Finding a team member with this wide range of skills is possible, but it’s rare and will cost you a small fortune every year. They likely require a benefits package. And if you need three employees to carry out the list above, this only increases the overhead. 

3. Contracting specialists

We are living in what I like to call, “The prime of niche,” which is both exciting and disruptive at the same time. Today, specialists and remote working are becoming the new norm. It’s becoming easier than ever to find quality services through small and midsize businesses. They are the most hardworking and entrepreneurial people you’ll ever come across. They aren’t from any one generation but rest assured, millennials make up a large portion of them. You’ll find that you’re not a number to these professionals, and they care for your brand by having great pride in watching your business grow over time. 

Oftentimes these services will come at a discounted rate because the business has less overhead than a larger agency. It’s also easier to get a hold of a smaller entity by phone or email which leads to a much faster result for you. You wouldn’t choose to pay more for slower service when it comes to your food, yet many businesses do when it comes to their web presence. 

Why Specialists and Not an Agency?

At the end of the day the phrase “full-service agency” is going away in favor of the specialist approach. After all, most brands don’t need full service but rather a collection of services. A good comparison here is cable TV vs streaming services. Most people don’t need every channel out there and never asked for them all. Cable TV was the only option and what they had to commit to. With the advent of steaming services, it became more clear that choice, expertise and the cost associated are what people care about.

Your website and the ongoing management is not so different. You might not need all that an agency offers. Therefore, working with specialists will help you focus on and pay for only the services you actually need. Don’t fall prey to the sharks that will charge you an arm and a leg for services you don’t understand. Working with experts who operate within a niche is a solid choice to ensure you are optimizing your ROI.

Does your website need an update? Check out this article about the 5 signs you need a new website.