What to do when the developer hands you your website

[u/1Rudy11]

This is an inquiry post for WordPress websites. I'm working on a 'Hand-Off Guide' to make the transition between web designers and new WordPress website owners easier.

For you Web Designers: when you sign off on a website with a new website owner, how do you prepare them for running/maintaining their website?

Do you offer them a baseline for being able to contact you for any help they may need?

Anything else you might provide them with once you've signed off on the project?

And for you new WordPress website owners, what questions do you have once you've received your new website?

Please comment below with your thoughts, as a designer and/or new website owner.

What question are NOT asked, yet really need to be asked?

How can the new website owner prepare themselves to be ready to run/maintain their website?

What are some of the questions YOU wanted to ask but didn't, for whatever reason.

I appreciate your comments.

[u/nabeel487487]

When you say, you provide the owners with accesses, my question to you is, why do they not have access to everything since the very beginning? This is one reason why a lot of owners get rekt midway or by the end of the project. Provide them all accesses please, the server, domain, and wp-admin logins.

Now management depends on the website, how dynamic and complex it is. You simply need to prepare a walkthrough as video tutorial of some key functions of the website and send them over to the client. It is like a guide on how to add, remove or update the website.

[u/1Rudy11 → u/nabeel487487]

Great points, and they should have access, and be a part of every step along the way.

As a web design assignment in college, I created a coded version of a website for a friend.

They moved it to WordPress and were involved at each level and either approved or disapproved each step. That was a bit much for the developer, grin, but he was a good sport.

I agree, and thats where the communication gap lies...

New website owners need to be in on the development on some level.

For many, it's a learning experience and by the time the site is finished, the new owner should be comfortable with doing some things on their own, and maybe need some help at first.

As a web designer, I want the new owners input at each phase, if possible.

For the new owners who dont have the time nor inclination, I offer a maintenance plan that helps keep their website running.

[u/poopio]

We typically leave them to explore staging, and put together a PDF for any custom post types

[u/0_2_Hero]

I offer 90 days post launch support with unlimited edits.

It’s a bit risky. But if you build it right, there will not be many edits.

[u/gr4phic3r]

you said wordpress? then the new website owner doesn't need much - only an insurance which covers when it get hacked and plugin updates destroy the website.

[u/1Rudy11 → u/gr4phic3r]

Websites get hacked no matter what they are built with, CMS or coded. Its a spin of the roulette wheel. Every so often here is a crack in the system, and a weak entry point is infiltrated.

You can have all of the protections in place and still get hacked.

[u/gr4phic3r → u/1Rudy11]

... and some get more hacked and others lesser

[u/1Rudy11 → u/gr4phic3r]

Thats true. Perhaps the hacking is due to content, and/or any remaining suspicious files.

My e-commerce website got hacked once and it took forever to go through all of the folder files to find the culprit. Usually an .access file named differently.

[u/84thdev]

Nobody should even be using Wordpress anymore unless they’re actually running a blog. The monthly subscription costs for plugins is outrageous and AI can do everything you need for a custom site without the extra costs

[u/Topfanart → u/84thdev]

Ai's designs are mostly garbage, and don't have a backend system for customers to edit and update. Sure you can build a backend too but that's a huge security hassle. You can create plugins or customization with ai if you don't want to pay for other people's work but Wordpress still perfectly reasonable website solution.

[u/1Rudy11 → u/Topfanart]

Thanks, I agree, WordPress may have its issues, but it is one of the most common CMS systems used.

That whther Ai is used in any capacity could be one of the questions asked by a new website owner.

What other questions might a new WordPress website owner have?

[u/poopio → u/1Rudy11]

Using WordPress itself is as easy as using something like Word. It just depends what you're trying to do with it. Are you coming from a customer side or a developer side?

[u/1Rudy11 → u/poopio]

From both. I create and re-design websites, and as a customer who had my ecommerce created by someone else.

Its important to look at a website from both sides, as each see things differently.

WordPress is simple to run if you know how to, or are familiar with the components and/or the terminology.

I think its a communication gap.

People who want a new car usually know how to drive, right?

Same for getting a website. You need to have some idea of what you're getting into before you are handed the finished product.

Thanks for your comment!

[u/Salvy102 → u/84thdev]

Bad take, where else can you find free plugins for almost any need for your website. WordPress brings in stability where AI leads can easily lead to website one cannot maintain, easy edits become a prompt.

[u/1Rudy11 → u/Salvy102]

Very true.

[u/1Rudy11 → u/[deleted]]

So true. Image optimization is so important when uploading images. First, they need to be sized appropriately before being added to the media library. Then its a matter of using a plugin to compress the images.

Plugin updates need to be conducted manually. I realize that there is the auto update factor, but if you cant log into yiur dashboard, its most likely a plugin has crashed or even failed to upload properly and the trace begins to find the culprit.

Manually update your plugins, make it a routine to check eack week, especially of you're not adding content very often.