After the launch
Launching a website isn’t the end of the work. But that doesn’t mean it needs constant work either.
I offer three straightforward ways to keep an established website useful without signing up for unlimited support or finding a reason to rebuild it every few years.
Keep your website useful as your business changes
Businesses change. New services appear. Priorities move. Search behaviour shifts. Pages accumulate and small compromises creep in.
Over time, a website that was right when it launched can become less useful, not because anything has gone dramatically wrong, but because the business around it has moved on.
Which route is this?
If something is actively underperforming, unclear or not doing the job it should, start with Improve what’s there.
If the website is broadly useful but you want to keep it aligned with the business as things evolve, you’re in the right place.
The right amount of attention
The aim isn’t to keep doing things to your website.
It’s to notice when something needs attention, understand what matters and make useful changes when they’re justified.
These are three different ways of working, depending on what the website needs and how involved you want me to be.
Sometimes that means a focused day of improvements. Sometimes it means stopping every few months to review where things stand. For a smaller number of businesses, it makes sense for me to stay actively involved.
Good first step
Improvement Day
When you know things need doing.
A focused day for working through the changes, problems and opportunities that have accumulated since the last substantial piece of work.
We agree the priorities beforehand, then spend the day working through them in order of value.
Good first step
Website Check-in
When you’re not sure what needs doing.
A periodic review of your website, its performance and what has changed around it.
I’ll look at where things stand, we’ll discuss what the business needs now, and you’ll leave knowing what deserves attention and what can safely wait.
Usually for existing clients
Website Stewardship
When you want someone keeping an eye on things.
An ongoing relationship for businesses that want experienced oversight of their website rather than waiting for problems to appear.
I monitor what’s changing, maintain a view of the priorities and step in with investigation, advice and smaller improvements when useful.
Not website maintenance
Website maintenance usually keeps the machinery running: software updates, backups, security and technical failures.
Those things matter, but they’re not what these services are for.
I focus on whether the website is still doing its job: whether it reflects the business, whether people can find and understand what they need, what the evidence is telling us and where attention would make the greatest difference.
A useful website should keep getting more useful
That has been a recurring theme in my work. For Locale, what began as a website rebrand grew into an ongoing programme of improvement.
Average search position improved from approximately 24 to 11, daily organic search impressions approximately doubled, and the website became a more capable marketing platform over time.
If you want to see what that kind of ongoing attention looks like in practice, see the Locale case study →.
Alex has been a tremendous person to work with on all things digital marketing and website... very patient, positive and helpful.
You might not need ongoing support
Some websites need regular attention. Others need a useful intervention once or twice a year. Sometimes the right recommendation is to leave something alone.
The aim is not to make you dependent on me. It’s to give your website the right amount of experienced attention at the right time.
Where to start
If there’s already a clear list of things that need attention, start with an Improvement Day.
If you’re looking at the website and wondering what you should be doing next, start with a Website Check-in.
Stewardship usually makes sense once we’ve worked together and established that ongoing oversight would be useful.
Or just send me your website address and tell me what’s bothering you. I’ll tell you where I’d start.
Not sure which level of support makes sense?
Send me your website address and tell me what’s bothering you. I’ll tell you where I’d start.