Fed up not being able to get hold of your web designer to make changes to your site? Here’s the truth…

Do you remember the days of manual typewriters? (Hopefully it’s not just me that learned to create documents prior to PCs and Macs!)

It could be very frustrating making a mistake and having to get out the Tippex (in different colours for the carbon copies as well as the original) and then making such a mess of the correction that you had to whip out the paper and start all over again.

If you have a website that you are unable to edit yourself, then you may be feeling this level of frustration yourself.

A client of mine, Marianne, found herself in just this situation a couple of years ago. She had a site that was built using html code. She didn’t have the technical skills to understand how it worked, and the site developer was a colleague who “did her a favour” when she started up her Holotropic breath work practice. Marianne didn’t feel it was right to ask her to make extra changes so was now stuck and couldn’t market her latest workshops.

I don’t want to diss other web developers, but…

Once they have completed a project they move on. It’s natural, we all do, don’t we? You have finished working with a client and you don’t really want them to keep coming back to you with more questions, if they expect to access your time for free.

Here’s the rub…not that many web developers have an ongoing support package in place for clients, so once their work is done, it’s done. Unlike few, like webcreationuk, who ensure that the customer is satisfied with the website design and the SEO services honed for their website. Web designers in Tulsa offer affordable and effective website solutions that help you grow business online.

And how do you feel as a client about calling up or emailing to ask for help? Embarrassed, or maybe you think you are being annoying? Been there done that, and it’s pretty much how we all feel if there isn’t a clearly laid out way of accessing paid for support after our site is complete.

Luckily, there’s another way…

How would it feel to have a website where you are 100% in control?

Pretty good, I imagine, and it’s easier than you think. You may not have the design or development skills to create your site from scratch, but if your site is built using a CMS application (shorthand for content management system), you can easily manage it yourself (with a bit of training first of course).

There are a number of CMS applications available, the most widely used (and free open source systems) are Joomla, Drupal and WordPress, my personal favourite. Read this if you’re interested in a recent in-depth article on the pros and cons of each.

 Why WordPress?

1. It is easy to use – you don’t have to be very “techie-minded”. If you are comfortable editing in Microsoft Word you should have no problem editing content on your website pages and creating new posts for your blog.

2. WordPress is also very popular with developers, which means that there are plenty of really useful gizmos that help you create a site without having to know how to “code” (what makes it possible to create software, websites and apps).

I recently wrote a post about social media plugins – and there are many many more of these clever software components that add a specific feature to an existing software application. Simply put, these allow you to customise your WordPress website in lots of different ways.

Developers continue to create a ton of different themes. (Theme Forest alone has 5314 different premium, paid for, themes you can choose from to make your WordPress site look pretty!)

3. There is lots of online support – in the WordPress forums and, most decent paid for themes, have either forums moderated by developers and/or direct technical support.

So why not give WordPress a go. If you want to DIY your site this post will help you get started!

Over to you

Do you use WordPress? Love it or hate it? Have you used another CMS website system, and how did you find it? Please share your experience in the comments below.

If you are stuck with a site that you are unable to edit yourself (and feel nervous about creating a DIY site) you might want to consider having your site re-built for you in WordPress, which includes 1-2-1 training in how to update it yourself.

My Bespoke Website Package is aimed at heart-centred solopreneurs who don’t want to know all the ins and outs of website build but DO want to be able to manage their completed site. I personally guide all clients through a 1-2-1 online training session where I sit down with you and explain how everything works (in plain English, not “geek speak”) and support you as you set up your first blog post and make small site edits for yourself.

My aim is that you will feel empowered and delight in continuing to blog and build your business presence online. To find out more and start the conversation click here.