Site maintenance

One of the biggest challenges facing any web site owner is that of keeping the site fresh and keeping people's interest. Over time, site popularity on search engines will wane if you don't change it from time to time. I offer maintenance services tailored to meet your requirements, or I can install and support content management solutions like Wordpress or Adobe Contribute so you can make alterations yourself. There are many other similar packages that can be implemented, call or email for more details on implementation and on-site training for you or your staff.

Copy editing and proofreading

Part of my work involves checking written copy sent to me by clients for use on their web site, and this can also be provided as a stand-alone service depending on other workload. Copy editing typically involves correction of spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and clarifying or reformatting the text before publishing the site. Proofreading of documents such as PDFs which will be attached to a site, which may or may not have already been copy-edited, and/or which may subsequently be turned into print, can also be carried out.

Bandwidth monitoring

A recent development in the area of web hosting has been issues surrounding bandwidth usage. Hosting companies are making sure that businesses whose sites make the greatest use of their resources in terms of data transfer, foot the bill. This is done through assigning monthly bandwidth limits to hosting accounts, and then if you have a really busy site, or do lots of large file transfers, or send and receive lots of emails with large file attachments, these can push you over the bandwidth limit and lead to excess fees. There is scope within my own hosting framework for up to 3GB of data transfer on a web site account each month which is normally plenty.

However part of what I do for my customers is to monitor bandwidth usage to spot unauthorised bandwidth usage. A typical example recently experienced was where Google had indexed an image from a customer's web site. Funny or sexy images are popular search targets from Google image searches, so they then get massively downloaded from people hotlinking to the image (not visiting the customer's web site but just fetching the image thousands and thousands of times). Also recently someone created a Facebook app which again pulled content (without authorisation) from a customer's web page. Another client's email account was compromised and used to send out a large volume of spam email. All of these show up as spikes in bandwidth usage and for all my clients I keep tabs on such situations and take necessary actions to stop this leeching of their site's bandwidth.

Site plug-ins and Wordpress sites

As well as content management via Contribute and e-commerce through Actinic I can also connect other packages to your web site, such as Wordpress (for blogging), WhosOn (for customer tracking) and phpBB (discussion forum) - ask for more information on these and others.

Indeed for the cost-conscious I can implement a whole site based on the Wordpress framework which although built around commonly available templates (so there is less individuality in your site) means you have everything under your control and can change and add words and pictures and even new pages, very quickly. You only pay for the setup, hosting, domain name if needed, and a short intro to how to drive the software.

Search engine positioning

If you would like to try for a better natural search engine positioning than you currently have, I can also do updates to existing sites to try and improve matters. There are a few good tips and tricks to use - and I don't use any of the more dubious techniques such as keyword stuffing and hallway pages. Or, if you need good search engine visibility in a hurry, try Adwords.

Accessibility

I have access to an on-line accessibility checker to ensure that web pages comply with at least the level 1 (A) accessibility guidelines of the World Wide Web Consortium. Customers are also advised to make themselves aware of their obligations regarding accessibility requirements (and particularly if they are content-managing their site) to avoid accidentally making a page non-compliant.

User support

I can also advise on general internet, Windows, email, spam combat and other computer-related matters. I'm not a hardware or networking expert but can certainly propose some solutions regarding problems you may be experiencing. If it turns out you need the heavy artillery, I generally pass all requests for a "man with a screwdriver" - computer repairs, parts, networking, software, security and other IT needs - to Peter Holmes at Wedmore IT. Tell him I sent you.

Pricing

Maintenance is carried out at a simple hourly rate on an as-required basis. There are no retainer fees so you are free to go elsewhere any time. I also have a policy of not charging for little updates here and there - if it takes longer to write out a bill than to do the work, I don't bother with the bill!

Kay Initiatives Ltd. Registered in England No. 3091739. Office hours Mon-Fri 9.30am-3.30pm. Tel 01934 743469