Who holds the key to your website and domain name – you or your developer? If you answered the latter, you could be in a vulnerable spot. What if the relationship breaks down? What if you need something changed but your developer isn’t available? What if you want to update your website, without being reliant on someone else?
To be upfront, we’ve not always got the balance right. But we have listened to our clients and learnt from our mistakes. We’ve seen the difference it makes when you have access, tools and knowledge to maintain control over your website and domain.
That’s why one of Two Sparrows’ top four values is being client-led.
So, what’s in it for you?
5 benefits of working with a client-led website developer:
- You own your website and domain.
- You’re granted administrator-level access.
- You’ll get personalised communication, and we’ll listen.
- You gain video training and written documentation.
- You’ll access ongoing support and regular check-ins.
Let’s look at why these benefits matter.
1. Do you own your domain name? Or is it listed under your website developer’s ownership?
Here’s something we’ve been guilty of in the past – owning our client’s domain names. But when we do this, it creates a power imbalance that doesn’t sit right with us.
When you work with us, you will have full ownership over your website and domain name. This is not a nice to have, but a necessity if you want to feel secure and in control of your online presence.
Your domain name and website are two of your biggest business assets. See us as a technical contact who supports you, not as the gatekeeper to one of your biggest tools for sales and credibility.
2. Can you log in to your website? Do you have administrator-level access?
If not, you are relying on someone else to look after your site. Nothing wrong with that in theory, but things happen. What if your developer goes out of business, leaves the country, or your relationship goes south?
We’ll always give you administrator-level access because, as we’ve said above, this is your business asset – you need to hold the keys that will give you complete access. This is important because there may be a time when you need to move your website somewhere else and this gives you the ability to do that. We’d love you to stay with us long-term, but we’re not about to trap you or force you to be dependent on us!
3. Does your website developer anticipate your future needs and listen to what you want beyond the build?
As a small business owner, we know you’ve got a chunky to-do list.
From handling content updates on your site to enabling you to manage your own website independently, we promise to listen, and slide in to the gaps where you need us (without taking over).
Maybe you don’t have time to load your blog posts, new photos or imagery, or create new pages after the initial build. Or maybe your time is better spent on other projects. We can take those tasks off your hands.
Or, maybe you like DIY and want to create new pages in your own time – if so, we’re here to support you with guidance or training so you can do that confidently (more on this below!).
And, as your business changes, we’re right here to add new functionality to your website or offer suggestions on ways to handle things in a way that is conscious of your website’s environmental impact.
Whether you choose to manage your updates yourself or outsource to us, you can expect personal communication from us. We’ll listen to what you need and offer more than just delivering an initial website.
4. Does your website developer show you how to use your website?
We know how much of a pain it is to have an asset and not know how to use it to its full potential. We also know you don’t want to trawl through pages of dry tech info to find the solution.
We provide training documents on how to use your website – something you can refer to again and again. Once your website’s live, you’ll receive a mixture of written processes and video walk-throughs from us, plus one-on-one training if you need extra guidance.
5. Did your website developer ghost you after they built your website?
Once we’ve built your website, we won’t abandon you. We see ourselves as a long-term partner, available for ongoing support (without being in your face about it).
We’re easy to contact and we stay in touch. If you need direction on how to do something on your website – add a plugin, adapt a page, add more functionality, change the menu, and more – we’re here to help.
If you make changes to your website, let us know and we can review and test pages to make sure everything remains optimal. The last thing you want is to accidentally add bad plugins, detract from the overall design with content that is not cohesive, or destroy some of the functionality we’ve created for you.
Expect to hear from us regularly to check how things are going with your website and be on hand to offer friendly support along the way.
Achieve all this and more with your Two Sparrows WordPress website
We’ve been building WordPress websites for years – finessing our framework to deliver sites that look great, work great, and stay great.
Some website developers favour certain aspects such as design or code, at the expense of others, leading to websites that are fussy to edit or maintain. Our framework balances design, code and ease of editing – not prioritising or limiting one over the other. This means you get a website that looks professional, is stable, and gives you freedom, flexibility and confidence to use, adapt and add to as you need.
Ready to make the move to a client-led developer?
Contact us if you’d like to talk about your website – and how we can hand you back the reins. And if you need a fresh new website, talk to us now to ensure it’s built with the above principles in mind from the get-go.