8 replies to this topic

[Kalew]

Here is a question directed to experienced website developers: Once you ceate a site for a client, do you spend / how much time do you spend "training" this client on uploading new content to the server (provided they do not utilize a CMS)? Do you teach them anything about how to add content to their pages? Do you give them any guidance as far as basic HTML, CSS, etc...? Or do you do these tasks for them?

Thank you for your replies.

[ttw]

Do you teach them anything about how to add content to their pages? Do you give them any guidance as far as basic HTML, CSS, etc...? Or do you do these tasks for them?

Our contract usually official concludes when the site is uploaded to the client's server and goes live. From that point on, we offer ongoing maintenance at a per hour rate -- which includes a minimum of 1 hour for each service request.

We have been asked to provide training and we offer it at the same hourly rate as maintenance. Because we're not in the training business and we have no way to know in advance how much training a person is likely to need, we typically recommend that our client take a course or learn to use Contribute or Dreamweaver.

Rosemary

[LOS Design UK]

Pretty much the same here.

We offer basic training if the client has a store built, this is usually restricted to the 'getting started' guide we send with the software.

Outside of this we do offer free support and limited maintenance for the first year of the site. These boundaries are clearly defined at the outset. Paid support is also an option for the client on a PAYG basis.

As stated, it is tricky to commit to scheduled training as one mans limits will differ from another greatly. Like the idea of pointing them to take a course, how many would take up this info IYHO?

Regards
Daren

[Sarah]

We do a basic training session with clients, by phone or in person, and then if they need anything they will call us to go through with them. After a while, the calls fall off unless a new staff member comes in. We're always available to go over things in Colony with the clients.

[jehochman]

My experience is that client either learn to use Dreamweaver and do enough maintenance to keep up their skills, or they just pay us for maintenance. It would be counter productive for me to offer training when there are others who specialize in this.

For most clients, it's a better deal to pay for maintenance because it eliminates the chance of them screwing up the site and then having to pay us to unscrew it. For what the typical corporate client spends on maintenance, I cannot image that it would make sense to use internal resources. Usually IT people have more then enough to do, and they typically don't understand marketing well enough to run a web site.

[Scottie]

I was actually the in-house trainer for a design firm back in the day... we did offer training on using their new site (it was built in to the cost of development) and additional training or updates for new employees were an additional cost.

It was a revenue-producing line-item for us, as people's staff changed frequently and they'd send them back over as part of their orientation to take a training class. (Bear in mind we exclusively worked on local sites for large companies.)

It all depends on the type of client you cater to, IMO.

[Digiweb]

Trick for me was figuring out when the stop training. Joomla is huge, intelligent clients like to know stuff. I break it out into where their talents are best used, entering articles, maybe adding a menu item.

[Nick Clark]

At the time of contracts we will discuss on this issue if client unable to maintain the site then we offer few maintenance packages according to client requirement. if client want to do their own, our ppl only gives suggestion not more than.

Thanks

Nick Clark

[webdec]

We dont really offer "training" on website management. Its usually provided as a service to them at an additonal charge.

We discuss this maintenance of the website at the time of quoting/order. We handle minor changes for a client free of charge within the first 6 months. That is limited to things like, phone number, address changes, etc.

If they are interested in updating more than that, they can choose maintenance (at an hourly or monthly rate). or a CMS.

Most of the time we recommend Contribute.