When thinking about a new website and all of the things that our clients want or need updating it can get overwhelming and become a daunting task. Most people like me, when doing this for the first time, aren’t quite sure where to start, and the outlook can be painful and frustrating.

Here are 5 tips to get you started down the right path.

1. Use separate tickets

   Our support desk ticketing system is a powerful tool that can be used to submit and track website revision requests. Getting familiar with our ticketing system early on will without a doubt increase your satisfaction with our service, as support tickets drive our processes. The support desk allows you to take a large action list that could seem endless, and break it down into manageable individual tasks. For example, you could create a new ticket for each page of the site that needs updating, and track each page's revisions separately and handle questions accordingly. This not only helps us manage the updates for you, it also enables you to track them easily and confirm each item has been updated properly. Here is an example of an overview page to that you'll see when you check your existing ticket requests and their corresponding statuses.

   

2. Take screenshots and add notes to explain

   Screenshots with arrows and notes can really provide clarity when referring to a specific item on a webpage that you’d like updated. Instead of trying to describe the “big green button” and what you’d like to have changed, we can work much faster if you’re able to take a screenshot, add notes and a link to the relevant page, and submit it with a ticket.

   

   By combining PowerPoint with a snip/snag tool, you have a great way to communicate exactly what you mean. If you take snips/snags of the relevant pages, you can then paste them into PowerPoint, and then add notes to convey what you would like us to do.

3. Be specific

   When it comes to a new website there are literally hundreds of factors to consider when we want to think about the big picture. We try our best to read between the lines and interpret what you are trying to say, but sometimes we need a little help.

   Bad:“Managed Services - first-class service at competitive pricing” is OK but should also mention that we are the outsourced IT department and we handle all aspects of IT for the client.

   Good: Please update the Managed service bullet point on this page: http://clientexmaple.com/services-solutions/
   New Bullet point: Managed Services - first-class service at competitive pricing.

   When you are making requests, small changes to how you write your tickets can make it much easier for us to get what you want done right, first time, and on time.

4. Use examples from other websites if you have them.

   If you’ve seen something on another website that you’d like to have, don’t hesitate to send a link to show us. Our team works really well with examples, as they take out a lot of the guess work, and usually convey concepts and styles much better than an e-mail. This applies to all elements of website creation, everything from design and layout, to writing new content for your new pages. Without examples, it can sometimes be pure guess work on our part, and unfortunately we don’t always guess right.

5. Don’t stress out

   We’re here to help, and your satisfaction is our #1 priority. If you see something that you’re not happy with please let us know. We’ll fix it for you or come up with options to work around it. There aren’t many things that we can’t do(okay, there are a few), but we generally have a solution for most requests. Being one of our clients means that your website is never finished and we are happy to update it for you at any time.