Following Up: After Your Site Is Launched

Working with a web designer to get your site launched is quite a process in itself. But what happens after your new website is up is equally important.

CMS Training

If your new website is built using a content management system (CMS), it will incumbent upon you to make content updates after your site launches. Depending on the technical expertise of your staff, this may require some training.

You should ask your web design shop if they can offer any sort of training with the CMS in which your site is built, whether it’s WordPress, Drupal, or something else. If they do not offer training, find out if they have any recommended sources to conduct this training.

You can also look to online sources such as Lynda.com, which features online technical training in a wide variety of topics and fields. All of this training, whether in-person or online, has some cost associated with it, so be prepared and build this expense into your web budget. Whatever you do, don’t let your great new website languish for lack of knowledge in how to update it.

Photo and Image Rights

If your site requires custom photography, you need to be certain about who owns those photos. Some photographers license their work for periods of one or more years, requiring you the client to pay additional fees for using those images after the allotted time period. Other photographers sell the rights to their work in perpetuity, meaning once they turn their work over to you, you own it. Make sure to negotiate your photo contract so it works for you.

Web designers sometimes work the same way, with any custom graphics they create either being licensed for a term or in perpetuity. Don’t let yourself be surprised by an unexpected invoice down the line, long after you’ve parted ways with your design shop. Make sure the graphic licensing is clear up front.