How do you handle updating websites for clients? Should I use a CMS or do it myself?

[rain in july]

If I develop a website and I handle hosting for the client do you think the customer would expect a CMS? I know this is something that should be asked and agreed on before hand but I'm just wondering if its still a thing where the client leaves everything to me or do most people expect a CMS to do it themselves. So, should I just use something like wordpress so clients can update what ever they want whenever, or should I continue building sites myself but I handle all updates to the site with a fee? I feel like once you have a certain amount of customers this way would start to get really annoying. I'm not sure just wondering if anyone has any ideas. (im just starting freelancing so any tips would be helpful)

 

[Biohazard777]

2 hours ago, rain in july said:

If I develop a website and I handle hosting for the client do you think the customer would expect a CMS? I know this is something that should be asked and agreed on before hand but I'm just wondering if its still a thing where the client leaves everything to me or do most people expect a CMS to do it themselves. So, should I just use something like wordpress so clients can update what ever they want whenever, or should I continue building sites myself but I handle all updates to the site with a fee? I feel like once you have a certain amount of customers this way would start to get really annoying. I'm not sure just wondering if anyone has any ideas. (im just starting freelancing so any tips would be helpful)

Doesn't matter if you will be doing the updates or the client, use a CMS.
Even if you are paid to update it for them, you will do the updates faster with CMS.

 

If your business grows, you can easily hire newbs to dick around WP and pay them less than what you would pay for a front-end web dev.

 

If the client asks for major changes... that isn't an update, that is a redesign and charge for that accordingly.

[Eigenvektor]

Absolutely agree with what @Biohazard777 said. Whether you update the content or the customer does, don't make it harder than it needs to be.

 

To make it profitable for you, you don't want updates to take a lot of effort. And you don't want to ask for too much to remain competitive.

 

In the long run maintaining content is unlikely to be much profit, so you're better off if the customers can do it on their own.

 

And you are right: your contract should absolutely cover this kind of stuff. Don't fall into the trap of maintaining a customer's website indefinitely for a one time fee.

 

~edit: do -> don't

[QuantumRand]

What I would do is have a CMS for myself for any site updates/upgrades. And then I would have a separate, more restrictive CMS for my clients. Less of a CMS and more of a dashboard that would let them manage things that would be updated often, such as coupons, email campaigns, prices, etc. And I would charge the client a monthly (or yearly) fee for continued access to those dashboards.

 

That way it's the best of both worlds. As you increase clients, you increase your revenue, but since the clients manage the basic upkeep, your workload doesn't increase much, leaving you free to do the bigger updates/upgrades which you charge on a per-project basis.