While maintenance happens after the website is launched, it is important to consider how you want to maintain the website so that appropriate features can be built into the site from the beginning.  

There are a number of levels of sophistication and options for maintenance of a website: 

• outsourced: requests for change and the new contents are emailed to a web developer who makes the changes
• in-house - manual: the business makes the changes itself by accessing the web server and changing the programming code
• in-house - semi-automated: the business makes the changes itself by using an off-the-shelf editing program 
• in-house - automated: the business makes the changes itself by using a maintenance tool built by the web developer specifically for the business to enable it to maintain its own site - this solution is often referred to as a content management system.  

What to do

Use the following checklist to help determine the best maintenance solution for you. Give an importance rating (high, medium, low)  to each feature listed below. Then use the findings to brief the web development team about the  maintenance solution you require.  

• user-friendliness - ease of use, how much training is required to use it efficiently
• efficiency - how quick and easy it is for staff to access and then update the site
• independence - reduced reliance on the web developer to update the site 
• autonomy - staff control over publishing to the website and updating their sections (this is often called distributed publishing) 
• cost - the initial cost of the maintenance solution and on-going costs such as licences and training
• quality control - automated processes to help ensure that updates and new content have been checked 
• safeguards - systems that minimise mistakes being made and provide the ability to undo mistakes
• security - prevention of any unauthorised person accessing the maintenance solution and making changes
• comprehensiveness - the percentage of website staff allowed to change and update
• practicality - the ability of all relevant staff be able to use it effectively given their computer equipment, Internet connection speed and access
• flexibility - its ability to be adapted at minimal cost to maintaining new types of content and features 
• scalability - its ability to cater for more staff users and a growth in the quantity of material requiring updating
• compatibility - its ability to communicate with your files, relevant systems and databases and be compliant with industry standards.  

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