HOW WE WORK
The question usually isn't what it costs. It's who you call.
Most small organizations don't have a technology department. They have someone on staff who's good with computers, a web person they hired once three years ago and can't reliably reach anymore, and a document of logins that nobody is completely confident about. That arrangement works fine right up until the morning it doesn't.
We're the other option. One place for the website and the technology behind it, from the same people. The person who built your site is the person who answers when your email stops working, and we'll still be here in three years.
This page is what that actually looks like, because “ongoing support” is the kind of phrase that could mean anything.
A conversation. No obligation and no sales pitch — the point is to work out whether we're the right fit, and sometimes we're not. If you need a twenty-person help desk with overnight coverage, that's a real need and it isn't us.
If it does look like a fit, we'll send you a short intake form. It asks what you're using now, who has access to what, and what's actually prompting the call. Filling it in means our first real conversation isn't spent on paperwork.
The first month is mostly finding out what you already have. This is less obvious than it sounds — in our experience most organizations aren't sure who controls their domain name, and that's the single thing you least want to discover in an emergency.
Find out what exists
Domain, hosting, email, the platforms you rely on, and who administers each one. Including anyone who's left and still has access.
Fix the loud thing
There's usually one problem that's been irritating everyone for months. We start there, because trust is easier to build than to explain.
Write it down
What you have, where it lives, what it costs, when it renews. Most organizations have never had this written down anywhere.
That documentation belongs to you, not to us. If you ever stop working with us, you take it with you.
Quiet, mostly. That's the goal — the months where you barely hear from us are the ones where things are working.
In the background we're keeping the website updated and backed up, watching for the security problems that turn into emergencies if nobody looks, and keeping an eye on renewals so a domain doesn't lapse because a credit card expired.
In the foreground, you email or call when something comes up. A new staff member needs a laptop set up. The website needs a new page. Someone got a suspicious email and isn't sure. A vendor is asking for something and you'd like a second opinion before you sign it. That last one is often the most valuable thing we do and it rarely takes more than a phone call.
Call. Don't email and wait — if you can't work, the phone is faster, and that's what it's for.
Two honest notes about that. We're two people, not a call center, so we're not promising someone picks up at three in the morning. And some problems belong to somebody else — your internet provider, your bank's software, a platform having a bad day. When that's the case we'll tell you plainly, help you get to the right person, and not bill you for the privilege of finding out.
What we won't do is disappear, or leave you explaining your own setup to a stranger every time.
Three ways, depending on what you need.
Project
A website, a migration, a security audit. Defined scope, quoted up front, and we tell you before it changes rather than after.
Ongoing
A monthly retainer for organizations that want someone looking after things continuously. Cancel whenever — there's no lock-in and no long contract.
Hourly
For occasional help when you don't need an arrangement. Some clients have worked this way with us for years, and that's fine.
We'd rather quote you something real than publish a price list that turns out not to apply. A short conversation is usually enough to give you a number you can budget against.
We're not a managed service provider, and we're not trying to sell you a platform. We don't get commission from vendors, which means when we tell you a piece of software isn't worth it, that's the only reason we're saying it.
We're also not the cheapest option, and we're not the biggest. What we are is the same two people every time, who know your setup, and who pick up the phone.
Have a look at design and web or IT services if you want the specifics of either side. When you're ready, get in touch or call (816) 237-8087.
If you already know you'd like to work together, the intake form is the fastest way to begin.
