Why Can’t I Make Updates To My Website Without Paying an Agency?

Keeping your website updated is crucial because it ensures that your content remains relevant, accurate, and engaging for visitors, which is particularly important for brands in arts and culture. 

Regular updates enhance user experience by providing the latest information on events, exhibitions, and news, fostering greater audience engagement and loyalty. 

Additionally, an up-to-date website boosts your credibility, improves search engine rankings, and protects against security vulnerabilities (dealing with outdated plugins), all contribute towards maintaining a strong and effective online presence.

But it’s not always as simple as logging in, changing what you want, and clicking save. Sometimes, it can feel like an uphill battle, especially for marketing managers in arts and culture organisations who already wear many hats. 

The need for frequent updates to promote events, share news, or highlight achievements can be hampered by technical constraints and dependence on external agencies. 

If you’ve found yourself asking, “Why can’t I update my website without paying an agency?” you’re not alone. It’s something we hear all the time and is one of the most common reasons organisations approach us for a new website. 

Let’s explore some common reasons behind this dependency on agencies and discuss how WordPress can be your solution to greater autonomy.

Common Barriers to Updating Your Website

1. Technical Complexity: Websites often require technical expertise to update without breaking the design or functionality. Many arts and culture organisations rely on custom-coded websites that need professional intervention for changes.
2. Proprietary Systems: Some websites are built on proprietary platforms or content management systems (CMS) that aren’t user-friendly or require agency-specific knowledge to manage.
3. Lack of Training: Even if a CMS is in place, it may be complicated for staff to make updates confidently and efficiently without training. 
4. Customisation Needs: Arts and culture organisations often have unique requirements for event listings, galleries, and multimedia content that may need specialised skills to design and implement.
5. Frequent Updates: The dynamic nature of arts and culture sectors demands frequent updates, such as new event announcements, blog posts about recent exhibitions, or press releases. Without an easy-to-use system, these tasks can become cumbersome.

How WordPress Can Empower You

WordPress, the world’s most popular CMS, offers a robust solution to these challenges. Here’s how it can help your organisation gain control over website updates without constantly needing to email your agency.

1. User-Friendly Interface: WordPress is designed with non-technical users in mind. Its intuitive interface allows you to add and edit content, upload images, and manage multimedia without coding skills. This is particularly useful for updating events, adding new blog posts, or publishing press releases.
2. Extensive Plugin Ecosystem: With over 58,000 plugins, WordPress provides solutions for virtually any functionality you might need. From event management to SEO, these plugins can help you extend your website’s capabilities without custom development.
3. Comprehensive Training Resources: WordPress has a vast community and a wealth of tutorials, forums, and guides. Investing time in training your team can drastically reduce the dependency on external agencies. Training can focus on tasks like updating event pages or managing image galleries.
4. Customisation Without Code: When correctly configured by an agency, page builders like Gutenberg allow you to create and modify layouts using drag-and-drop interfaces. These tools make it easier to maintain a professional-looking site without advanced technical skills, enabling you to keep your event pages and blogs fresh and engaging.

Steps to Transition to WordPress

1. 1. Evaluate Your Current Setup: Assess your current website to determine what functionalities are critical. Identify any custom features that need replicating in WordPress, such as specific event listing formats or donation systems. A reputable agency can help with this evaluation by conducting a discovery audit and reporting on their findings.
   2. Plan Your Transition: Work with an agency (initially) to transition your site to WordPress. Map out the steps needed to move to a new CMS platform, and consider the implications, requirements, and time involved for each step. This will help you prepare effectively and avoid delays. A competent agency can support this process by using the discovery audit report in Step 1 to create a transition roadmap. They can set up the initial framework, ensuring all your requirements are met. A UX agency will also take this opportunity to consider your target users’ experience of the website and develop a framework to ensure the new website reflects the needs of your audience. 
   3. Consider Your Functional Requirements: An experienced design agency is key. Work with the agency to create a clear scope of work. They will guide you as you consider which plugins can add the functionality you need, like event calendars, donation systems, and media galleries. This could be the time to consider using a CRM system such as Spektrix if you’re not already using one. An experienced agency team will ensure nothing is overlooked and all the boxes are checked before the transition starts.
   4. A New Design or a Refresh: Does your design still reflect your values? Is it compelling? Does it connect with your audience? If yes then you may just need a refresh. If not, a CMS transition is the ideal time to invest in a new design and user experience.
   5. Manage the transition: Armed with your roadmap and the outputs from the discovery audit and UX phase, you’re ready to migrate to your new platform. Collaborate with a supportive agency with experience in website migration, as they can do the heavy lifting for you. This means you’ll have a smooth and relatively stress-free site migration. It also ensures your site maintains its position in search engine rankings without losing any SEO value you’ve developed.
   6. Train Your Team: Invest in training sessions for your staff. This could include workshops, online courses, or one-on-one training sessions focused on your site setup.
   7. Ongoing Support: While WordPress makes it easier to manage your site independently, having a support plan for more complex issues can be beneficial. This could be a retainer with a freelancer or occasional consultancy with an agency. They will be able to ensure your website stays updated and fully functional. A more comprehensive support plan could position the agency as a valuable extension of your marketing and design teams, so your audience gets as much relevant, engaging, timely exposure to your brand as possible.

Transitioning to WordPress can significantly reduce your dependency on agencies and give your arts and culture organisation the flexibility to update your website as needed. By leveraging WordPress’s user-friendly tools, extensive resources, and customisable options, you can maintain a vibrant, up-to-date and ever-evolving online presence that effectively showcases your work and engages your audience.

We hope you found this article useful, If you’re in the early stages of reviewing your website and would like to talk to a Chaptr director about it (no sales stuff!), please contact us and we can help you decide if WordPress is the right choice for your organisation. 

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash