Why post-launch support is critical
At Acro Commerce, we are in the habit of building long-term relationships with our clients. That means we stick around post-launch to ensure that the problem we helped your business solve stays solved. Delivering a product that makes more work is the antithesis of what we strive for. So let’s take a few minutes to discuss why post-launch support is crucial to any build.
Four reasons post-launch support shouldn’t be an afterthought but should be included as part of your digital project plan.
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It seems strange to say it, but one of the first conversations that should be had in software development or MVP build should be what you will do with it after launch. Post-launch maintenance and support are often overlooked or neglected as part of development. They really shouldn’t be.
Maintenance isn’t an option.
Your car needs regular maintenance, and so does your ecommerce site or any digital solution we create.
Post-launch when things are humming along, you get busy with business, and things like maintenance and updates can get pushed to the back burner, which is a terrible idea. Programs, operating systems and tools must be maintained for your site to function optimally. Without it, the health of your site will suffer, resulting in slower page load times, broken links or key functionalities breaking down.
Beyond basic maintenance, bug fixes and improvements need to have a plan, or your site will start to fail. There are also essential security updates to complete and analytics reports to be set up that you need to help gauge user and traffic behaviour.
And what if something breaks? Without a support contract, you may be forced to pay for repairs and fixes ad-hoc. Those developer costs tend to add up very fast and could cost more than a support contract.
Security isn’t an option either.
Your customers, partners, vendors and countless other agencies that your business interacts with expect you to keep their information safe and secure. Drupal, WordPress, and the numerous plugins and modules your website is built with will continuously issue upgrades, patches, bug fixes, and critical security updates that should be implemented immediately. You will need someone available to monitor and facilitate these changes regularly. Having post-launch support to do that for you regularly will ensure your site is safe and secure.
Troubleshooting without extra cost
Sometimes you find things on your newly launched website that you want to change. Perhaps your users simply aren’t using a page as anticipated, or a plugin doesn’t maximize the user experience as you hoped it would. It’s best to address this immediately with a quick and timely troubleshooting session. Typical post-launch requirements can also include troubleshooting for updates, patches, and fixes to your 3rd-party integrations. As much as we want these things to happen flawlessly, fate often has other plans. Having an on-call expert can mean the difference between having a site go down for days or hours.
Post-launch improvements
After launch, when things are moving along, and all your users are getting familiar with your new site, you will discover areas that could use improvement. Or maybe some items were defined during the initial build that wasn’t required to launch, but now that you have lived with it for a while, you realize that those improvements need to happen. With a retained service agreement, you could have the option to allocate hours that you have not used in support or fixes to the creation of new features. Depending on the terms of the agreement, of course.
Why do we believe in post-launch support retained service agreements (RSAs)?
An RSA gives you, the client, the flexibility of adding new features to your build and the comfort of knowing that your investment is protected. The solution we build for you will continue to operate as well as the day it was launched, with post-launch support provided by a single team. The team of experts you relied on to build your site will remain available. You can quickly build a long-term, trusted relationship with your Acro Commerce cohorts, allowing them to become an extended part of your team. And to us, that is the most valuable part of post-launch support: growing with your business, succeeding when you succeed and building better solutions together.
Ready to talk about post-launch support? Reach out to us today, and let’s figure out the future together.
