One of the things I love about this business is the variety. So far today, John and I have:

• Added a blog and a shopping cart for a personal training studio in Syracuse.
• Helped an entertainer with their message board. He’s in PA.
• Adapted a scipt we wrote over six months ago to handle a new use for the customer. California.
• Completed a wholesaler management script for a customer–includes registration, password, approval, etc. Also in California.
• Updated the customer list for a software company. Their customers are pretty cool — Best Buy, Amazon–the biggies.
• Tweaked a site update for a Chicago non-profit.
• Tweaked a site for a Chicago management consultant.
• Put the finishing touches on a website draft for a Chicago tax consultant.
• Setup the initial design for a Texas based concierge / personal chef (and not the other way around)
• Tweaked a professional association site. Serves Illinois members.

And probably more–there’s a lot that rolls through on a daily basis and I LOVE IT!

Let’s Start With an Analogy

You probably own a car. Whether you realize it or not, you maintain it yourself all the time. You add gas to the tank. You clean the windows. You probably add air to the tires now and again.

However, when it comes to an oil change, while you probably could do it yourself, you choose to have a specialist do it. They have the equipment and know how, and they can recycle the oil so you don’t have to deal with it. It just makes sense.

When it comes to other maintenance tasks, there are likely some which you simply don’t have the knowledge or the tools to do.

Maintaining Your Website is Like Maintaining Your Car

Let’s face it: the basics of working with a website are pretty easy Chances are you’re capable of doing some maintenance yourself. For example, you may know how to change text and pictures on your own but you may not know how to install a specialized script. And, sometimes, when you want to change something, it might not make sense for you to perform the change yourself–you’re too busy maybe you don’t have the right equipment.

FastWebUpdates.com Focuses on Improving Website Maintenance

Our goal is to make website maintenance easier, faster and less expensive. How do we do it? Our simple strategy is to focus on doing the basics of website maintenance really well.

First, we have the right combination of software and knowledge to maintain most websites. Software includes products from Adobe, Microsoft and Macromedia. Knowledge includes extensive experience with almost all website technologies: HTML, PHP, Flash, ASP, JSP and much, much more.

Second, we focus on completing your changes in about one business day. All work is completed in our Oak Park (Chicago), IL, office by regular employees. Email, phone or fax your changes to us, and you’ll see progress on your website quickly.

Finally, we work with you in the way that’s right for your website. In some cases, this means we do everything. In others, it means we handle just the heavy lifting–things that are too time consuming for you to work on. Whether you have us change words and pictures or update scripts and hosting, our goal is to work with you in the way that fits well with your operations.

Why You Should Care

#1. Lower Price. Our standard prices are about 20% less than other professional web services organizations. In a recent survey, the average hourly rate for website maintenance was $64. Most of our customers pay over 20% less, just $50 per hour.

#2 Advanced Technology. New software comes out all the time. We regularly purchase the most recent versions of leading edge software so you don’t have to. Our extensive investment gives you access to the latest versions at a reasonable price.

#3. Better Communication. Communication is the backbone of any customer service operation. Website maintenance is no different. When you contact us with changes, you’ll often deal directly with the person in charge of completing them.

#4. More Stability. We’ve had the same phone number since January, 1996. Whether you need an update every week or every year, you’ll be able to get in touch with us quickly and easily.

Who do you want working on your website?

If you had your choice–which you do–you would probably want a team of smart people who work quickly. For puposes of this article, “smarter” can be measured academically and “faster” can be predicted by experience. We’ll address the third distinction at the end of the article.

Are we smart?

Yes. Reid Carlberg leads the team. Some academic qualifications for your consideration:

• Most recently (June, 2005), Reid was awarded a master of science degree in software engineering from DePaul University. He graduated with distinction.
• He has a bachelor of arts degree from Kenyon College. He graduated magna cum laude with highest honors.
• His GMAT scores? Higher than 96% of other test takers.
• His SAT scores? Higher than 97% of other test takers.
• His high school GPA? OK, not that good. The lowlights? A “D” in AP European history and “C-” in Physics. But that was 1987, so we hope you can cut him some slack.

Are we fast?

You bet. Some recent examples spanning a variety of our customers:

• A law firm had us update their site. 13 pages with changes, one new page and several updates graphics. Less than three billable hours, complete within one business day.
• A consumer product company called us to update their images, shopping cart and a video. About two and a half billable hour, completed within two business days.
• A tech start up called us for a significant site rewrite and lead tracker. We created a completely original system in about two billable days and completed it in about one week.
• A manufacturer called us for an automated communication system with their largest customer. We created a completely original system to match their unique needs within about two billable weeks, delivered an running in about one month.

Our experience spans websites and applications in many industries: retail, healthcare, manufacturing, professional services, catalog and pretty much everything else.

Are we better looking?

Well, that’s up to you. As a good friend–an Argentinian who runs a mortgage brokerage here in Chicago–likes to say, “Who is it who wrote the book on taste?”

Important!

In case you don’t already know this–it’s not a great idea to hire your website developer based on whether they’re “better looking”. But a website developer with a sense of humor will probably make the whole process a bit easier.