Who am I and what gives me the right?
Hello there! Max here.
That’s Maxamaris Hoppe, max-uh-mar-ihz hoppy like gross beer.) I respond to any pronouns and feel uneasy about all of them.
There is a perfect person to write a guide like this, one who worked in Big 4 acquisitions and now runs their own small press website, or something along those lines, but I don’t know who that person is. For now, you’ve got me!
On the books end of things, I’ve never worked for a publisher or agency. I have a bachelor’s in creative writing, I read a lot, and I spend a lot of time on the book side of social networks. For seven years I worked at Waxcreative Design, a web shop that specializes in sites for authors, especially romance authors.
On the web development end of things, I have no formal training. I’ve been a project manager and content architect since 2011.
I made a conscious effort to remove, “I think,” from throughout this guide because everything is my opinion, backed up with experience and data though it may be.
Notes
Content architecture is deciding what content to include on a site and how to make it easy to find and use.
The goal of this guide is to talk you out of contacting me. I want you to leave this feeling confident that you can do this, and if you ask for help, it’s because you don’t want to do it.
Have a question or think something’s missing?
DM me on Twitter, new friend!
Oh, you have a lot of questions?
You’ll be able to string me along by peppering our conversation with anime recs, but at a certain point I’m a professional and I’ll ask you sign a contract and charge for my time.
This is my first and last hard sell: I offer web strategy consultation, copywriting, and site builder assistance. Let’s talk! Our first conversation is free and it might give you enough to get moving on your own, or we’ll figure out an engagement that makes us both pumped to get started.
And there are tons of great web agencies out there. Talk to your friends, explore the internet, and check out what contractors are close to you. Even with this kind of work, shopping local has a great impact on the community you live in.
A word on professional help
Whatever contractor you might go with, please read your whole contract before you sign it. The way different contracts treat your access to, and the ownership of, your site varies wildly and you should be clear and comfortable with what you’re signing.
My opinion, and what is represented in my contracts, is that you should own your website. You should own the server, all the plugins, the graphics, and (nonexclusive) rights to the code. You should be able to stop working with your contractor with very little fuss and no hard feelings.
Some questions to ask:
(During the proposal process) “What happens after my site launches?” A lot of shops only work on brand new builds and end their engagement at launch. That has the benefit of no invoice surprises, but I encourage you to discuss an agreement for ongoing site maintenance with them. (And you shouldn’t be nervous about invoices, anyway.) You’re going to need help down the line, and the folks that built your site are best equipped to help you with it. A shop that doesn’t want to support a site they built is very sus and might not have any understanding of the longterm success of their work.
(During the proposal process) Tell them about your biggest nightmare website experience. A good contractor will find a balance between throwing whoever was responsible for your nightmare under the bus, and explaining how they prevent that kind of thing from happening to their clients.
(During the proposal process) “I’m interested in Squarespace,” even if you’re not. A good shop will be happy to help you with Squarespace, and work with you to find the platform that will fit your needs best. A bad shop will try to redirect you to their preferred platform, or tell you that you couldn’t need help with Squarespace.
(Before signing) “What happens to my website if we stop working together?” You should still read your contract, but it’s worth beginning the relationship with this level of candor.
(Before launching a WordPress site) “Are any of these plugins paid for and who holds the licenses?” Paid plugins come with a license that says who is legally allowed to use it. If it turns out the developer has installed the plugin with their license, I recommend that you license your own copy and replace all purchase validation in the WP admin. That’s going to give you access to ongoing updates and ensure you’re not surprised with an urgent issue later on. If you’re uncomfortable with the terms of the license—for example, if it has an annual fee and you’re not sure why you even have that plugin, never mind why you should spend money on it—talk to your contractor about why they recommend it. They may have a very good reason they’ll be happy to explain. Or, it may just be part of their standard “just in case” plugin package, in which case you could opt out of having it.
Overall, you deserve to trust your professional help. You can feel awesome paying your contractor’s invoices. If you don’t feel good, talk to them. If that doesn’t help, end the relationship.
If this all sounds like too much, I can’t overstate how helpful it is simply to not be alone in all this. Find a friend who runs their own website and talk to them about how they do it. Go with site provider they use, (judiciously) ask them for help, tell them when you find cool features. When that man at that party gives you some unsolicited web strategy advice, ask them, “Does that sound right?” Support each other, validate the little annoyances, and vastly improve both your experiences.
There’s not much truly unique, proprietary code on the internet. Web development is a world of give and take. You shouldn’t expect any vendor to use code on your website that they’ve never used before or won’t use again.