Frequently Asked Question

Everything you need to know about support.

We’re invested in the continued success of our clients. This means websites aren’t hacked because the latest content management system (CMS) update left them vulnerable. It means they don’t go down because someone applied a CMS update in production. And it means clients can reach out to and rely on us without worrying about a bill for training and “phone time.”

In short, it means we’re there to make things right in case they go wrong.

Our support retainer allows us to provide CMS updates applied by experienced developers and tested in a staging environment, ensuring that when they’re pushed live, they’re problem-free. It also allows clients to contact us as soon as there’s an issue and to expect the issue to be resolved before users even notice. With our support, recurring CMS complications are a thing of the past.

The Problem

Stuff happens—new browser versions are released, static content needs changing, CMS’s require critical security updates, and so on. Many companies leave these concerns unaddressed, allowing websites to become outdated, unstable, or even susceptible to exploitation. Typically, companies simply don’t have the expertise necessary to monitor and apply key updates to their CMS. Additionally, working with an agency on a time and materials basis means that crucial training and support requests often are delayed or don’t take place at all.

The Solution

A support retainer enables us to be proactive and let clients know when important updates to their CMS are released. Setting up and managing development, staging, and deployment environments certifies that these updates are safely applied, tested, and deployed. What’s more, training, support requests, and phone calls are included.

The Philosophy

We know that sending $75 invoices for a quick support chat results in clients feeling nickel-and-dimed and ultimately discourages them from picking up the phone. However, if our clients have a question or notice an issue, we want to help.

Moreover, we believe prevention is the best cure: regular backups, quick application of updates, and failover systems limit exposure to malicious attacks and downtime.

The Services

Support retainers are customized for each client’s specific requirements and environment but usually include the following:

• Regular backups of site or your website and database
  • We will work with your host environment to ensure your website, applications, and/or databases are backed up daily.
  • Depending on a variety of factors (including risk tolerance and the mission critical nature of your website/application), we may recommend implementing a failover. The implementation of this would be outside the scope of the support agreement.
• Three-tiered development, staging, and deployment architecture facilitating adequate testing and deployment of updates.
  • We will maintain a development environment on S4’s servers to implement changes and updates.
  • These updates will be pushed to a staging instance in Azure, an environment identical to the production environment for final testing.
  • Upon successful testing/QA of the staging environment, changes will be moved into production.
• CMS training via phone or web conference
  • If you run into problems or are unsure how to manage an aspect of your site within your CMS we are available to walk you through things and provide as needed training.
  • Additionally, you can schedule sessions for CMS training you and your staff for refreshers or from the ground up for new employees.
• CMS updates, including security and functional updates to your CMS.
  • We will proactively evaluate new CMS updates and releases and implement, test, and deploy these updates. This ensures that your site is up-to-date and secure.
  • Third-party plugin updates will be accommodated when possible, but may require additional discussion or project hours in certain cases.
• Browser fixes for new browser versions, maintaining cross-platform functionality
  • As new browsers are released we will proactively perform an audit of your site to evaluate any style and formatting issues your website has with the new version and make corrective changes.
  • In some cases new browsers or changes to search engines may open up new possibilities. In these cases we will identify this and discuss potential options. However, depending on the circumstances this may require a separate project. Examples of this in the past have included Google’s support for a new Accelerated Mobile Pages standard, Chrome requiring https for sites using the Geolocation API, and Chrome drawing more attention to non-https websites in the browser bar.
• Hosting management
  • We will monitor the website’s uptime and performance. As needed we will engage directly with the support staff of your web host on your behalf to facilitate fixes or provide status updates.
• Minor support requests
  • We will make minor content changes for things that may not be easily modified from your CMS. This might include a change of address in the website’s footer, a new social icon in the header, swapping out a banner image, etc.
  • We will make updates to the site to correct any issues or bugs that you bring to our attention.
  • This retainer does not include restyling, changing functionality, or building out new pages or sections of the site (this should be able to be done from within the CMS, for which we can provide training).

The Cost

Each support retainer is quoted based on individual client necessities and the complexity of the platform being supported.