Picture: Adobe Firefly (AI)
Contao maintenance
“Never ’eard of it, mate.”
Fair enough. It’s mostly used in the German-speaking countries, where it originated. Outside those, it’s as little-known as any redeeming features Trump may have.
But it’s not TOTALLY unknown, so here goes:
Francisca the freelancer is backpacking around Australia? The web agency no longer has time for you and forgets to return your messages?
Your website isn’t like a washing machine that you buy, stuff your jeans and underwear into for ten years and don’t give a further thought. Your website is like your car – it needs regular care and maintenance, otherwise it suddenly stops working (properly).
Because regular system updates don’t just bring improved functions, but also fix bugs and any security vulnerabilities.
If you neglect these, it’s like going to the Lake District for a week and leaving your front door ajar.
Keeping Contao up to date is as easy as tying your shoelaces – until the Contao Manger application spits out cryptic error messages and torpedoes the procedure. In the worst case, your website goes offline and potential customers who land on it jump straight back off again.
For ‘normal people’, the causes and solutions are as incomprehensible as nuclear physics to toddlers.
Fiddle around with the Contao Manager, frenetically googling – or concentrate on your core business?
Regular maintenance of your Contao website, keeping it safe and secure.
- Contao updates, so the beating heart of your website stays secure and up to date
- Updates to extensions, so these too are kept up to date
- Regular backups (frequency by agreement) – save copies of your website files and database, so it can be quickly back online in the event of emergency
- Sniff out dead links – improve user experience and make search engines happy
- Other stuff by agreement
I’m Paul Jackson, a European of British origin whose body is in Germany, but whose mind is still lingering in Sheffield. I help customers in the UK and in the German-speaking countries.
I’m not a typical designer, developer or editor, but rather, someone who plans and implements projects from beginning to end. Interdisciplinary working at the interface of design, technology and words – for more than 25 years.
A one-person team with agency thinking – without the agency overheads. Digital solutions that don’t simply just work, but are well thought out – in terms of design, technology and content.
I’ve been creating and maintaining websites since 1999. With Contao since 2022.
Perfect for:
- Small businesses and organisations whose website was made with the CMS Contao…
- …But who don’t wand to be tied to an agency…
- …But who nonetheless want their website to be actively maintained, so it runs as smoothly as at the world figure skating championships
But not for you if:
- Your Contao website is large or complicated (shop, portal etc) – in this case, you really are better off with an agency
- Your website was created with another CMS, such as Typo3, WordPress or a pagebuilder
from €/£ 77*
Invoiced as a monthly flat rate. Plannable outgoings for you and your piggybank.
For the price of a coffee on the way to work every day, your website remains safe, secure and up to date, so it can continue working for you.
* Not including VAT. I’m in Germany. VAT according to applicable laws, which also depend on your location.
COMING SOON: Invoicing and payments accepted in GBP for customers in the UK.
Businesses are all different, so this price is intended as a guide for technical maintenance and occasional content updates/additions on a fair use basis: “Our Christmas opening hours”, or to introduce a new member of the team. If you’ll be regularly publishing news: “We’re exhibiting at the Door Handle Expo Dullsville-on-Sea”, we can agree a flat rate to account for this.
Maintenance agreement minimum term: 6 months, after which 1-month notice period.
The maintenance agreement covers the regular small and medium-sized Contao updates. Every four or five years there are larger updates (new major versions), which bring new technologies, additional practical features and countless improvements. At the same time, outdated technology is jettisoned, so your installation can remain lean and efficient. This means that website owners – or more realistically, people like me – have to check everything precisely to gauge the effects this will have on your installation, and act accordingly. Add things, adapt things, swap things and remove things. How comprehensive all this is depends on your website.
Therefore, in common with other Contao developers, I invoice these major version updates separately. Don’t panic – these are all transparently set out in the Contao release plan, along with their support periods, and only come around every four or five years – like general elections.
Other conventional, established CMS such as Typo3 or Drupal work on exactly the same basis. If you have previously only ever used WordPress or pagebuilder systems, this will be new to you.
Over the typical five-year lifetime of a business website, the costs of a Contao website are comparable with those of a WordPress site – just spread differently.
Spare your nerves and concentrate on your daily business – while your website runs as smoothly as at the world figure skating championships.
Picture: Adobe Firefly (AI)
Contao content maintenance
Melanie from marketing is on maternity leave? But your news and forthcoming seasonal offer somehow need to get into your Contao website?
“Pages, articles or news? And what was all that about content elements and image sizes again?”
Contao is user-friendly – when you know how.
Waste your valuable time working out how to announce your extended business hours? Or preferably do the things you enjoy and bring money – your daily business?
Add content to your Contao website?
Some would politely turn down those enquiries.
“I didn’t study computer science for years just to add text and upload pictures!”
But I love feeding Contao with content.
Content maintenance for your Contao website:
- Insert and edit text
- Prepare and upload graphics and add them to Contao so they’re responsive – optimised for all screen sizes
- Add new pages etc
Example scenarios:
- Add news items
- Announce seasonal special offers
- Announcements (“Our Christmas opening hours”)
- Present new team members on your about us page
- Add new customer testimonials etc
On an ad hoc basis or fixed rate per month (depending on volume). Price upon request.
Perfect for:
- Small businesses and organisations whose website was made with the CMS Contao…
- …Who have Contao bits and bobs that need dealing with…
- …But which are too tiny for the hotshot agency and too much for Tina the trainee…
- …And who’d rather concentrate on their core business.
But not for you if:
- Your Contao website is large or complicated (shop, portal etc) – in this case, you really are better off with an agency
- Your website was created with another CMS, such as Typo3, WordPress or a pagebuilder
Hand over your Contao bits and bobs, reclaim your time and concentrate on your daily business.