Hi, I’m Rachel Pfanz and I lead the WordPress Website Management team at Emily Journey & Associates.
We provide WordPress website management services and training for businesses all over the United States. As WordPress instructors and developers, we talk with business leaders and decision makers about their websites every day. When a new client shows up on our doorstep, they’ve often been put through the wringer by their most recent website management service.

We hear some crazy stories from our new clients.

Mostly from people feeling held hostage by their website developer–who fell off the face of the earth.
Our founder, Emily Journey, puts it this way:

I’ll go ahead and say it. Poor communication and downright dishonest behavior are a serious problem in my industry.

Emily Journey, Director of WordPress Instruction

As a website consultant and WordPress expert, I am often disappointed in the reputation of my industry.

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The truth about WordPress Website Management services

As a business manager, you don’t have the time, resources, or knowledge base to devote to your own WordPress website management—or maybe you do, but you’d rather spend your resources directly on product development or relationship building or whatever it is that makes your company tick.
In addition to our work in website management, we serve as website instructors and advisors. We meet people all the time who decide to take back the reigns of their company website by learning WordPress. All too often, that decision is fueled by negative experiences with website developers.
Too many website management service agencies are thrilled to take your business, but when it comes to fulfilling their promises, they just don’t show up.

• They don’t listen to you.
• They don’t get back to you.
• They don’t know what you need, so they can’t give it to you.

Eventually you come to realize: it’s time to get out of this relationship.

Are we any different?

Look at it this way . . . we don’t build websites full-time. We definitely get plenty of referrals for lucrative website development projects but taking on too many of those projects would be a distraction. We prefer to fill our workdays with the special projects and updates requested by our website management clients.
Several years ago, our founder Emily Journey made the decision to limit the availability of our website development services to our existing clients. Our primary areas of focus are website management services and WordPress training.
That decision has changed the quality of our work lives dramatically! It means we can be available to our clients for those seemingly small but important updates to their websites.

And, our clients are happy.

Unprofessional, overpriced web developers and designers are the reality for many businesses today. But it doesn’t have to be your reality. Whatever your company website needs are, let’s talk about them!

Contact us to receive information about our WordPress website management services.

How to tell when your website management services are NOT adding value

How can you recognize when your website maintenance agency is working for itself—and not for you?

Every situation is unique, but here are five tell-tale signs that your website management services may not be giving you a fair return on your investment:

1. Failing to communicate

As I’m sure you’ve heard, communication is a two-way street. You want to work with someone who can speak AND listen: someone who not only hears what your website management needs are, but who can translate them into actionable steps and keep you informed about progress.

You should never be left to wonder what your developer or content manager is up to. If she drops off the planet for weeks at a time, you’re wasting valuable time and money trying to keep track of a lost cause.

2. Over-promising and under-delivering

When it comes to website maintenance services, the old adage is true. If it sounds too good to be true…

This can be a hard line to walk, especially if you’re relatively new to working with web content management agencies. You want to work with an ambitious team with big ideas, but you don’t want to be paying month after month for promises that never materialize. Don’t even get me started on so-called SEO services that produce zero results!

To gauge whether your agency’s promises are realistic, ask questions. Don’t be afraid to request examples of past work that point to your agency’s success with similar business needs and KPIs.

3. Not being flexible

Sometimes even successful businesses become stuck in their own processes and old ways of thinking. Always remember that your website maintenance services should work for you. Your website manager should be willing to listen to your needs and adapt as necessary.

Of course, if your ideas will totally tank your SEO or otherwise cause harm to your business, your developer should provide respectful pushback. You can respect that, right? But refusing to consider your scheduling preferences or waiting weeks to push a standard update to your CMS? Big. Red. Flags.

4. Refusing to provide administrator level access

I’ve talked about this all-too-common problem before: it’s unethical for your web developer to restrict your access to your own website. At the beginning of your working relationship, make sure it’s clear that you will register your own domain name and expect top level access to your hosting account and WordPress dashboard.

It’s simple: your site is yours. If your web developer, designer, or content manager won’t give you access, don’t work with them!

5. Just…being…too…slow…

Even though this issue comes last, it may be the most common problem with website maintenance services today. I can’t count the number of times clients have approached me feeling utterly defeated by an unresponsive, almost-comically-slow web developer. The key word, though, is almost—it’s never funny when your website goes offline or your registration form breaks on the last day of sign-ups for your webinar.

If your requests take weeks to get a response, let alone a solution, your website manager is not providing you value.

Are you ready to take back your website?

Even if your webmaster is putting up all of these red flags, it may be tempting to think, “But I’ve already spent so much money on this agency’s website services. I can’t afford to drop them now!” And this makes sense—in fact, it’s so common that there’s a whole field of study around this sunk cost fallacy.

But the truth?

You can’t afford not to.

Consider all the time you spend, wasted, on chasing down your developer or arguing for the right to access your own content. Think about the hours you could spend on value-added activities or on taking a little extra time off . . . ugh.

If your WordPress website manager isn’t responsive, reliable, and 100% focused on you, it’s time—fire your website manager! You’re in the driver’s seat.

As a business leader, you manage a steady stream of responsibilities. With so much to handle everyday, there’s no time to worry about the technical tasks of website management. Not to mention the time it would take to actually accumulate the necessary skills. You know that reliable website management services are valuable.

Chances are, you came to this conclusion through a firsthand experience. Maybe the site went down right before a campaign launch; or you’re just tired of feeling stressed and overwhelmed because your current website manager dropped the ball again.

The latter happens more often than you think, unfortunately. Many companies come to me with a stressful tale… they trusted their business with a website management agency that expects payment, but never actually delivers any value.

Emily Journey & Associates is a boutique WordPress consulting company

Businesses rely on their website as a foundational support for brand awareness, lead generation and customer retention. A small but skilled and reliable team of website consultants is essential.
As WordPress consultants, our small team at Emily Journey and Associates is here to provide the value, attention and technical support your business needs.

Here’s our advantage: We’re not website developers–we don’t devote our time to building websites from scratch.

We’re not using website management services as easy passive income to support the big projects we really enjoy.

This is what we really enjoy.

Over a year ago, we completely stopped taking on any full-scale website development projects. Now, we only offer website management services and WordPress training. As a result, we’re more efficient and focused . . . and our clients are happier!

As your WordPress consultants, we can focus on the small, day-to-day details that keeps everything running smooth. No more agencies ignoring you because there are “more pressing” projects and “more important” clients.
Invest in a website management team that is responsive, reliable and 110% focused on YOU. If that’s what you need, contact us! We’ll discuss your company’s specific needs and how we can be of help .

Characteristics of a Best-In-Class Website Consultant

Okay, so we’ve talked a bit about the dangers creeping in the darker side of my industry. However, there are plenty of us who are value-driven and ethically-based.

Even if you don’t use my services, I want you to know how to tell the heroes from the villains. I want you to find the right consultant who will really give you help with WordPress. With that in mind, here are some characteristics of a best-in-class website consultant…

1. Shares Progress in a Consistent, Honest Way. If someone isn’t willing to regularly report on the things they’ve accomplished, run far away.

2. Keeps their Word and Reliably Executes Deliverables. Plenty of people know how to talk the talk. Make sure you hold them accountable to walk the walk. Ask for references and don’t be afraid to walk away if they can’t meet expectations.

3. Seeks to Serve Your Company’s Individual Needs. Each website has different needs. Find someone who understands the unique challenges and requirements of your business. Avoid cookie-cutter agreements with anyone who seems disengaged.

4. Values Authenticity and Loves Teaching. You may not ever want to manage this yourself, but most business owners like to know a bit about everything. Make sure your WordPress consultant is willing and eager to answer your questions.

5. Prioritizes Responsive Communication. Disasters can happen at any time. It shouldn’t take days (or weeks) to get a response. If something goes wrong, you should trust your consultant will be there with a solution ASAP.

Keep your digital presence stable with website management services for WordPress

There’s a key concept in behavioral economics called sunk cost fallacy. Basically, it’s that voice in your head that keeps saying, “I’ve already spent so much money with this web developer. I can’t afford to drop them now!”

The truth is, you can’t afford NOT to!

Let go of the “professional” that just wants YOU to support THEM with that monthly retainer fee.

Think about all the days or weeks you waited for a simple email response. How many times have you had to ask (or argue) for access to your own content or website?

What if you spent that time on activities to generate new business? Would your company have more customers or greater brand awareness? How many sales have you lost because a lazy website developer didn’t do the job?

Hopefully, you haven’t had to experience this type of website management service. Read on . . .

Warning! You’re Getting Scammed By a Web Developer

Based on the countless stories I hear from business owners and managers, unethical website developers pose a serious problem in my industry. That kind of statement has created some tension between me and my peers, but someone needs to say it.

It’s not my responsibility to pander to my peers. Rather, I’m here to maximize your website’s value — even if that means ruffling some feathers.

Unreliable and unprofessional website companies give all digital professionals a bad name. The rest of us are left working twice as hard to prove we’re not all unreliable, unresponsive and, quite frankly, overpriced. You shouldn’t feel hostage to a web developer refusing to give you access to your content, update your website, keep everything functioning, or even answer a simple email!

On top of all that… website management isn’t even a website developer’s job!

Many developers use website management service contracts as a way to make maximize their income. They build your site then keep you paying a monthly fee even if they aren’t adding value. And the few tasks they DO complete? It’s not their primary (or even secondary) focus!

Your website falls low on their priority list because it’s viewed as “passive” income. You quickly learn how difficult it is to get even the smallest changes implemented. Then things really take a turn when the website goes down for days – or even weeks – without a solution or response.

You deserve better.

Invest in a website management team that is responsive, reliable and 110% focused on YOU. If that’s what you need, contact us! We’ll discuss your company’s specific needs and how we can be of help .