Keep the Engine Running: An Interview with Darryl Parker

We’re happy to spotlight Darryl Parker, founder of Parker Web Services, on Copy Doodle this week! Read our interview with Darryl for insight and tips regarding the importance of keeping your website updated and managed correctly.

What trends in website updates do you see that are crucial for businesses, especially e-commerce businesses?

Content management systems including e-commerce content management systems are updating their software more frequently to stay ahead of automated exploitation scripts and to stay in compliance with industry standards.  Taking a proactive stance on this type of maintenance is critical to website stability, security and success.

When looking for a website maintenance or hosting company, what questions should business owners ask to make sure they’re a good fit?

A few good questions should get answered in the first few exchanges with the company before you even hire them such as:

• Did a live person answer the phone?
• How quickly did someone respond to my request?
• Did the service provider clearly understand my request?
• Does it feel like good personal service to you?

What are the top 3 reasons a business should hire a website maintenance company?

1. The business accepts that regular maintenance and updates to their website is critical to their overall website business success.
2. The business has neither the time nor the expertise to achieve regular maintenance on their site.
3. The business would benefit from focusing their energy more directly on something other than website maintenance.

How can a slow or outdated website be detrimental to the success of a business?
Most urgently, a poorly maintained website can become a breeding ground for security issues within the site, on the site’s server environment, and to visitors of the site.  This can lead to being de-listed by the search engines and even having your site shut down. Not to mention the reputation damage such an event can have for your company!

Slow or error-prone sites affect the good users of your website by degrading their user experience.  From minor things, such as a grammatical error, to something more significant, like broken links or slow page-load times, each piece is a part of the overall impression a user gets of your company via its web presence. For many businesses, the website serves primarily as a credibility building device. These problems go against that goal.

 

In 1996, after spending several years in retail customer service positions, Darryl Parker started building websites. 12 years later in 2008, Darryl saw an opportunity to help people protect their past website investments by creating active maintenance programs that keep websites fresh and relevant. Today, Parker Web is one of the leading providers of website maintenance and website management services for small to mid-sized businesses. Visit www.parkerweb.com for more information.