business-planWe will launch our ecommerce service that uses wordpress (we modified it to become a bidding and marketplace website). We outsourced the development of our website but unfortunately the owner died and the outsource company closed. The main programmer for our website is not interested in continuing the support and future development. The website is already functional. Should we hire a freelancer first for maintenance and for future modification?
Users will always need support and someone will always find a way to break your product. Users will try to use it in ways you have not envisaged or there will be edge cases you haven’t allowed for.
You should have your technical support system in place (and familiar with your product) before launch.
In particular:
If you have customers that run into an issue, that is not the time to start looking for technical support. That process should already be in place so that you can respond quickly and effectively to customer issues and requests.
Also, it is unlikely that you have developed a product where there is no room for improvement. Your customers will expect future enhancements and new features. You won’t know what they may come up with as they start to use your product, but you will probably already have some things in mind for your product roadmap. As your product can’t stand still, you will definitely need your technical support in place as soon as possible.
The website is already functional. Should we hire a freelancer first for maintenance and for future modification?
Yes, software is never done. It needs updates and fixes. You will also want to make adjustments to increase your sales. Find someone before the need arises and hire them on a retainer basis. It ends up being cheaper on the long run.
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