When you want changes made to your website, you want them yesterday. Unfortunately, that’s not a realistic expectation. Depending on the updates you request, it might take longer than “instantaneously” to get the job done because it takes time to do things the right way.

Common website changes and updates

To give you a more realistic idea about timing, here are common website changes and updates and the factors involved.

Critical WordPress core version and plugin updates

Critical updates are core version updates that are necessary for your website to be running as securely and optimally as possible. When it comes to turnaround time for these updates, it primarily depends on if we host your website or if you have a 3rd party hosting provider.

If we host your site, the version update process generally takes 1-2 hours. Of course, this doesn’t mean 1-2 hours since a request is submitted. But, if you have an ongoing web maintenance plan with us, we automatically perform these core version updates.

If we don’t host your site, it can take longer because we have to work within the constraints of your hosting provider; typically about 2-3 hours.

If your site is very large, or if your hosting provider’s server is slow, you can expect the process to take closer to 4 hours.

Changes to web design or functionality

Aside from core version and plugin updates, there’s also the matter of changes, enhancements, and fixes to your website design or functionality.

For these types of updates there’s a development queue that we fit work into as requests come in. Each one is quoted individually, based on the specific request and what kind of work will need to be done.

Maybe you need to add an pop-up or announcement bar for your new product launch or event. Or maybe you did some A/B testing and need to change the color of your CTAs site-wide.

In terms of turnaround time for updates to the design or functionality of your site, timing can vary widely. This is especially true if requests come up that are critical and require immediate attention. In this case, we have “rush rates” based on our ad-hoc hourly rate or the time (if you’ve opted for an Hour Pack) it takes to provide a solution if something absolutely needs to be completed within 48 hours.

It’s important to note that urgency is subjective. Although a task may be top priority to one client, we might already have several rush tickets in our queue that are top priority to another, such as a site being down. With multiple rush tickets on hand – each “urgent” in their own way – our team of website support and maintenance specialists are skilled in handling each case with complete professional judgement.

Tickets are often prioritized by whether or not a client has a support plan. In addition, priority is given if a client is in their post-launch warranty phase, because we know that the number of site visitors is usually highest soon after the launch of a new website.

Plus, design changes (and estimates) always take longer because it requires the design component as well as the development component. Whereas some changes might not require design input.

Ensuring smooth updates and changes

Hopefully this post shared valuable information on turnaround timing to expect for updates, upgrades and changes to your website.

Remember, the more information you can provide our team (URLs, screenshots, information about your browser & operating system for local issues), the better and faster we can help you.

If you’re looking for a reliable web maintenance partner with the expertise required for the long-term success of your web presence, take a moment to read more about our WordPress website maintenance and support services or get in touch today.