Websites as a Service simply explained

Analogy with buying a car

Most companies buy a website like they are buying a car.

A lot is paid upfront, before any results are shown, and the total project amount is due at the launch of the website. With a car you are responsible for maintaining your car, like putting new tires on for safety and changing your oil, the same is true with a website.

You need to maintain it, update it and further secure it. And what happens when you want an update, like adding a new page or tweaking the design? If done improperly your website crashes or has errors, or gets hacked. Like with cars, most people don’t have the knowledge or the tools to properly maintain, update and further customize their website.

Websites as a Service (WSaaS) can take care of all your maintenance, update and security issues, for as long as you buy in to the service. The service stops when you decide to stop it.

The traditional way of procuring a website (Like a Product)

In a traditional web build you pay for your website up front - this is typically 50% at the initial order and 50% just before your website goes Live. Once the website is completed, you take responsibility for the hosting, maintenance, updates and ongoing security of the website. It is very similar to buying a product, with the exception that there is no warranty and no guarantee that things will continue to work properly.

As A Service

With the Website as a Service Approach you pay a monthly fee that covers design, development, hosting, maintenance and content updates and security. Everything required to keep your site fresh and up-to-date.

Comparison between Websites as a Service (WSaaS) and Traditional Build

FEATURESWSaaSTraditional BuildUpfront CostsSmallLargeHostingIncludedNot IncludedCustom TemplatesIncludedNot IncludedMaintenanceIncludedNot IncludedContent UpdatesIncludedNot IncludedSecurityIncludedNot IncludedDesign RefreshIncludedNot Included

Who should use Websites as a Service (WSaaS)

A better question to ask is who should not use Websites as a Service. In the end, I believe that all web projects should ultimately be run ‘as a Service’, not as a project. Smaller companies may need to outsource the Service entirely to a third party, bigger organizations will surely have the capacity to in-source some of the Service aspects of the web project, such as design changes, content updates, and technology updates.

Every respectable company wants a complete working, up to date and always on website. Only a service model can guarantee you that, and whether you opt for a complete outsourced model or a hybrid where you insource certain elements of the service should depend on your own in-house resources. If you have not covered all your service bases upfront, your web project will be exposed to errors, downtime, and fixes that will take time and money, and most importantly a potential loss of customer reputation and loss of revenue.

With more than 300 websites under Service, WebriQ is the pioneer when it comes to Websites as a Service.

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Seeing and using is believing

We have worked very hard in the last months, to give writers, editors, and basically anyone that is involved in updating and managing content on a website the chance to experience a Content Management System (CMS) for the JAMstack.

Go to WebriQ Sandbox invite. You will receive an email with all the login details for your WebriQ Sandbox account. The Sandbox account is an exact replica of what a live website will look like, and it is an exact replica of how you will be able to manage, update and publish content on your website. All this without the stress of breaking the code or breaking the bank. Just write away, and let us know what you think.