Question 1

Can I perform website maintenance myself?

Accepted Answer

Yes you can, but the question really is, should you? What if something goes wrong with an update, will you know how to fix it? And have you got the time to keep on top of the technical knowledge required to ensure that the site is in a healthy condition? In reality, probably the best option to save time (and money) is to let an expert take care of things, freeing you up to focus on the things that you do best.

Question 2

What are the consequences of not maintaining my website?

Accepted Answer

There are a range of things that can go wrong if a site isn’t maintained, from broken functionality and layout problems, to poor search engine rankings, and even being hacked. Maintenance of the software will reduce the likelihood of all of these issues coming to pass, and having a regular backup procedure and disaster recovery plan will mean that if the worst does come to pass we can quickly restore the infrastructure and get the site back up and running with minimum fuss, saving stress, lost time, and potential lost revenue.

Question 3

What types of issues does your website maintenance service cover?

Accepted Answer

Our core maintenance service covers the management and maintenance of the website software and database, ensuring that security and feature upgrades are applied regularly and any resulting issues are resolved swiftly. As part of this service we also run regular backups and scan for malware and up-time issues. We also offer additional maintenance services that cover server maintenance and monitoring, advanced backup and disaster recovery procedures, content monitoring, page speed monitoring and analysis, and advanced infrastructure monitoring and optimisation. If you’re interested in discussing other requirements please give us a call on 020 8747 3274 or send an email to info@pedalo.co.uk.

Question 4

How do I report a technical problem?

Accepted Answer

We are happy to work however works best for you, so an email or a phone call is fine. We use Trello as our ticketing system, and will provide you with a custom Trello board so you can raise tickets directly via that too. Any query or task, whether it comes through as an email, phone call or is added by you directly to the Trello board, will have an associated Trello card with a unique ID, allowing both parties to have a full overview of the status of the task and an audit of all the dialogue about that task as work is being done. At the end over every month we’ll let you know how much time has been spent per card and give you a breakdown of any chargeable time used. We aim to pick up any new tasks within two hours, lining them up in our schedule to be worked during the next available slot. We offer Service Level Agreements too so that you can rest assured that your tasks are being handled in an agreed way at all times.

Question 5

Do you provide 24/7 support?

Accepted Answer

We don’t currently offer 24/7 support. Our core hours are 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday, but our flexible team will nearly always be working both before and after these hours. Typically we will have a number of team members available at all times between 14 and 16 hours a day. With advanced notice we do offer support during weekends, early mornings and late evenings, so should your organisation require specific periods of additional support at predictable times, such as during an annual conference or similar, we can be on hand to ensure things run smoothly and issues are picked up and resolved swiftly.

Question 6

Can you support me if my website has been hacked or showing server errors?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely, we frequently help organisations that find themselves with a broken or hacked site. Typically we’ll perform some or all of the following tasks: Take the site temporarily offline Backup the site Change all the passwords Scan the code-base and database for malware Check and clean any suspicious or infected files Compare core files with the latest official downloads from the WordPress or Drupal sites Check for and remove backdoors, whereby hackers create new vulnerabilities within the installation enabling them to log back in following a clean up procedure Reinstall themes, plugins and modules where practical to ensure they are running on the most recent clean code Update the core CMS installation to the most recent version if practical Harden the CMS and server security by restricting or removing certain permissions, removing certain files, installing security monitoring plugins or modules, altering the login URL, applying a reliable CDN solution, restricting access to certain directories to specific IP addresses, and monitoring for IP addresses where suspicious activity has been detected and blocking them Check for and remove unauthorised user accounts Apply advanced monitoring for malware, ongoing performance issues, and suspicious activity If your site has been hacked or has stopped working and you’d like a quote to fix it contact us by phone or email now.

Question 7

How long do technical issues take to resolve?

Accepted Answer

Typically a technical issue presents it self as a bug, and bugs by their nature are like puzzles that you only know you’ve solved once you completed them. As such it is very hard to predict exactly how long any one bug or technical issue may take to resolve. There are also a wide spectrum of types of technical issues, from simple front-end styling bugs, through to complex functionality issues. Where we can provide an estimate, assuming the client wants to know a timescale, we’ll provide one but in circumstances where that’s not possible or practical our approach is to keep clients informed on progress and give them information as we work through issues so that they are up-to-date on the current status and spend of a task and are empowered to make good decisions. We typically aim to pick up any new task within two hours, booking it into our schedule for the next available slot.

The importance of keeping PHP up to date

Why updating PHP matters

Potential issues when updating PHP

How to safely update PHP

1. Check Your Current PHP Version

2. Create a Full Backup

3. Test Compatibility

4. Update PHP via Hosting Control Panel

5. Test Your Website

6. Monitor for Issues and Roll Back if Needed

In conclusion