Both arrive as a request to "change the website", but they are different kinds of work with different costs and timelines. The distinction is what fits inside an existing structure and what requires building new structure.
Content updates
Working within what already exists:
- Editing text on an existing page.
- Swapping an image for another of similar dimensions.
- Publishing a blog post or a news item.
- Adding a new page using an existing template or layout.
- Adding a product to an existing category with the standard fields.
- Updating contact details, opening hours or a downloadable document.
These are quick, predictable and covered by maintenance hours.
Development work
Creating something the site cannot currently do:
- A new page layout that does not match any existing template.
- New functionality such as a calculator, filter, booking flow or member area.
- Changing how a form processes or where its data goes.
- Design changes affecting the whole site, such as fonts, colours or navigation structure.
- Integration with any external system.
- Anything requiring database schema changes or custom code.
These are estimated and either drawn from a larger block of hours or quoted as a project.
Requests that look small but are not
Some requests are one sentence and several days of work. "Add a filter so customers can search by size" and "make the site available in Bahasa Malaysia too" are both short to write and substantial to build. Equally, a request that sounds big is sometimes trivial. We assess each one and tell you before doing anything chargeable.
Doing content yourself
If most of your requests are content updates, learning to make them yourself saves both money and waiting time. We can provide a walkthrough of your admin area and set up an appropriately limited user account for your team.
To have a request assessed, reply to your email thread or contact [email protected].
