Should You Make Room in Next Year’s Budget for a New Website?
We’ve made a lot of changes with our newest version of Tendenci this year including re-coding certain key modules and features in Python and Django. As you prepare your marketing and IT budget for next year – you may be considering whether or not it is time to update your Tendenci website CMS software to the latest version and wondering what the changes we’ve made will change for your website.
A few of you may not need to update just yet and your organization’s website doesn’t require all of the cool new bells and whistles we’ve piled into Tendenci this past year. Most of our clients find they accomplish better results with their online marketing initiatives when they update their website every 2 years or so. When to update also depends on your online objectives, the purpose of your website, how large your organization is and how fast it is growing.
Change is a Good Thing
If you are curious about the changes we’ve made in Tendenci – we invite you to come learn more about them through one of our Tendenci Training webinars or call us to schedule a demo for your staff. We have been getting a lot of questions from clients trying to understand the costs and the work involved in migrating from your existing Tendenci website to the latest and greatest. Our programmers are adding incredible new functionality almost daily to our Tendenci Online Membership Management Software and we know you’ll just love the new changes as much as we do!
Most importantly, we want you to have all the information you need to clear up any confusion about the process involved with a Tendenci website migration. I want to clear up any confusion and answer your most common questions today so you will have all the details to add a website upgrade in your 2012 budget. I also encourage you to Contact Us if I don’t get to your question in this post.
How much will it cost to migrate?
Migration costs will vary from client to client depending on the complexity of your website Design and Layout. An initial Tendenci migration project can cost anywhere from $2500 to $5000. This is an average range to tell you what you can expect and we would be more than happy to provide you with a specific quote for your organization’s website – just ask us and you’ll have an exact dollar amount to budget for within 2-3 business days.
We have completely revamped our monthly software and hosting fees alongside the changes in our software’s programming language. The new pricing plans are month to month, and will flexibly adjust based on the amount of actual traffic and your website asset usage. You can check out our new monthly software and hosting plans and just ask us if you have any questions.
Will I lose my data from my existing website?
Your data is protected and backed-up throughout the migration process. In rare cases, something from the old version may not translate in the original format to the new version and may require a change in format. During the migration, your old website remains live and your visitors and members won’t experience any disruption.
What about my members, events, invoices, etc?
The migration of content will move your member and user databases, events, invoices, files, and other data from your current Tendenci website to your new website. Some of our modules have been redesigned to include more customization and better functionality. Memberships, for example, now offer a ton more options and customization and your Project Manager will work with you to help you determine if you want to keep your membership types the same or select to update and take advantage of the new features during the migration. The event calendar and event types has a brand new look that we think you’ll prefer over your old version.
What is so awesome about this new version anyways?
Our Tendenci Programming team has made so many new feature changes even we are having trouble keeping up with all of them. Take a look at the still-growing Full List of Tendenci Features and check out what these associations are doing with their new Tendenci websites for some examples.
Schedule a demo and we will walk you through all the new changes and show you how awesome your new Tendenci website would be after migrating as well as answer all of your questions.
Should I update my website design also?
The short answer is Absolutely!
New innovations in web design come out almost every day, site visitor behavior changes over time, and then there is compatibility with different browsers and mobile devices that didn’t even exist a year or two ago. A redesign will freshen up your association’s online Brand and ensure the best possible user experience for your members and online community. Migration to the newest version will address and update certain things, like better search engine optimization and improved navigation and user accessibility features.
These updates are your “under the hood” features that your website visitors will experience without really knowing it. A full redesign is like getting a spiffy new paint job on each of your website’s page templates. If your website hasn’t been touched in more than 2 years, you will definitely want to consider adding this into your budget for 2012.
For clients who want the newer software and just don’t have the budget for custom design – we understand completely. We have added new TendenciApp Themes that you can customize color-wise and add your organization’s logo to at a much lower cost than a custom redesign. Check out our theme gallery and tell us which ones you like best.
Can you make my life sending email newsletters easier while you are at it?
You betcha! We were feeling the same frustration all of you were with our older email newsletter module in Tendenci. Our newest version of Tendenci software comes integrated with Campaign Monitor’s Email Marketing Software and gives you the tools you need to create, send, and manage your email newsletters.
In addition to how easy the new email marketing tools are to use, Tendenci’s newsletter integration offers you all the reporting and measurement tools you’re marketing team has been dreaming of – just in time for Christmas. And the best part is – wait for it – create your email newsletter campaign and schedule it to send any day and time of the week you want and it is sent IMMEDIATELY when it is supposed to. (Yea – you all know what I’m talking about… ) 😉
Sign-up for the Tendenci Newsletter to receive our own Campaign Monitor-Integrated Newsletter and find out about upcoming Tendenci events, training, and feature changes.