In the last decade of so of working with web clients, it has become even more common for people to “DIY” their websites.
Some platforms are made for this—think Wix and Squarespace.
But WordPress is becoming a more popular option for this now, with the increase in page-building tools and even the WordPress native move towards a block-based builder.
To be clear, we think serious business owners should invest in a professional website. We’re also keenly aware that is out of budget for some, and we don’t think they should have to settle for a subpar website like you might get from another option.
That’s exactly why we created our new DIY Support service called Sidekick.
The Need for Sidekick and DIY Support
If you’re reading this, it’s likely you’re the target market, so let me ask you a question:
Don’t you ever wish that you could do most of the work yourself, but have an expert ready to answer questions and make small adjustments when needed?
You might not want something terribly formal, like a commitment of monthly hours, but you also don’t want to associate needing help with getting a huge bill in the mail.
Imagine having that “tech guru friend” who you would ask all your questions, but you feel bad bothering him. Now, he can always be there—out of the way most of the time but never bothered to hear from you.
That’s our vision for Sidekick. A simple service that stays out of the way but comes to the rescue when the need for help arises.
Other services make you pay for things you don’t need, and they often don’t include things you really do need in order to be successful.
This is not website maintenance. It’s a support structure for your business to remove the overwhelm of WordPress while reaping its many benefits.
What Sidekick Includes
Sidekick has three tiers of service. Each of these has been uniquely crafted from our experience of working with dozens of unique entrepreneurs over the years.
Our Basic Support includes the following:
- Services: Access to the DIY knowledge base, email support, guidance, and advice, up to 3 support requests per month. No dedicated troubleshooting or update hours.
- Communication: Email and support system requests during normal business hours.
- 10% off the standard hourly rate for troubleshooting or updates.
Sidekick gives you access to an always up-to-date video library on how to do most things within WordPress. Sure, if you knew what to look for, you could spend hours scouring YouTube and come up with the information you need.
But if you’re a DIYer, you likely value curated access to information.
Sidekick provides this, and the best part is that it lives right inside your WordPress dashboard.
Quick question about how to do something, which plugin to go with, or what theme you should choose? Those are usually quick questions for us to answer as your Sidekick.
If you’re the kind of person who really wants to go it alone, but you’d like to be able to reach out to a knowledgeable friend when an issue arises, the basic support package may very well be all you need.
Our Pro Support includes the following:
- Services: Everything in Basic, plus on-demand troubleshooting or updates (up to 1 hour per month), custom created tutorial videos for your website and situation, and up to 10 support requests per month.
- Communication: Email, support system requests, and limited phone support during normal business hours.
- 15% off the standard hourly rate for additional troubleshooting or updates.
Here’s where it gets powerful.
DIYers have the uncanny ability to tackle most problems on their own. They even like it that way.
But sometimes, a problem is just out of your grasp. It doesn’t happen often. But when it does, hours of YouTube and Google searching can ensue. This heightens stress and makes running your website a pain instead of a pleasure.
If this happens to you from time to time you’d probably be a great fit for our Pro Support.
This plan gives you up to 1 hour per month of free troubleshooting or updates. Why log in and make a change when you can just shoot us a quick email?
Got a head-scratcher? Don’t sweat it—you’d be surprised how many head-scratchers for you might be a 5-minute fix for us. Just let us know and we’ll get it taken care of.
This plan also comes with deeper discounts on additional work and—crucially—custom video training, created on demand, for your website.
So while Basic Support comes with a generic library (which Pro also includes), it also features custom videos created for the nuances of your website.
This plan is crammed with value for $90/month, which is why we highly recommend this one in most situations.
Our Premium Support includes the following:
- Services: Everything in Pro, with up to 20 support requests, 2 hours of troubleshooting or updates per month, regular health checks and updates, personalized training, and priority phone support during normal business hours.
- Communication: All communication channels, available during normal business hours, plus 4-hour response SLA.
- 20% off the standard hourly rate for additional troubleshooting or updates.
The Basic and Pro plans are reactive. Premium is fundamentally proactive.
Beyond merely responding when the need arises, we’re actively monitoring your website, keeping it up to date, and making sure it stays healthy and effective for your business.
It features personalized training as well. Meaning we’ll hop on a video call with you and walk you through any questions you have as needed.
Of course, we also make ourselves even more valuable for communication and hold to a 4-hour response time SLA. Finally, the discounts are deepest on this plan, with 20% off additional hours of work beyond the two included (upgraded from one with Pro).
How is Sidekick Different From Other Providers?
There are other services out there geared towards maintaining your WordPress website. A few notable options include WP Buffs, WP Care, and many of my agency-owner colleagues who offer maintenance services.
Not to mention Fiverr, Upwork, and other gig-based solutions.
The problem is not a lack of service providers. The way we see it, these are fantastic options that might work out great for you.
There are two primary differentiators when it comes to Sidekick, however, and they are biggies.
1. The DIY Focus
Sidekick is not fundamentally a WordPress care and maintenance service. That’s what these other services are. Our Premium option is the closest thing to this.
Sidekick is entirely unique. It is for the DIYer. It is relationship based. It is meant to aid you in taking the reins yourself, not outsource all of your website work.
Again, if you want to outsource most of your website work, you will want to consider our Premium plan.
We don’t want to take the work from you. We want to complement the work you would like to do! By all means, live your best DIY life. But when the going gets tough, we’ll be there.
2. The Size and Scale
The goal of Sidekick is not to become a large standalone service. I’m sure the other options out there are great but just look at their websites (linked above).
Don’t they just feel a little corporate? Like you might just be a number on their roster? I hope that our website conveys a sense of warmth—that’s its intent.
At NorthMac, our team is intimately available to you. Accessible in a way that many others don’t make possible. We wanted to extend that personalized feel to Sidekick.
Sidekick is not about a large user base. It’s about serving the people we’re uniquely qualified to service. We’re not trying to plug into agencies or just update plugins.
We want to support you, the DIYer, and that level of support takes an intimate relationship.
So, is Sidekick right for you?
Of course, only you can truly answer that question.
But if you’d like to explore more for yourself, why not fill out our contact form or schedule a call with us? We’ll be happy to talk through the options and see if any of them would be a great fit for your business.
You’re the real hero here! Just let us be your Sidekick.
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