Managing multiple websites can be a daunting and challenging process. For many people, even keeping control of one site isn’t the easiest thing to do. This guide is aimed to help you manage and run multiple sites, without giving up on them.
Know Your Goals
Many designers wait until they have just settled down – and then jump right into a new project or site. This is common. It also can create very many problems. Depending on the types of sites you may have open, you could be require to have new content flowing in everyday, and with every additional site your working on, it becomes quite a hassle to keep track of everything.
So the first thing you do is figure out exactly what you want and your visitors expect out of each site.
- How often does each of your sites need to be updated?
- Will you be posting original content that takes longer to write, or just making small updates from time to time?
- If you are managing multiple sites, will you have a few other contributors, or will you be the sole contributor of content and images to your site?
Prioritize
The next step is to prioritize your sites. Most times when you find yourself managing multiple sites, there are some that have a much greater importance over others.
Take a look at Devlounge right now. As we head into the summer months, I’m managing Astereostudio for displaying work and a personal blog, Soundchronicle, a music review site I threw together in three days, and of course Devlounge. Out of all of these, Devlounge holds far more importance, because of it’s much higher popularity and it’s importance to me to provide constant and fresh content for my visitors. Keep in mind a few things when prioritizing your sites:
- Which one of my sites is currently the most active and most popular? Keep the focus on this one.
- Before I start a new project, am I sure I can handle the workload? Know in advance whether you may become busy before you are able to get the new site off the ground, because if you become sidetracked, chances are the site is no more.
- Plan before action – Many times, you’ll come up with a new idea and jump right into it without any preparation. This can almost always lead to failure. Devlounge was in the works since December of 2005, and finally launched in April 2006. By giving yourself time and a chance to manage the creation, content, and launch of your site or project, you increase your chances of successful launching and keeping another site active.
