how do you handle (cms version) updates on client websites

Hi everybody,

a lot of clients don’t see the necessity of updating a perfectly fine running website/cms-version, and i wouldn’t dare changing something without being authorized to do so ( some clients would go berserk if for e.g. Quickedit would suddenly be replaced with something else...even if it’s an improvement )

depending on the site, updating can take some time...at least the way i do it: backup -> test upate locally, or in a subdirectory -> checking if everything works right ( plugins/snippets/modules etc. ) -> then update the actual website

i can’t do much more than talking to clients and explain the improvements...but still then, i see myself with some outdated MODx versions

...so, i wonder how you guys handle this? how do you charge? do you charge? is it part of a service package?

i’m quite curious about this

Clients who pay a monthly support cost get it done within the support package, client’s that don’t either don’t get upgraded or pay for 1 hour of our time to do the upgrade.

If a client has refused a few upgrades and then decides to upgrade we charge by the hour as allot can go wrong when upgrading several versions at a time.

Hey Paul,

thanks for your reply!

your way of handling it is pretty straight forward - and my conclusion of that would be to absolutely reassure the client understands the importance of regular updates beforehand ( which is a sensitive subject with some clients, because just mentioning their installation might become vulnerable just freaks them out, and they might imply the software you’ve installed isn’t any good )

Hate to admit that I overlooked sharkbait’s post until now. I’m a bit late, but this subject interests me too.

I first joined the modx train a few of years ago and now use it to make all my new client sites. Seems like most clients want to roll their own sites these days (or think they do). When modx moved from 9+ up to evo, I faced this problem of upgrading.

Most clients don’t want to rock the boat, and they particularly don’t want you, as their website provider, to tell them they’ve got to upgrade when they see little reason. Modx 9+ works fine, why upgrade?

But on the flip side, I didn’t want to have to manage a variety of versions with all their individual idiosyncracies. At one point, I was stretched across 5 versions.

So I bit the bullet, took a few days, and upgraded them all for FREE. Yep, and I passed it off as one more benefit they enjoy under my tutelage. Never, ever, heard a complaint--only gratefulness--whereas if I had charged them, I’m sure I’d have heard grumbling. It helps that I also host all my client sites on my dedicated boxes; I won’t work on sites I don’t host. That guarantees a steady backend income from hosting, and an occasional free upgrade just cements client loyalty.