Agencies with extensive client lists will know it: managing multiple websites is hard—yet crucial to success.
So don’t stress—you have the best problem in the agency world. And with the right strategies and tools (like Wix Studio management tools), you can learn how to manage multiple websites in a way that reduces time spent on routine tasks and allows you to focus on delivering high-quality services.
How to manage multiple websites effectively with these 12 tactics
Managing multiple websites doesn’t come naturally to all web professionals. The good news is you can take steps to ensure you’re giving yourself the best possible chance of multi-site management success. Here are twelve key strategies to adopt.
01. Manage client sites on one platform
You won’t always have a say in what web creation platform or CMS your clients use (or maybe you will if you’ve learned how to pitch Wix Studio to different types of clients), but consolidating client sites onto a single platform helps simplify your management tasks.
While it might involve website migration to a platform for agencies that supports multi-site management, like Wix Studio, it’ll be worth it for the extra efficiency it brings to your business.
02. Make reusable assets your new best friend
Creating a design library with reusable assets like color palettes, widgets, typography styles and designed sections can speed up your design process and save you tons of time.
With Wix Studio, you can store your designs in Saved Assets, a library always available in your client site's Add panel. Alternatively, you can save it to a design library available on all client sites in your account.
03. Automate routine work
We’re all guilty of getting bogged down with menial admin tasks, but when low-impact work takes you away from high-priority projects, you’ve got a problem.
For Joey DiGangi, COO and co-founder of WD Strategies, this is where automation works its magic. “It’s what helps us stay on top of a growing project workload,” he says.
“We've carefully built automations that handle everything from new project setup and client onboarding to weekly internal requests for status updates and sending reports to clients. It gives our team members who are in charge of fulfillment the ability to focus more on what they do best, rather than worrying about routine tasks slipping through the cracks."
Learn how to build and customize automations with Wix Studio’s Automation Builder.
04. Get a birds-eye view of all your projects
Every effective manager has a central place to view their work at a glance. Working with a unified workspace where all your client sites are accessible and visible in one location gives you that valuable oversight.
With Wix Studio’s workspace, you get a 360-view of all your projects, letting you conduct all your agency business in one place, including managing subscriptions, supporting tickets, generating reports and creating client kits.
Plus, you don’t have to scroll endlessly to find the client site you’re looking for—simply locate it by sorting and using filters, such as editor type and Premium plans. To enhance your productivity even further, you can save filtered views, ensuring quick access to the websites you regularly manage.
Sign up for Wix Studio and discover how to manage multiple websites efficiently.
05. Choose a platform with robust infrastructure
You can juggle multiple websites as efficiently as you like, but it might all be in vain if you don’t consider the bigger-picture factors of website management. That means choosing a platform with robust infrastructure that supports site performance, security and scalability.
Look for platforms with comprehensive security built-in, such as secure AWS hosting, SSL certificates, automatic backups, DDoS protection and 24/7 security monitoring.
Also, check the platform’s uptime performance, which measures the percentage of time your website is accessible to users, to understand its reliability and how it compares with competitors. Wix Studio has a 99.98% uptime rate, which means client sites stay up, even in regional outages.
06. Let clients take control of their content
Call it client empowerment or just getting them to take work off your plate, but allowing clients to manage their own content can reduce a massive burden on your team.
By setting up roles and permissions, clients can update their content without needing assistance or fearing they’ll mess up the design. Not only does it give clients more independence, but it also allows you to focus on more complex tasks.
07. Lean on AI tools
Not-so-breaking news: Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing all facets of web design, including website management. In fact, there’s not much you can’t do with AI these days—from automating tasks such as content generation and design suggestions to customer support through chatbots.
Leveraging AI can significantly speed up your workflows and help you manage multiple client sites much more efficiently. Wix Studio AI offers a range of powerful integrated tools that place efficiency at the heart of web creation. One of those is responsive AI, which lets you adjust sections to fit all screen sizes with the click of a button.
08. Make bulk content updates
Choosing a CMS that supports bulk content updates can vastly reduce the time you spend updating content-heavy websites. Leading CMSs like Wix Studio CMS let users update multiple collections and content simultaneously through features like dynamic pages, presets and templates.
Whether updating product information on eComm sites or modifying blog post metadata, make sure you’re letting the tech do the heavy lifting here.
09. Manage client sites on-the-go
Agency life is fast-paced, so you want to be able to manage client sites from any device at any time. Look for a platform that understands multi-website management doesn’t stop once you step away from a bigger screen.
The Wix Studio app is a centralized platform for site and project management, letting you preview a site's appearance, share progress with clients, manage chats and track site performance from anywhere.
10. Over-communicate with stakeholders
As Kristina Horan, founder of web design studio KHWD, told us in How to manage multiple clients (without losing your mind), overcommunication is key for keeping agency workflows efficient. She likes to check in weekly with clients to look at what's on the agenda and set expectations.
Similarly, DiGangi places great emphasis on team communication, and holds a weekly team-wide standup meeting where one person on each team shares its current project status.
“It gives everyone a chance to understand each other’s current workload and the project leads an opportunity to make requests from other members for support when needed,” he says. “We try to limit project-focused discussions to no more than 35 minutes, forcing the team to keep things succinct.”
11. Comment and collaborate directly on the designs
“I miss getting client site feedback through email”, said no one ever.
Luckily, leading platforms now let clients add comments, make revisions and collaborate right on the canvas. Not only does it minimize miscommunication and reduce the risk of losing valuable feedback in lengthy email threads, it allows for more immediate responses.
Wix Studio includes a full collaboration suite that gives users access to concurrent editing and on-canvas comments to get your team and clients working smoothly and in sync. Multiple designers, content editors and a developer can work simultaneously on a site at any given time.
12. Go advanced for enterprise clients
Just because you’re managing multiple websites doesn’t mean you’re working with multiple clients. Increasingly, larger companies are employing agencies to manage their web presence, which can span tens, hundreds or even thousands of sites.
For agencies serving enterprise clients or looking to get these big businesses on their books, make sure you’re working on an enterprise-focused platform, like Wix Studio for Enterprise, which is built to handle the complexities of managing numerous sites under one client account.
Sign up for Wix Studio and discover how to manage multiple websites efficiently.