How long should it take to resolve a website support request?

A successful business or service strives to offer their customers and clients reliable support services at all times.  Timely support is critical in the web design industry due to the time sensitive nature of website functionality.  So, how long should it take to resolve website support requests?

Support requests can be placed into three categories:  issues with a website not loading at all, issues with payment portals and forms not functioning correctly, and minor requests like changing text, images or links.  Each of these requests are important to a client but is there a standard turnaround time that should be met to resolve each type of request? 

When a client notifies a website support team that their website is “down” or “offline” this should alert the support team that the request needs to be investigated and resolved immediately.  There are many reasons that may cause a website not to load and the cause can usually be determined quickly.  The support technician’s goal is to minimize the amount of time the website is offline.  The longer a website is down the greater the chance the client will miss revenue, potential customers, and lose the confidence of current customers. 

The second category of client requests involves the functionality of payment portals and forms.  When a payment portal is not functioning the obvious result is a loss of revenue to the client.  These requests are critical for the support team to resolve in an expeditious manner similar to a website being offline.  When forms such as “contact us” or “schedule an appointment” are not functioning correctly a client is missing potential new customers or revenue from current customers.  These requests should be resolved quickly as well. 

The last request category a support technician may need to resolve is minor changes to a client’s website.   These changes might be something like rewording or adding text, removing or adding images, and deleting or adding links. While these changes may seem minor in nature they are still important to the client.  Any minor adjustments such as these should be completed within 24 hours after receiving the request.

It is fair to say that any time a client requests support from their web design company the issue is important to the continued success of their business or service.  While a support technician cannot put an exact time limit on how long a support request should take to resolve it is critical that the resolution is accurate and fast.  A website that is offline should be handled immediately and forms or payment portal issues should be resolved as soon as possible.  Less critical changes to text, images, or links should be made within 24 hours if at all possible.