Website as a Service – what is that?

By  Helena Wennergren, Nick Hussey & Andrea Mogren

Do you need a website for your company but want to do without the hassle of long processes and without having to make decisions about technology like CMS and hosting. Do you want someone else just to do that for you - like a service that you can subscribe to?

Website as a Service (WaaS) is a way of managing a website, by subscribing to it as a service so technical updates are managed by someone else and as part of a package deal.

The concept Website as a Service is especially attractive for communications teams that;

• Have few resources
• Have many other tasks and responsibilities at hand
• Don’t have the relevant competences and skills in-house

Easy to get started with WaaS

WaaS is often a standardised solution, that is quick to get started with, and easy to buy with a low production cost and fast time to market. It is often possible to move your existing website – including content and design – into a WaaS platform very quickly, giving you access to all the benefits immediately.

A WaaS platform is based on generic requirements that all websites and companies need, for example:

• standardised functions like search and integrations with third party providers
• templates and functions for calendars,
• news listings
• analytics
• legal demands (e.g. the use of cookies and storing of personal information)
• security
• user friendly content management system (CMS)

Some providers also offer the possibility to implement custom design - not only adding your logo.

Continuous development of the website

By subscribing to the service, you decide the level of development on your site by the amount you’re paying every month. If you have moved an existing site to a WaaS platform, you might want to make bigger changes in the beginning when you see the possibilities that the platform offers. After a while you might be satisfied with fewer alterations, focusing on keeping the website up to date. There is always a basic monthly fee that you pay, to which you add a support and development agreement.

Making technology easy

One of the major reasons for choosing WaaS is that the provider will make sure that the website is up to date with ever changing technology such as browser updates, Google search updates and changes in technology standards (demise of Java, rise of HTML5, requirement for encrypted website using SSL and so on).

Hosting is also included in the service, so that you don’t have to worry about traffic numbers, harmful attacks and geographical distribution.

Another aspect that the provider should take care of is making sure that the website is legally compliant according to MAR and GDPR. WaaS provides the possibility to sort regulatory press releases, provides an archive for general meetings, handles cookie policies and, if using forms, makes sure that they are GDPR compliant.

More time and budget on content and communication

With WaaS you spend less of your budget on technology, so that you can use your budget for content and communication instead. Many WaaS solutions provide the option of page by page design, so that extra effort can be put on important pages, making them work really well for your stakeholders.

Faster time to market

By using a WaaS solution, the initial setup of the website should be quick thanks to standardised solutions. After that, you can decide how much time you want to spend on looking after it yourself, or whether it is done by your supplier.

Updates to the platform requested by other companies using the solution are often included in your solution, which means that you can decide to implement them at a lower cost than if requesting it on your own. Thus, more solutions will be made available to you.

Who is WaaS for?

WaaS is a good option for any company with limited resources, that wants to have a well-functioning website up and running without having to understand all the technical jargon. It is less relevant if your company has strong demands on specific suppliers for e.g. hosting.

At Comprend we have a dedicated team working with our own WaaS platform and services, helping clients to setup, maintain and develop their websites in a fast pace. Get in touch to learn more!