Managing Your Services

Why Managing Your Services Matters

Creating a service on Opengates is just the beginning. To maintain a steady flow of orders and grow your freelance business, you need to actively manage your services. This means keeping your descriptions accurate and up to date, monitoring how your services are performing, responding to orders promptly, and making adjustments based on client feedback and market trends.

This article covers everything you need to know about managing your existing services on Opengates, from making simple edits to understanding your service analytics.

Editing Your Services

Over time, you may need to update your services. Perhaps you want to adjust your prices, change your delivery times, add new portfolio samples, or refine your description based on client feedback. Opengates makes it easy to edit any aspect of your service at any time.

How to Edit a Service

1. Go to your Dashboard and click on "Services" in the navigation menu.
2. You will see a list of all your services. Find the service you want to edit.
3. Click on the service to open its details, then click the "Edit" button.
4. Make your changes to any field — title, description, packages, images, category, or tags.
5. Click "Save Changes" to update your service.

Your changes take effect immediately. Clients who visit your service listing after the update will see the new information.

What You Can Edit

• Title: Update your service title if you want to reposition your offering or improve clarity.
• Description: Add more detail, update your process, or refine your messaging based on what clients ask most often.
• Packages (Basic, Standard, Premium): Adjust prices, delivery times, or features. If you find that most clients are ordering the Basic package, consider making your Standard package more attractive to encourage upgrades.
• Images: Replace old images with newer, higher-quality portfolio samples. Your first image is your thumbnail, so make sure it is your strongest.
• Category and subcategory: If you realize your service is listed in the wrong category, change it to reach the right audience.
• Tags: Add new tags or remove irrelevant ones to improve your service's discoverability in search results.

Tips for Effective Edits

• Update regularly. Even if nothing major has changed, refreshing your description or adding new portfolio samples signals to the platform and to clients that you are active and engaged.
• Respond to patterns. If multiple clients ask the same question before ordering, add the answer to your description. This reduces friction and increases conversions.
• Adjust pricing strategically. If you are getting lots of orders, you might be priced too low. If orders have slowed down, consider whether your prices are competitive for your category.

Pausing and Activating Services

Sometimes you need to temporarily stop accepting orders for a service. Maybe you are going on vacation, you are overloaded with existing work, or you want to make significant changes to a service before accepting new orders. Instead of deleting the service, you can pause it.

How to Pause a Service

1. Go to "Services" in your dashboard.
2. Find the service you want to pause.
3. Click the options menu (three dots or gear icon) next to the service.
4. Select "Pause" from the dropdown menu.

When a service is paused:

• It is no longer visible to clients in search results or category listings.
• Existing orders are not affected. Any orders that were placed before you paused the service will continue as normal, and you are still expected to deliver them on time.
• You can reactivate the service at any time.

How to Reactivate a Service

1. Go to "Services" in your dashboard.
2. Paused services will be marked with a "Paused" badge or appear in a separate section.
3. Click on the paused service and select "Activate" or "Unpause."

The service will immediately become visible to clients again.

When to Pause vs. Delete

• Pause when the break is temporary. Your service listing, reviews, and order history are preserved.
• Delete only when you are certain you no longer want to offer that service at all. Deleting a service is permanent, and you will lose any reviews and order history associated with it.

Viewing Service Analytics

Opengates provides analytics for each of your services so you can understand how they are performing and where there is room for improvement.

Accessing Analytics

1. Go to "Services" in your dashboard.
2. Click on the service you want to analyze.
3. Look for the "Analytics" tab or section within the service details page.

Key Metrics You Can Track

• Impressions: How many times your service appeared in search results or category listings. High impressions mean your service is visible, but if impressions are high and clicks are low, your title or thumbnail image may need improvement.
• Clicks: How many times clients clicked on your service listing to view the details. A healthy click-through rate means your title, price, and thumbnail are attracting attention.
• Orders: How many orders have been placed for this service. Track orders over time to see trends.
• Conversion rate: The percentage of clicks that resulted in orders. If your conversion rate is low, your description, packages, or portfolio may need work.
• Revenue: The total amount earned from this service. This helps you identify your most profitable offerings.
• Average rating: The average star rating from client reviews on this service. High ratings increase your visibility and trustworthiness.

Using Analytics to Improve

• Low impressions? Your category or tags might be wrong, or the market for your type of service might be small. Try adjusting your tags or optimizing your title with more searchable terms.
• High impressions but low clicks? Your thumbnail image or title might not be compelling enough. Try updating them.
• High clicks but low orders? Your description or pricing might be turning clients away. Review your packages and make sure your description clearly communicates the value.
• Low ratings? Read your reviews carefully to understand what clients are unhappy about and address those issues.

Responding to Orders

When a client places an order on one of your services, you receive a notification. How quickly and professionally you respond has a significant impact on the client's experience and your ratings.

What to Do When You Receive an Order

1. Review the order details. Check which package the client ordered, what they are expecting, and any additional instructions or requirements they provided.
2. Send an initial message. Within a few hours of receiving the order, send the client a message confirming that you have received the order, that you understand their requirements, and that you are starting work. If you need any clarification, ask your questions now rather than guessing.
3. Start working. Begin the work promptly to ensure you can deliver within the agreed delivery time.
4. Provide updates. For longer projects, send the client periodic updates on your progress. This builds trust and keeps the client informed.
5. Deliver on time. Submit your deliverables through the platform before the deadline. Early delivery is always appreciated.

Handling Multiple Orders

If you receive multiple orders at once, manage your time carefully. Consider:

• Prioritizing orders by delivery deadline.
• Communicating with clients if you need a few extra hours.
• Pausing your service temporarily if you are too busy to accept new orders.

Never accept more work than you can handle. Late deliveries and rushed work lead to poor reviews, which hurt your ability to attract future clients.

Handling Revision Requests

After you submit your deliverables, the client has the option to request revisions. This is a normal part of the freelancing process, and handling revisions professionally is important for earning positive reviews.

Understanding Revisions

Each of your service packages specifies how many revisions are included. For example:

• Basic: 1 revision
• Standard: 3 revisions
• Premium: Unlimited revisions

A revision is a request from the client to change or adjust the work you delivered. The client should explain what they want changed, and you make the adjustments and resubmit.

Best Practices for Revisions

• Read the revision request carefully. Make sure you understand exactly what the client wants before making changes.
• Do not take it personally. Revisions are a normal part of creative and professional work. They do not mean your work was bad — they mean the client has specific preferences.
• Respond promptly. Just like with the initial delivery, fast turnaround on revisions impresses clients.
• Stay within scope. If the client asks for changes that go beyond what was included in the package they ordered (for example, asking for a completely new design when they ordered a single revision), politely let them know and suggest upgrading to a higher tier or placing a new order.

Deleting a Service

If you no longer want to offer a service, you can delete it permanently.

How to Delete a Service

1. Go to "Services" in your dashboard.
2. Find the service you want to delete.
3. Click the options menu and select "Delete."
4. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

Important Warnings

• Deletion is permanent. Once you delete a service, it cannot be recovered.
• Reviews are lost. All reviews and ratings associated with the deleted service will no longer appear on your profile.
• Active orders persist. If there are active orders for the service, you are still required to complete them even after deleting the service listing. The deletion only prevents new orders from being placed.

Before deleting, consider whether pausing the service might be a better option.

Still need help? Contact our support team and we'll be happy to assist you.