Get Your Project Started
Get Your Project Started

What Does Website Maintenance Consist Of?

A website is a not something that can be created and then left. It requires regular maintenance to keep it running smoothly and functioning correctly. The best websites are never finished; meaning new content needs adding and existing content should be reviewed to ensure it is still relevant.

Website maintenance, in simple terms, is the process of keeping your site functioning and up to date. Your website is very much like your car, without regular service and maintenance, it will begin to break down. The most important part of maintenance is that it fixes any security flaws, so if it is regularly carried out, your website should always be secure from hackers. By regular we don’t mean just once or twice a year, we are talking weekly and monthly monitoring and analysing. This will help keep the online image of your business/brand vibrant and your visitor experience at its best.

Most website design & development companies will also offer various levels of maintenance packages. The lower packages will include basic tasks such as keeping the framework/software and plugins updates, so any security failings are patched. Basic maintenance will also include regular backups of the site, ensuring there are no errors and that all areas of the website are fully functioning.

There are aspects of website maintenance that you or your team can easily carry out yourselves. A weekly or bi-weekly blog is a very simple but effective way to keep your website interesting and up to date. Similarly, reviewing the written content and images on your site is another way of ensuring your site is kept refreshed. Regularly re-examining your content will help find any grammar or spelling mistakes that you might have previously missed.

We've Made A List Of Some Of The Basic But Crucial Tasks & When These Should Be Performed:

  • Check all pages are loading without errors
  • Remove spam comments from blogs and posts
  • Ensure all forms and pop-ups are working (e.g. contact us form)
  • Check for broken links
  • Update software and plugins
  • Make sure your site is backed up
  • Write at least one blog post or article
  • Analyse all captured statistics from that month and make any necessary changes
  • Examine your blog posts to see if anything needs updating to ensure they are still relevant
  • Check the loading speed
  • Review security scans, ensure everything is tickety-boo
  • If your website is E-Commerce, place a test order.
  • Review the layout of your website and placement of call-actions – can these be improved?
  • Check your SEO campaign is on track and check meta data is still effective
  • Test your site for responsiveness – view and browse your site on different devices
  • Check images and graphics, do these require updating? Do you have images advertising a special offer that has since expired?
  • Ensure your site is displaying the correct year
  • Relook at each page content and check it is still applicable
  • Renew your hosting and maintenance packages and ensure your domain name is also renewed
  • Check your SSL Certificate is still valid
  • Review your website as a whole, does it need a design refresh? Most websites need design refresh or tweak every couple of years
  • Check your best performing blog articles and make sure for example that any statics stated are still correct.

Hopefully from this you can create your own checklist to make sure your website is ship shape at all times!

The above tasks are simply to give you an idea of what might be required for your website. However, the bigger your website the more maintenance it will require.

Why is it important to regularly refresh your website?

Regular health checks are so important for your website and organisation. Your website is likely to be the first point of contact that potential clients have with your brand; this applies to all business websites not just e-commerce sites. If your website has an outdated design or isnt functioning correctly this can negatively affect how potential clients view your organisation and brand. You would be surprised the number of times your quality of service will be judged by the quality of your website. Outdated content screams outdated business practises and will scare some visitors away.

Mission

Search engines like Google favour websites that are regularly updated not only with security measures but with new content to ensure the website is still relevant to users searching the internet. Website maintenance should be continual and regular. No maintenance is bad news for your website and your brand.

Let us take care of your website maintenance. We offer several plans at a low-price, as well as the option to customize those plans to suit your needs. Contact us to get started!

Pin It on Pinterest