The bare necessities – Website maintenance

Although it may be surprising to some, a website is not built to simply be left standing alone in the digital world. Websites need ongoing maintenance, support and content changes in order to stay efficient and effective.

Here are the top 5 things that you should consider when it comes to website maintenance and upkeep:

• Security

  Website security is not guaranteed, and it is never a good idea to consider your data ‘untouchable’. Without regular maintenance your website and information could be vulnerable. If using a content management system such as WordPress, the easiest way to ensure your website is secure is to keep your platform updated. Ask your web designer to maintain your security plugins and platform, and make sure that regular back ups are run so that you can restore your data if your site is brought down.

 

• Plugins

  If your website has been built in a content management system such as WordPress, there is a good chance that a range of different plugins have been used in order to increase functionality within your site. Any easy way to understand Plugins is to consider them as lightbulbs: They are running when they’re needed, and work well for a period of time. However, if the lightbulb blows and is no longer able to work in the socket, you need to swap out the bulb and put a new version of the same product in its place.

  Just like a lightbulb, when the Plugin gets too old, you need to update it. Technology and platforms are under constant development – and plugins are developed in order to maintain compatibility. Maintaining and upgrading your Plugins on a regular basis ensures that your website is functioning as it should.

 

• Contact Forms

  Contact forms are an amazing way to gather data. They are fully customized to your site, and can gather a range of information including product, media, and investment enquiries, as well as a range of other important details. As a company grows, it is important to have these contact forms and contact details updated accordingly.

  Consider this from the perspective of a consumer – would you be accepting of not receiving a reply from a sales enquiry? I know that I wouldn’t, and as a result I would have no issues visiting a competitors site. Contact forms act as an important step for your customer service and client relationships. It is important that their information, email forwarding and auto-responses are kept up to date and relevant.

 

• Products and Changes

  As your company evolves and changes, so too must your website! Photos, graphics, content, team members and news items are important features that must be updated regularly in order to ensure that your website is up to date and relevant. This is even more important when considering ecommerce sites.

  Ecommerce changes in the most basic sense include updating product images, descriptions and prices. Whilst these changes are important, there are a range of other settings which, if not updated, could result in your company losing money. An example of this is shipping and handling. If shipping and handling companies change their prices, and your website is not updated, you run the risk of losing money with every product shipped.

  It is important that all aspects within your site are checked regularly to ensure they are correct and relevant. Updating photos, graphics, content and news allows your customer base to see you as a growing company. Your website should be a reflection of your company NOW – not what your company was three years ago.

 

• SEO

  Search Engine Optimisation takes into account many factors, however, a good way to support this practice is to regularly update your content.

  Consider SEO this way – the more relevant content that you have on your site, the more opportunities you have to be ‘trawled’ by Google. If you have the information users require you will be more likely to be visible on search engines.

  Keywords are crucial for effective content writing. These keywords relate to the industry or market that you are targeting, and are found throughout your links, content and as meta data on your images. Keyword research through a tool such as Google AdWords ensures that you are using keywords that are relevant for your target market. As industries change and evolve, so too do keywords. Keeping up to date with industry standards and trends means that you – and your content – can stay ahead of the game.

 Support and maintenance is crucial for the ongoing success of a website. It is important to remember that your website needs to grow as your company does, and that it should reflect the current state of the business through content, news and product updates. A good designer or agency should offer you these services as part of their support and maintenance packages, and if they don’t, make sure that you know what to ask for.