Are You Looking For Website Maintenance?

What Is Website Maintenance? #

Your website is the base of your business’s online presence. People visit it to find out about your company, get your contact information, and buy your products.

If your website isn’t working the right way or is out of date, you may lose out on important opportunities, such as new leads and sales.

First impression relates to web design and people may leave with a poor first impression of your business if your site isn’t modern and functional. Additionally, if you’re an ecommerce business and your ecommerce functionality goes wrong, people won’t be able to buy your products.

Regular Website Maintenance helps prevent these website issues.

What is Website Maintenance and Why is it Necessary? #

Having a website is not a set it and forget it enterprise.

Websites are built with an aim. That aim might be to sell a product, share information or provide a service. No matter what the aim of the website is, it needs to be maintained in order to achieve its goals.

In order to make sure that your website is hitting its aim, Website Maintenance is essential. Website Maintenance includes tasks like monitoring web traffic, updating content, and ensuring that the website is secure.

If you’re a small business owner, you know that maintaining a website is necessary for your success. But what is Website Maintenance, and why is it so important?

In this post, we’ll explore what Website Maintenance is, what it includes, and why it’s so essential for your business.

We’ll also cover the different types of Website Maintenance that need to be done on a regular basis and give you some tips on how to manage them.

What is Website Maintenance? #

Website Maintenance is the execution of tasks needed to keep your website functioning properly and up to date. It involves regularly checking your website for issues, correcting them, and making updates.

Why is a Website Maintenance plan crucial? #

1. First impressions #

Just as the expression goes, “You only have one chance to make a first impression,” businesses online can make or break a deal depending on the first look and feel of their website. If yours looks old or isn’t working as it should, you may possibly lose out on getting new leads within the first few seconds that matter.

First impressions are design related and using captivating and modern web design can help you convey the right message to new site visitors. It reassures them that they’ve found what they’re looking for and reinforces your site’s relevance, quality, trustworthiness and identity. As a result, searchers will find it in their interest to stay on your web page.

2. Business reputation #

Along the same line as first impressions, your business reputation is highly important in gaining customers’ trust. Some ways to uphold your online standing include having working links, adding a 404 page for broken ones, updating plugins, refreshing content and enduring to a recommended page load time of under two seconds are just ways to uphold your reputation online. You’ve got to make sure your website delivers on your company promise of quality, reliability and professionalism.

3. SEO strategy #

Paying attention to Website Maintenance is indispensable for your site’s SEO strategy. Consider this an opportunity to set up a routine process of monitoring and improving your website’s SEO, ranging from updating content to fixing broken site links.

SEO and Website Maintenance #

4. Sales #

Sales are the lifeline of any online store. More people buying from your eCommerce site translates to a flourishing and functioning business. To ensure keeping sales figures high, you’ll want to keep certain technical flaws treed which could discourage your customer’s shopping experience. Some common eCommerce site problems include bugs in product ordering, check out and payment processes, or failed discounts and free shipping due to an error.

5. Security #

A Website Maintenance plan aids in protecting your business from virtual threats. Regularly updating your security software and renewing your SSL certification help protect your site’s files. These are made up of sensitive information, such as passwords and customers’ private data—credit card numbers and banking details.

Developers who release these website updates are doing so to patch vulnerabilities they might have found. When you maintain your site’s security, it becomes harder for hackers to compromise your business and easier for customers to entrust their monetary assets to you.

Common Website Maintenance tasks #

Now that you’ve made your website and you know what to look out for when monitoring Website Maintenance for your business, you’ll need to create a list of tasks to work into your agenda.

Here are some examples of common Website Maintenance tasks:

Security updates #

Security updates should be applied as soon as they become available to ensure that the website remains protected against known vulnerabilities.

Backups #

There are two kinds of people: those who create backups and those who have never lost all their data. Regular backups are indispensable for protecting against data loss and should be performed regularly. The frequency of backups will depend on the frequency of content updates on the website. For example, if the website is updated on a daily basis, then daily backups are recommended.

Website performance tracking and optimization #

Website performance should be monitored on a regular basis to ensure the website is loading quickly and functioning properly. It may involve monitoring page load times and website uptime and introducing changes to the website to improve performance.

Content moderation #

It’s critical to keep the content on the website crisp and attractive for visitors. Web owners should add new pages, update existing pages, and add new blog posts or articles through their bloging platform. The frequency of content updates will depend on the nature of the website and its supposed purpose.

 

How often is Website Maintenance required? #

The frequency of Website Maintenance required depends on several factors, such as your site’s complexity and goal. However, it’s reasoned a good practice to regularly perform Website Maintenance tasks to ensure that the website functions properly.

Weekly Website Maintenance tasks #

You can do weekly Website Maintenance checks by logging in to your Analytics App to track traffic, thereby knowing your site’s performance and distinguishing areas of improvement.

Traffic-driven data, such as number of site visitors and bounce rate, can lead to making better decisions for your business.

Monthly Website Maintenance tasks #

Check that all your online platforms are secured, plugins are updated, and your website content is backed up. This will help you avoid losing any precious information and strengthen your site against cyberattacks.

Quarterly Website Maintenance tasks #

Review your website content based on defined goals and metrics, such as SEO (organic traffic and backlinks), user behavior (page views and bounce rate), engagement (likes, mentions and shares) and sales (conversation rates and ROI).

Some questions to ask yourself during this stage are, “Are all my meta titles and descriptions as SEO effective as possible?” “Is this blog post getting relevant traffic?” and “What can be updated in my content?” These are connected with performance. Then, proceed by tweaking your content, testing out calls-to-action across your pages and seeing whether your site’s content displays correctly on all types of browsers and devices.

Annual Website Maintenance tasks #

It’s that time of the year to go over renewal dates for your domain name, hosting service and any additional tools you use for Website Maintenance, like paid Analytics and keyword research tools.

Your site’s header, footer and legal policy might also require special attention by this point. Make sure all your information is up-to-date, and that main menu categories reflect what’s most relevant to your business. Look out for old logos and company images that may not serve your best interest anymore. After a period of time, a website redesign could benefit your site greatly.

Should I hire a professional or maintain a website on my own? #

Whether you should hire a professional or maintain a website on your own depends on various factors, including your technical skills (maintaining a website requires technical skills such as knowledge of HTML, CSS, and web hosting), the complexity of your website, your available time and your budget. If you have technical skills and experience with website development, you may be able to maintain your website on your own. However, if you are not familiar with website development or don’t have much time to give to maintaining your website, hiring a professional may be a better choice.

Why is a Website Maintenance plan crucial for your business? #

Here are some additional reasons.

1. The majority of customers conduct online research #

Before making a purchase online, majority of people conduct online research. People that are considering buying a product from you will likely end up on your website.

If your website gives them a negative impression of your company, they’ll likely continue their research on a competitor’s site, and you could miss out on a sale.

2. Your website informs users’ first impressions #

If your website doesn’t work properly or looks obsolete, customers will often click away. It will set a negative first impression of your business. If your website looks amateurish, customers may think that your business is, too.

3. Your website helps grow your sales #

Your website plays a critical role in leading users toward making a purchase. In the case of ecommerce sites, your site facilitates purchases. If your site doesn’t work properly, you’ll miss out on potential sales.

4. Site visitors value user experience #

Majority of consumers who have a poor user experience on a site will shop with a competitor instead. Regular Website Maintenance prevents these poor user experiences and encourages potential customers to stay on your site, increasing your chances of making a sale.

5. A Website Maintenance plan improves security #

Repairing the damage caused by cyberattacks is often costly, plus you may lose customers who no longer trust your company with their personal information.

Regular Website Maintenance helps protect your site from cyber threats by keeping your security systems up to date.

When you maintain your security protections, customers will feel more cozy buying on your site.

6. Website Maintenance supports your SEO strategy #

If users frequently leave your website shortly after arriving at it, search engines may view this as a sign that your site isn’t relevant. This increase in bounce rate can lead to lower rankings in search results, which means you’ll drive less traffic to your site.

Persistent technical issues, security issues, and noncurrent website design, structure, or content all contribute to decreasing your search engine rankings.

How much does Website Maintenance cost? #

Website Maintenance costs may vary depending on the type of site. Here are a few examples of potential Website Maintenance costs for various types of websites:

• A personal website will have low maintenance costs, typically from $5 to $25 per month
• Small business Website Maintenance may cost up to $100 per month
• A corporate website may have maintenance costs of $200 to $3500
• Ecommerce Website Maintenance costs may scope from $1500 to $2500

What does Website Maintenance include? #

So, how do you do Website Maintenance? Here are some of the most important tasks involved in Website Maintenance.

• Testing your whole website annually: Test your whole website at least once a year and after making updates. Check that all features work, look for broken links, and watch for outdated or incorrect information. Bring in someone not associated with your company to get a fresh perspective on your site’s usability.
• Testing browser compatibility: Test whether your website works correctly in several versions of mainstream browsers at least once a year.
• Testing your forms and checkout process quarterly: At least once a quarter, make sure all your forms and your checkout process are working properly.
• Checking for software updates monthly: Check for software updates from your hosting provider, security provider, and other third parties monthly. These updates help ensure proper functionality and security. Even better, install patches as they’re released, if possible.
• Backing up your website: Backing up your website can save you from losing a huge amount of time and money if something goes wrong with your site. If you have an automatic backup feature, check that it’s working each month. If you don’t have automatic backups, complete a manual backup at least once a month.
• Reviewing key metrics weekly: Review your website’s performance at least once a week. Check your key performance indicators and make sure your site is helping you meet your goals. If it’s not, make updates and check whether they improved your site’s performance the next time you review your key metrics.

This Website Maintenance services list includes the most essential Website Maintenance tasks, but it isn’t a across-the-board list of all the maintenance work you can complete.

You may choose to create a more extensive Website Maintenance plan or work with a professional Website Maintenance company to meet your goal.

Average costs of Website Maintenance services #

The average cost of Website Maintenance services can range from $70-$210 per month. However, the actual cost will depend on the size and complexity of your website, as well as the number of pages that need to be updated on a regular basis.

While you could technically handle Website Maintenance on your own, it is often best to hire a web developer to do it for you. This is because Website Maintenance can take long and be very technical, and it is easy to make mistakes that could end up costing you money in the end.

Website owners should calculate for Website Maintenance costs when they are planning their website development budget. By including Website Maintenance in your budget from the start, you can avoid any unforeseen costs down the road.

While Website Maintenance costs can amount over time, they are generally a small price to pay for the peace of mind that comes with knowing your website is always up-to-date and running smoothly.

How often should you do Website Maintenance? #

How often you need to do Website Maintenance depends on your website’s size and complexity and how often it is updated. In general, it is a good idea to do Website Maintenance at least once a month, but more frequently if possible. This will help to ensure that your website is always current and running smoothly.

Some of the tasks, such as uptime monitoring and security scanning, can be automated so that they are done on a regular basis. Yet, other tasks, such as website updates and performance monitoring, will need to be done manually.

Security, plugins, and theme updates can be set to auto updates on the content management system. If not, then webmasters should plan for these updates to keep the site secure. Regularly changing website content keeps it relevant, useful, and compelling to users. The webmaster should ensure that all website content is updated on a regular basis, at least monthly.

Creating and maintaining user accounts can be a time-consuming task, particularly if your website has a large number of users. It is often best to hire a professional to handle this task for you. Nevertheless, if you choose to do it yourself, make sure that you have a system for managing passwords and permissions.

Testing your website’s accessibility is important to ensure that everyone can use it. This includes people with disabilities, people using mobile devices, and people with slow internet connections. There are a number of free and paid tools that you can use to test your website’s accessibility.

You should monitor your website’s uptime on a regular basis to ensure that it is available when people try to access it. There are a number of free and paid tools that you can use for this purpose.

It is important to monitor your website’s SEO in order to ensure that it is visible in search engines. This includes tracking your website’s ranking, backlinks, and traffic. There are a number of free and paid tools that you can use for this purpose.

While it is possible to do Website Maintenance on your own, it is often best to hire a professional to do it for you. This is because Website Maintenance can be time-consuming and technical, and it is easy to make mistakes that could end up costing you money in the end.

Why is Website Maintenance necessary? #

Website Maintenance is important for a number of reasons, the most obvious being that it keeps your website functioning properly. However, there are other reasons to maintain your website on a regular basis, such as keeping your site looking fresh and updated, ensuring that visitors have a good experience when they visit and improving your SEO ranking.

 

Keeping your website maintained improves your business’s reputation, keeps your site secure, and helps you gain more leads and sales. While you can do Website Maintenance yourself, working with a professional Website Maintenance company can help you make sure you cover all of the tasks.

After reading through this brief Website Maintenance guide, explore our website to learn more about Website Maintenance topics.

We offer several Website Maintenance plans that will ensure your site stays up to date, functions correctly, and remains secure. You can find more details about our Website Maintenance services here.