How to Maintain a Website

In today’s digitally-focused world, your website is often the primary tool people use to learn about your business. And, what they see on your site will shape their opinion of your company. For example, a slow or outdated site will tell people that your business is outdated and behind in your industry. On the other hand, a fast and modern site will convince people that your business is equipped to deal with their needs.

As a result, your website is a critical element in your business’s ability to thrive. While a website redesign (or an entirely new website) might help you to attract more visitors in the short term, you must also keep your website successful over the long term through regular website maintenance. From updating your content to tracking your analytics, these activities ensure that your website is always up to date and running smoothly so you can keep attracting visitors. Following are a few of the steps involved in successful website maintenance:

Back up your site.

Hopefully, you have chosen a web host who is already backing up your website regularly. With that kind of support, you never have to worry about redesigning your site from scratch if your site crashes or gets hacked. However, even with a reliable web host handling things, you might still want to consider backing up your site separately. By doing so, you always have the most recent version of your site available, and you have a second option if a catastrophic event occurs that makes it impossible to recover your old site or the web host’s backup.

Update your content.

Fresh and relevant content is the key to a successful website. Not only does it provide visitors with a reason to return to your site, but it also builds brand awareness and trust, improves your SEO rankings, encourages conversions, and establishes thought leadership in your field. When you provide news articles, blogs, white papers, new product descriptions, and more throughout your site, you consistently demonstrate your ability to remain engaged and on top of both your business and your industry.

SEE ALSO: The Things You Probably Didn’t Know You Need to Fix On Your Website

Update your images.

Website trends change regularly. A cutting-edge website will eventually become an outdated website without regular changes to its images (and occasionally its layout). As a result, you will need to regularly update your images in order to keep your website fresh. You may need to hire (or purchase a maintenance package from) a custom web design company like WEBii that can keep your website up to date while maintaining your brand’s unique look and feel.

Check for broken links.

Internal and external links are both vital to the success of your website. Internal links allow visitors to move smoothly throughout your web pages, while external links boost your SEO performance and drive visitors to your site. However, links grow outdated and stop working eventually, and visitors who come across them suffer a negative perception of your site. As a result, your website maintenance efforts should include regularly checking for (and either eliminating or repairing) broken links.

Install software updates.

Any software you use will require regular updates. For example, if your custom web design is built on a WordPress platform, you will need to install security updates to the platform and any plug-ins you use whenever they become available. These updates improve the function of the software as well as plug security holes that could leave you vulnerable to hacking. While you may not have the time or expertise to keep on top of these updates, your web design company should be able to provide you with maintenance services that include software updates.

Track your analytics.

Your site analytics tell you quite a bit about how your site is performing. If you implement the right analytics, you can even determine the success of certain efforts, such as search engine marketing campaigns, sales, and so forth. However, these analytics can only help you to run a more efficient website if you stay on top of them. As a result, take the time to review your analytics (with the help of your web design company if necessary), and to respond to those analytics in order to maximize the effectiveness of your site.

Monitor your site’s downtime.

Downtime from a website can mean lost customers, who often abandon a website if they find it inaccessible. As a result, you may want to keep an eye on the amount of downtime your site experiences. There are a number of programs that will alert you to downtime on your site and allow you to quickly contact a professional web development company and get the site back up and running so you can continue to enjoy as many visitors as possible.

Stay on top of SEO.

Just as web design changes frequently, so does search engine optimization. If you want to maintain your rankings in the search results, you need to stay on top of the SEO on your site. This means tracking keyword usage, implementing SEO-optimized content, implementing the latest reliable SEO strategies, and more. Usually, doing so requires the assistance of SEO experts who have the time and know-how necessary to keep this important element of your website up to date.

Invest in professional support.

Many of these website maintenance activities are difficult to complete if you are already busy running other aspects of your organization. In addition, many of them require specific expertise (such as SEO expertise). As a result, the best way to maintain your website may be to invest in professional support. Whether this means hiring SEO experts to manage your website’s search engine optimization efforts, or purchasing a maintenance package to ensure that your site’s overall maintenance is cared for, this money can be a smart expenditure because it keeps your site at maximum function and profitability. Whatever you decide, however, make sure that your website is regularly maintained in order to earn the most visitors, and business, possible from your online presence.