We all know the importance of having an inviting and properly structured website, but simply having the site up and running is not enough. Performing regular website maintenance is crucial to ensuring your website is running at peak performance.
Just like cars, websites require maintenance. A properly maintained website ensures site security, increases the number of new visitors, boosts returning traffic, and much more.
The following are just some of the reasons why it’s important to properly maintain your website:
Improve Security
The internet is not a safe place. Similar to your computer or smartphone, keeping your website up-to-date with the latest software updates will keep the site more secure and running smoothly. It is crucial to update the WordPress core and all plugins on a regular basis since many updates include security patches. Failing to do so may give hackers the chance to damage or steal data from your website.
Boost Site Traffic
Search engines such as Google raise rankings for websites that are updated regularly. A higher ranking increases your site’s visibility, which increases the likelihood that your content will appear when your target audiences search for relevant keywords. Updating your site with valuable information, fixing broken links, removing duplicate pages, and keeping your content updated will help drive both new and returning visitors.
Optimize Visitor Experience
A well-maintained website helps promote your brand, work and mission. Optimized images will help your pages load faster. Any website errors or glitches need to be found and fixed quickly. Doing this regularly will provide your visitors with the best possible user experience.
Disaster Recovery
Do you have a disaster recovery plan in place if your site suddenly crashes or is hacked? A well thought out plan will include regular backups and steps to restore those files if a website needs to be recovered.
A quality security plugin must be active on the website at all times. The best of them provide a Web Application Firewall (WAF) that identifies and blocks malicious traffic. The software should also include a real-time scanner that checks core files, themes and plugins for malware, bad URLs, backdoors, SEO spam, malicious redirects and code injections.
In Summary
Trying to handle your own website maintenance is like trying to fix your own car. Some people are equipped to do it without any issues, but most are better off leaving it to professionals.
I offer a website maintenance and support subscription service called Total Site Management for a low monthly fee. The following is a list of services included with your Total Site Management subscription service:
- Regular Backups
- Timely Software Updates
- Real-time Site Malware Scans
- Google Analytics and Traffic Reporting
- Website Performance Monitoring
- Domain Email Management
- Disaster Recovery Services
- Troubleshooting and Advice
- Monthly Website Status Reports
Get in touch today if you would like me to manage your website for you. I’ll take care of your website maintenance so you don’t have to, and I will make sure your website continues to run smoothly, securely and worry free.
