Why Everybody Should Care About Website Maintenance
In the early days of the internet, website maintenance isn’t a concern. All you have to do is hire a web designer, pay them in thousands, and they deliver. The website sits on the internet and generates leads. During this period, websites requires zero or little attention to get into top shape at all times.
When carrying out maintenance, it’s usually to change wordings or update information on the website. Then, websites were not at risk as they were today. Of course, this was all in the past as thing has changed drastically now, and a website without a maintenance plan heads for the rocks.
Think of a website as a car; you need to do an oil change every three months or 3000km, whichever comes first. Aside from oil change, there are also other maintenance schedules your car will need to stay functional.
Just like your car, without schedules and regular maintenance, your website will wobble and struggle to achieve the goals for which you’ve created it. In this blog post, we’ll devote space and attention to why website maintenance should interest you;
1. Security
The number one problem of every website lies in its security. You’ll find yourself making the headlines (all for the wrong reasons) when your website security is breached.
Hackers globally are always lurking around a website, hoping to find a vulnerability to explore. They are only going to succeed if you fail in conducting regular and scheduled website maintenance.
Putting an eye on security when conducting website maintenance will save you resources, pain, and anguish. You cannot afford to put your business and your customers at risk by running on outdated software and security patches.
Imagine going to bed at night with your door unlocked. That’s a direct invitation for thieves into your home.
2. Customer Experience
Every interaction a customer has with your business matters. Right from their first visit to your website to speaking with your customer support team.
There are always new versions of web browsers on both desktop and mobile platforms. However, you are still stuck with website themes and templates made for a 2010 browser and device in 2020.
The implication is that your website may not function and display properly on the new browsers and devices. However, your website can deliver fresh, relevant and exciting information to your visitors with regular website maintenance scheduled.
Not forgetting that your links and forms will be working at their best. While you’ll have updated contact information through which you can be reached by a customer ready to take the interaction offline.
3. Search Engine Optimization
The cornerstone of any SEO strategy involves regular updates and maintenance of the website.
As part of your website maintenance routines, ensure that your contents are 100% correct and updated. You stand a chance of being ranked highly on search engines by paying prompt attention to updating your website.
On the other hand, search engines are liable to remove your website from being displayed on search results if it’s infrequently updated. One of the important ranking factors for search engines relies on optimization for mobile devices.
In this case, if it’s been a while you’ve carried out website maintenance, there’s a high likelihood that search engines have left you behind. When a user is looking for information from a mobile device, your website will be nowhere to be found.
4. Engage Current Customers
Obsessing over your current customers starts by delivering enormous value through your website. This starts by delivering value through your website all year round.
While there are myriad of ways to keep your customers engaged and excited, providing them with offers about your product and services has proven effective. This is best done through your website.
Update your website with interesting, exciting, and engaging content that keeps them coming back to your website for more. This could be by publishing content on your blog, publishing an online version of your newsletter, and letting your customers know that you care about them.
Final Thoughts on Website Maintenance
We believe we’ve made a sufficient argument about why you should take website maintenance seriously for your business. You’ve got to invest in website maintenance as much as you’ll take care of your automobiles. Never let it run out of fluids; else it’ll knock.
With regular and scheduled website maintenance, your website will attract fewer hackers and more customers.