You’ve just come off a website redesign. You love the new design, you think consumers will love it too, and now you can sit back and watch the leads and customers roll in.
Well, that’s not exactly true. Maintaining a website is often more than meets the eye. In fact, it’s much like having a housekeeping routine—taking preventative measures so everything is in working order, dusting and cleaning happen consistently, and the interior design changes as new items are added and old favorites are relocated.
Cleaning Out the Gutters
Updating the Backend
Just like you clean out the gutters on a regular basis, you should check your website for essential updates. If your website is a WordPress or other similar software, security and software updates are common. Stay current on these updates so your site isn’t vulnerable to attacks by hackers or spammers. Other sites have automatic updates, so be sure to check with your website provider or agency that created your site to know which type of site you have. Be aware of any themes or plugins that also need to be updated.
Read more on how to keep up with security updates here.
Sweeping Away the Cobwebs
Updating the Consumer-Facing
You wouldn’t want your house to collect dust, and neither should your website. It’s very tempting to have an out-of-sight, out-of-mind website. Resist that urge and keep your website up-to-date with correct information like store hours, staff profiles with current headshots, and images that reflect the current state of the business. Checking in on static web pages like the about us or contact page on a quarterly basis will easily keep your website fresh and current.
Checking Off the Weekly buy carisoprodol cod Chore List
Updating the Content
Chores often get a bad rap, but they help keep your house in working order. Where at home there’s someone to do the dishes or the laundry, when maintaining a website, there should be someone writing blog posts or creating other types of content like header images or downloadable offers. When implementing an inbound or content marketing strategy, keeping content on the site up-to-date and published consistently is a necessity. An integrated marketing plan will build credibility not only with consumers who already know who you are in the industry, but also credibility with search engines which will introduce new consumers to your company.
Rearranging the Furniture
Testing and Iterating
Sometimes your house needs a little freshening up, so you move furniture around to see if the flow of the room is improved. Experimenting with your website doesn’t have to mean a complete redesign. It can be as simple as changing the order of the items in the main navigation, or changing the color of a call-to-action button. Change one variable at a time, collect data, and compare on whether the newer version improved site visits, conversion rates, or other metrics. You might be surprised at how minor changes can make a major impact.
Developing a website maintenance routine will allow you to be confident that one of your company’s biggest assets is working hard. To keep up with website maintenance on a regular basis, download our Website Maintenance Checklist.
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When you need help with the housekeeping tasks, you hire a housekeeper whose expertise makes sure your house is in its best condition. Talk to us when you need help with maintaining your website.