Website Maintenance

The importance of updating your website

It’s important for you and your prospective clients that you are projecting the right messages and the most up-to-date information on your website at all times.

As business’s change, along with their products, services, staff locations, phone numbers and more, it’s critically important to thoroughly review and check your website regularly.

But just like we like to have a well-tuned vehicle, with regular servicing to avoid an untimely break down you shouldn’t ignore website maintenance.

Here are 4x key reasons why:

Website Security

Website hacking is an increasingly growing problem for both large and small websites. If your website is hacked this can cause significant issues for not just your business. Hackers, including automated bots, can identify and exploit weaknesses and bugs that lurk beneath the surface of your website including outdated software, plugins and security patches.

Bu ensuring your website has the latest software, plugins and security patches installed on your website, gives you peace of mind that your website, data and customers information is secure.

Visual Look and Functionality

This is very important, especially if you have an older website (even a couple of years in these rapidly changing technological times) could mean your website is old and outdated. In some case webpages, or specific functions may not display properly, or function correctly on new versions of certain web browsers and some mobile devices. This is bad and you can instantly lose business.

Ideally, you want your customers and new prospective customers having the best experience when they interact with your website. They want to see what’s new and up to date.

Old and outdated web design can make your business look cheap, old and ultimately untrustworthy.

Search Engine Traffic and SEO

Adding new content your website increases can help your ranking on search engines, and it pays to keep your site fresh and current for customers too.

Search Engine web crawlers or internet bots, such as Google spiders, are constantly crawling websites to see if they’re being ranked correctly. Ranking can directly affect your income. Content that is relevant, correct and up to date is a big positive and green tick for these web crawlers, so part of your ongoing website maintenance should be updating and posting new content, information and image to supplement and build on your older content.

This can mean, for example, Google recognises you have a solid, up to date website, meaning you can rank higher, potentially resulting in more clicks, customers and sales.

Customer Interest

Keeping your website up to date and exciting maintains customer interest. Fresh content and regular updates can do this. Have you introduced or deleted certain services or products? Have you any new projects to show off? Have any phone numbers or contact details changed? Are you now on Social Media and want to add a link to these sites?
Have you checked the contact form, is it going to the right person? Are there any ‘footer’ details that may need changing – Copyright, Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions etc.? The list goes on.

It may seem obvious, but remember your website is your shop-front online, 24 hours a day, 7-days a week, 365 days a year and ongoing web maintenance is an important part of running a business and reflecting the latest information to your prospective clients.

Investing in regular website maintenance is something that cannot be ignored, it may cost a little, but without it, it can cost you a lot more, and have a negative impact through lost opportunities, leads, headaches and sales.