In today’s digital landscape, most business owners know that having a website is an absolute must. Companies spend thousands on new websites to articulate their branding & key messaging, and then spend more to drive relevant traffic & conversions through digital programs such as SEO, Google Ads and Paid Social.
These are important boxes to check for all companies in today’s online world, but often these companies will launch their websites and completely ignore the upkeep and maintenance that they require in order to function properly.
Website Maintenance is Essential to Business Success
Website maintenance is essential to ensure the integrity of your website. There are constant updates and changes to the world of web:
- Web Browser Updates
- CMS Updates (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, etc.)
- Third Party Plugin Updates
- Website Theme Updates
- Operating System Updates
If this isn’t reason enough to ask your digital agency about web maintenance, consider the below:
Website Maintenance is Important for Security
This is the number one reason why you should take web maintenance seriously. Most websites use a CMS system (Content Management System), such as WordPress, Drupal or Joomla. It is vital that these systems be updated on a regular basis, so you are using the most up to date version. Any bug fixes or security issues are addressed through these updates, mitigating vulnerabilities which should in turn ward off hackers. Hackers can take advantage of any weakness in a website’s outdated security patches and tend to go for the easier wins. If your website is not maintained on a regular basis, the chance of it being 100% secure is unlikely.
Website Maintenance is Important for your SEO Strategy
It’s no secret that Google is a well-oiled machine, providing their searchers only the best of the best when it comes to the world of web.
Part of routine website maintenance is making sure that content is correct and up to date. The more you update your website with content that is relevant and part of your overarching SEO strategy, the more chance your business has of increasing your rankings. Conversely, search engines can reduce your rankings if your site is infrequently updated and they may even remove your website from the search results if they suspect it has been infected with malware. Additionally, some search engines like Google are starting to selectively show search results based on the type of device a person is searching from.
Web Maintenance is Crucial for Optimal User Experience (UX)
If your website is not maintained on a monthly basis, you could leave your website open to responsiveness issues. Making sure your website is rendering correctly on mobile and different operating systems and browsers is crucial for an optimal user experience. Good user experience can significantly improve conversion rates on your website. This is also the case with paid campaigns – if you are driving users to a website with poor user experience, this will result in wasted clicks and media spend.
Web Maintenance is Important for Customer Interest
Your website should act as a resource to keep your current customers coming back. By routinely updating your website, you are providing your customer base the value that they require in order to take action. This can mean a wealth of things depending on your industry and service offering. For example, it could mean offering new sales and promotions to clients, it could mean offering blog content that provides value and insight that can improve your customers lives, or a newsletter that keeps your clients up to date on new products and services. Keeping customers top of mind shows that you care about them and want to provide the value they seek in a brand.
Website Maintenance is Important for Keeping Backups of Your Website’s Files
Backing up website files is part of what we do for our clients at Ontario SEO or can be done via your hosting provider. The last thing you want to happen is to lose all of your website’s information due to a server issue or malware attack. You can imagine the damage control that is needed if this happens to you, and it could end up costing you thousands to rebuild your website. Typically, monthly backups are sufficient, but depending on your website build and the components you are using, you may want to back up your website more frequently.
Website Maintenance – Why Aren’t You Doing it?
From keeping your website secure, down to the overall user experience on your website – web maintenance is the #1 thing you can do for your website and in turn, your business.
Website maintenance is not an add-on to your marketing, it is an essential investment that can be make or break your marketing campaigns and customer retention. At Ontario SEO, we offer website maintenance to all our clients that commence an SEO or Paid Advertising campaign as part of the project, or as a standalone to keep your website functioning properly.
