In today’s digital age, the performance of your website is a part of your businesses success. Failing to deliver a fast, clean, and professional website is a great way to deter customers, and send them into the arms of your competitors.
This is why website maintenance is so important. Like anything else that we build, such as a house or car, things can go wrong over time. So, you need to perform regular checks and maintenance to ensure everything is in good working order. Believe it or not, you don’t need to be a web developer or an expert in code to get the information that you need.
Here are some simple tips for web maintenance to ensure your website stays in top shape!
Here are some numbers to put the importance of web speed into perspective. According to this article, 1 in 4 visitors would abandon a website that takes more than 4 seconds to load. Think about how quick that is – it really isn’t a lot of time.
If your site isn’t loading quick enough, you may be losing new and existing customers due to a high bounce rate. This has a further negative impact though, as a high bounce rate also affects your performance in search. If people are leaving your site quickly, this tells the engine that your content is irrelevant or unhelpful, which will harm your ranking.
Pinpointing the source can be tricky, so try to fix everything you can that may be leading to it.
When was the last time you added some new content? New content attracts new visitors, gives your more content for your social channels, and helps to keep your SEO score high. So if it’s been a while since you’ve added some new content, it may be time to do so!
You could do so with a new blog post, changing some images, or refreshing your copy.
This is important, but not as important as making sure your website is up to date. If things such as contact information, dates, or landing pages are out of date/incorrect, this can hurt the performance of your website and in turn, your business.
Remove any outdated pieces or content, or old landing pages, to make sure your users are getting the correct information. Outdated legal information and incorrect contact details can also be very detrimental.
Any marketers dream is that once you’ve achieved a great SEO, it stays that way forever. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Even if you haven’t noticed a dip in your traffic, it’s important to keep your SEO score as healthy as possible.
Doing an audit of your SEO will help you to better understand your site’s performance, including its speed, any errors, and how your website ranks against your competitors.
There are tools that will allow you to do this yourself, or you can get the help of an SEO expert or service.
A well-built website will be filled with backlinks, click-throughs, and call-to-action buttons. These all play a key role in increasing your conversions and improving your customer experience.
Check every link and button on your website to make sure that it is not only bug-free but that everything goes to where it is supposed to. Links that are broken will deter customers and also affect your SEO.
When looking for issues or problems, why not reach out to the people who are impacted by these problems?
Your customers are a great source of information, and they can help you to spot any problems you may have missed. This can be done with a quick feedback pop up box or a survey that is on your website or your email.
If you’re struggling to respond, you can always offer a thank you for feedback. This could be a small discount or entry into a prize draw.
Cyber security is an ongoing problem that can affect any website. Hackers don’t tend to pick and choose, they’re simply trying to get their hands on whatever they can. Regardless of how many security measures you put into place, it’s important to run regular checks for malware, bugs, and other compromises on your security. This is not only important for your business but your customer’s data too.
Be sure to remove any suspicious immediately, can consult a professional if you have any concerns.
Follow these steps and you’ll be able to keep your website performing at its peak! Your website is crucial for the success of your business, so make sure to keep everything running smoothly.
