So you’ve spent a bunch of money, time and effort building your website. It’s optimized for SEO, you’re publishing new content on a regular basis, heck your even active on 3 major social networks. But now comes the time to perform some website updates.
As time goes by, there will likely be other changes you should plan for. There will also be unexpected factors that could affect your website too. A website is never truly complete. It’s a living, breathing, business generating asset that you should treat like anything in your business.
If you leave it alone for too long you could miss out on big opportunities and things can break down if not cared for.
Let’s talk about how you can make sure your website is given the TLC it deserves.
Platform & Plug-in Updates
Here at SLD we support a few different open source web platforms including WordPress & ExpressionEngine. Every so often updates are available for these platforms. They could include bug fixes, new features or enhancements, or security related updates.
It’s important to perform platform updates regularly otherwise you run the risk of having a vulnerable site that could be more prone to security breaches.
Your website typically runs with a few plug-ins or other add-on features. When the developers of these other assets update to stay in-line with your platform updates you also have to be aware that the two may not always be compatible.
We highly recommend having your developer or web team perform any of these updates so that if there are compatibility issues they don’t break your site.
If there are compatibility issues with plug-ins it’s important to wait on updating until the plug-in is updated to meet the needs of the platform.
Third Party Changes
Chances are you have a third party component to your website. It could be a social media plugin or something more complex like a form application that connects to SalesForce to capture leads. When updates are made and new features are added there is a chance that it might affect your website as well.
It’s good to be aware of all of the outside components on your site and keep a close eye on updates. I recommend signing up for those third party newsletters or making sure your developer received those notices as well if you aren’t the one performing maintenance.
Lately one of the bigger changes I’ve been seeing is third party applications and products becoming mobile or responsive friendly. It’s something to consider if you are thinking of building or moving to a responsive or other mobile solution. If the application you use for job applications or gathering customer data isn’t mobile friendly you may have to consider using something else or consider keeping a close eye on changes with that provider.
Even though many of these changes are out of your hands, it’s good to know what’s going on, especially when it can affect the experience your potential customers might have with your website.
Hosting & Server Changes
Sometimes the server you host your website on can affect some of the functionality of your website. For example, hosting companies often try and protect their customers from known vulnerabilities that may occur due to the platform your website is on. WordPress is one of the platforms that is often targeted due to it’s wide-use.
If there are reports of security breeches, hosting companies have the ability to disable certain features to protect their servers from being attacked. This is a bit more on the unlikely side of things to be concerned with, but it’s good to know that it is a possibility.
Adapting Content for Search Engine Changes
Getting into some more general maintenance tips…
Another item that is out of your control is search engine algorithm changes. After you spend time optimizing your site initially, Google goes and changes the way they analyze content. If your running an online only business, these changes can really set you back. More often than not, there is nothing you can do about it as they can happen anytime.
If you spend a lot of time focused on ranking for specific keywords (which many of us are) the tactics you use to do so will change over time.
Keeping an eye on blogs such as Matt Cutt’s Blog (Regular Google Updates) you can be more prepared to what direction you should take your content and SEO strategies. If you’ve hired a company to take care of these things for you, even better!
But it’s good to be informed that these changes do happen and that maintenance package you purchased really is worth while.
Evolving Your Website Based on User Feedback & Data
Assumptions are made about your users when initially designing your website. It’s not until your final product is out there that we can gather real data and feedback to deem those assumptions to be true. Chances are they aren’t. They may be close but how humans interact with just about everything can depending on many different factors.
As I mentioned earlier, your website is a living, breathing thing. It something that should change and be improved on as you learn more about how your users are interacting with your website.
It’s a mistake to think when you’ve launched your website you’re done. The competition is stiff out there in our mobile world.
Make sure to set aside the budget to keep your website updated. Like other expenses you incur for your business, your website should be a priority. Especially if it’s your main source of new business. There are so many great opportunities to be had online that can be missed if you aren’t managing your website properly.
