Your website is often the first impression potential customers have of your business. First impressions are important, which is why website maintenance is so important. Website maintenance services keep your site looking its best and functioning properly.
Here are 5 website maintenance services you may not have known you needed.
1. Regular Backups
Backing up your website regularly is crucial to keeping your site running in case something goes wrong. Website backups ensure that you can restore your site to a previous version if necessary. Backups should be done at least once a week, but more frequently is better.
2. Security Updates
Keeping your website secure is essential to protecting your business from hackers and cyber attacks. Website maintenance checklist that includes security updates for WordPress and other content management systems (CMS) should be installed as soon as they are available. CMS security plugins can help automate this process.
3. Plugin Updates
Plugin updates provide new features and security enhancements for your website. Like security updates, plugin updates should be installed as soon as they are available. Many WordPress plugins can be set to update automatically.
4. Theme Updates
Theme updates also provide new features and security enhancements for your website. As with plugin updates, theme updates should be installed as soon as they become available. WordPress themes can usually be set to update automatically as well.
5. Software Updates
Website software such as WordPress and Drupal need to be kept up-to-date for security reasons. Software updates should be installed as soon as they are released. WordPress can be set to update automatically, but Drupal must be updated manually.
How to Maintain Your Website and Keep it Running Smoothly
Whether you have a personal blog or a business website, it’s important to keep your site up-to-date and running smoothly. After all, a well-maintained website is a reflection of your brand and your commitment to delivering quality content to your visitors.
Fortunately, maintaining your website doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By following this simple checklist, you can ensure that your site stays in tip-top shape.
Check out the tips
1. Check for broken links.
Nothing frustrates visitors more than clicking on a link and being taken to an error page. Not only does this give them a bad user experience, but it also makes your site look unprofessional and neglected. Use a tool to check for broken links on your site so you can fix them before they cause any problems.
2. Update your content regularly.
Keeping your content fresh is essential to keeping people coming back to your site. If you have a blog, aim to post new articles at least once a week; if you don’t have a blog, make sure to update your homepage and other key pages with new information on a regular basis. Not only will this keep people engaged, but it will also help you attract new visitors through search engines.
3. Monitor your site’s performance.
Just like your car needs regular tune-ups to run properly, your website needs occasional maintenance to stay in good working order. Use tools like Google Analytics and Pingdom to keep an eye on things like page load times, uptime, and other key performance indicators. By monitoring your site’s performance, you can identify and fix any issues before they cause major problems.
4. Keep an eye on security threats.
Unfortunately, websites are often the target of hackers and other malicious individuals. That’s why it’s important to keep an eye out for security threats and take steps to protect your site accordingly. Install security plugins like Wordfence or Sucuri Security, back up your site regularly, and stay up-to-date on the latest security news so you can take action quickly if necessary.
Endnote
By following these simple tips, you can easily maintain your website and keep it running smoothly. Regularly checking for broken links, updating your content, monitoring your site’s performance, and staying aware of security threats will help you deliver a better experience for your visitors and keep your website looking its best.