Just like any operating system on your computer, websites are software that require maintenance for keeping your website working properly. Not performing regularly scheduled website maintenance is like not tuning up your car or skipping regular oil changes on your vehicle. You wouldn’t drive your car very long if you didn’t look after its maintenance, would you? Well, the same thing is true for your website. Your website should always be up an running, ready for customers and presenting your business at its finest.
Do you remember Ron Popeil and his marketing company, Ronco? He invented the Showtime Rotisserie and the coined phrase “Set it, and forget it! Well…
Websites Are Not a “Set and Forget” Kind of Thing
If you don’t have website maintenance performed on a regular basis, on a monthly basis at a minimum, you may actually be throwing money out the window. When visitors go to a website and find things wrong with it, they often don’t stick around. Many website owners never check their website to see how it’s functioning. Missed website issues or downtime can lose potential customers.
The Benefits of Maintenance
Many people don’t realize the benefits of site maintenance:
- The website performance
- It’s load time, downtime and uptime is all dependent on the WordPress software and plugin functioning as they should ( and on the recent version)
- The website growth, it’s fresh content, analytics monitoring and design changes is all dependent on you having someone making sure all updates to the website are done in a smooth and error-free fashion.
Maintenance Workflow
At Digital Maestro we take great care to first backup the website and check the website after our updates for any issues. We keep detailed records of plugins we update so if there is ever an issue we see what plugin version was changed and revert back. Also included in our service is a maintenance report are the performance and security scans. If in the event we ever catch a plugin issue, it becomes a support ticket and we address it before you ever know there’s a problem.
Dangers of Do It Yourself Maintenance
When you do the maintenance on your site yourself it could cost you more than you may think. If you just update from your WordPress admin, you wouldn’t have a record of what was done. If an update to a plugin created an issue a couple weeks later, it would be difficult to know what changed and how you should revert back without restoring a very old backup (and possibly losing content changes, sales orders, contact entries, you name it).
It Costs More to Fix Than to Maintain
Inexperience and neglect can damage the look and functionality of your website. When that happens, you have a choice to make. One, you try and fix it yourself, in which case you may do further damage. Or two, you can then pay the (sometimes hefty) price for someone experienced to fix it. Just like your car, it costs more to fix it than it does to maintain it properly. Regular oil changes help keep your car running properly, regular site maintenance helps keeps your website running properly.
Call in a Professional
Why not deal with what you know best and let us deal with what we know best? Would you try to fight that court battle without a lawyer? Then why try to maintain your own website if you’re not a web professional? By securing an experienced web professional to update and maintain your site properly you are actually saving potential lost sales and visitors.
If you’re interested in securing a maintenance contract for your website, contact us to learn how we can keep your site in proper working order. Simply fill out the form below and we will contact you!
wow, do I know about this! amateurs need not apply!!!!
You never know what will happen when you bring everything up to date! Be Careful out there, Lissa!
Absolutely correct. Although we do change our website on a biannual basis. Now, we are considering buying a new theme- but are scared s……s that it may upset what we already have. We’ll see.
Performing a redesign like that can always be a tricky scenario. Back up the site and recreate it in a different (development) environment so you don’t break the live site. Good Luck, Roy!
Good info here Paul! I never thought of website maintenance unless someone tells me there’s an issue. Guess I’ll have to start being proactive.
In some cases, it is like insurance. No one really wants it, until it is too late! Keep your site(s) up to date!
Well said Paul! There is many other key things to do beyond updating plugins and wordpress theme’s version in regards with website maintenance. Thanks for the reminder. Now I know where to go for expert advice and help! 🙂
Thanks, Janice! Doing the maintenance is typically an easy process. Well, easy until an update breaks the whole site. Always be careful!
I’ve had any number of terrible things happen to Website even when I thought it was being maintained properly. It’s way to technical for me so now I have a guy that I trust to do the maintenance. Right now the new website is under construction but it’s coming along and being backed up all the way.
Don’t ignore the current site while the new one is being built!
Thanks, Paul, for prompting all of us. Your post provided motivation and a great reminder to take care of things. And by the way, I don’t think I’ve heard the name Ron Popeil for a very long time – brought back memories.
LOL – I am not sure what Ron has been up to… I had the phrase in my head and it took a few seconds to remember his name. I remember his company name too – Ronco! Not everyone knew that was just Ron Co(mpany).
This is really valuable information. We get so caught up in the day to day of running a business and forget to maintain one of the most important vehicles for generating new business. Thank you for the knowledge and reminder Paul!
You are welcome, Cindy! So, did you back up your site?!?
This is an important topic .Website maintenance is crucial.
I completely agree, Amrita! Thanks
I think I commented in the wrong place. It’s ok, I was writing with my tail between my legs because I have broken some of your cardinal rules. My website is being redone completely, but the old one needs work while I’m in transition. I need to be more diligent. Thanks for reminding me what I need to do!
No worries! And, yes! Just because you may be redesigning a new site does not mean your current site can be ignored. Thanks for sharing, Fran!
A solid and clear read, thank our for sharing this to-the-point info. Very useful!
Thanks, Saskia!