Website maintenance is important to all businesses no matter the size. Your website is both a local and worldwide view into your business and has a large impact on how the value of your services are perceived. Studies show that 48% of users say that if they arrive on a website that isn’t working well, they take it as an indication of the business simply not caring. ALL businesses need regular website maintenance to attract and retain customers, maintain search engine rankings, provide updated information, and keep up to date on website security. Website maintenance is also required to maintain the value of the website over time.
Customer Impact
A well-maintained website attracts new customers and keeps the interest level of existing customers. Your website is kept relevant by routinely refreshing the content and ensuring customer contact information is correct and in good working order. Routinely check that contact forms work, your address and phone number are updated, services and products are up to date and maintain the current and correct prices.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Website maintenance is critical to improve or maintain search engine rankings. Google loves fresh content. Content published recently gets a higher ranking, especially for topics that change frequently. Old content will die a slow death in the search engine rankings. Failing to make frequent modifications may cause your rankings to fall and cost you business over time.
Business Image and Brand
Your website is a reflection of your business image and brand. A poorly maintained website with outdated information, broken links, and dead pages projects a sloppy corporate image and can cause business decline over time. Routinely examine the look and feel of your website and update it to reflect your brand and image. Check and fix broken links, grammar and spelling mistakes, and outdated information. Fix them as soon as possible before your customer brings them to your attention.
Security Impact
Every business small and large has the potential to be attacked. 43 percent of cyber attacks target small business. You can read about how hackers TRIED to hack me and why website security matters here. It is important that your website is up to date on the backend with the most recent software and plugins. Routinely backing up and updating the plugins will decrease your risk of your website being hacked.
Considerations
Having a website maintenance plan is an important part of your business. A maintenance plan is valuable for customer retention, your business’s image and brand, to maintain search engine rankings, and to maintain your website’s security.
What do you think? Please comment below.
