Most business owners understand the importance of having a responsive, functional website. But it’s not enough to just have a site – you need regular website maintenance to ensure it’s running at full capacity.
Properly maintaining your website helps to ensure site security, boosts returning traffic, increases the number of new visitors, and more.
What Is Website Maintenance?
Website maintenance is the process of regularly checking your website for issues and keeping it updated and relevant. You should perform these tasks at least once a month to keep your website running its best and encourage repeat traffic with a positive user experience. An updated and attractive website is also important for SEO and Google rankings.
No matter the size of your business, regular website maintenance is important. Small businesses often cut corners and let some of the tasks go, but that can quickly snowball and impact the health of your site.
Why Is Website Maintenance Important?
Many new businesses have a lot to juggle in their day-to-day operations, leaving little time for tedious tasks like website maintenance. For some, the website is a quick step to get up and running – they purchase a domain name, throw up a temporary site, and insist they’ll “get to it later.”
Then later never comes, and all the hard work to get the business going is lost on a poorly functioning website that drives customers away. Here’s why website maintenance is important:
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The purpose of starting a business is to have customers or clients. Driving traffic to the website is a huge aspect of client acquisition, but if the website has a poor user experience, customers are likely to leave and never return.
Google aims to rank websites with the most relevant and current information on the search engine results page. If you don’t update your site regularly, you could not only take a hit in rankings, but Google may de-index your site completely. You must keep up with topical content and relevant keywords to keep your ranking high.
Customer Attraction and Engagement
If your website is getting traction and traffic, it must deliver to keep those potential customers. If customers visit your site and find outdated information, low-quality content, or broken links and errors, they’re not likely to return. That’s also true if they struggle to navigate the site and find what they’re looking for.
Engagement and consistency are key here. Ensure your content is relevant and current, free from typos and grammatical errors, and organized intuitively to encourage customers to explore your site.
Brand Image and Trust
It’s becoming easier to launch a website and make it look professional. This also means that it’s getting harder to identify scam sites from legitimate, safe sites. Customers have expectations for how a site should look and be run by a professional company, and if you don’t deliver, they may seek solutions elsewhere.
Security
Website maintenance plays a big role in site security. If your website is storing customer information, this is even more important. You should regularly install software updates and security patches to shore up your security as much as possible. Otherwise, you could be an easy target for hackers and bad actors.
Efficiency
Websites are a big investment for your business, both in money and time. Keeping your website running smoothly is a good use of your resources and offers a business asset. If you neglect your website maintenance, it can cost you all that money and hard work.
Once you get too far behind on your website maintenance, the process of making it current is daunting. Sometimes, it’s best to scrap it all and start from scratch; no one wants to take on that burden. Keep up with your website’s maintenance and avoid the hassle.
Trends
Websites have trends like anything else. Customers expect a sleek, operational site that’s on trend, not an outdated site that looks like you haven’t been in business for years. Furthermore, customers want to work with a brand that looks like it invests in itself and doesn’t cut corners.
When you keep up with website maintenance, you’re also staying on top of the latest in website trends and technology. This will not only give the right impression to your customers but also keep the backend running smoothly.
DIY or Outsource Website Maintenance?
Website maintenance may be important, but that doesn’t make it any less time-consuming. Most small and medium businesses don’t have the time to keep up with website maintenance, and large businesses have a team to do the work.
If you want to take on the tasks yourself, more power to you! Of course, you need the time and know-how. Otherwise, you could be in a worse position than where you started.
Many businesses prefer to outsource website maintenance services to save time and hassle. There are many advantages, including having an expert team with the knowledge to handle these important maintenance tasks and get your website running its best.
Professionals also know what tasks must be performed and when to ensure that they cover all your bases. This frees your time to focus on the mission-critical tasks that only you can do.
Website maintenance from a professional agency costs money, but it’s the most cost-effective option. Your time is valuable, and you could be putting more important work back into your business instead of taking time to maintain your website.
Website Maintenance Services from Full Circle SEM
By now, you probably know if website maintenance is something you can take on, both in time and expertise. If you prefer outsourcing the work to a Fort Lauderdale internet marketing agency, Full Circle SEM has you covered. We create sites that represent your brand personality, optimized for SEO, user engagement, and conversions. We’ll help you keep your website looking and working its best, ensuring that you have the experience and organic reach your business needs to succeed. Contact us today to learn more!
