So, what’s website maintenance and why do we keep on hearing about it all time? Think of it like servicing your car –website maintenance is required to retain the value and performance of your website over time and if it’s not done on a regular basis (and by a professional), the risk of something going wrong increases and you could be up for costly repairs.
If you want to attract and retain visitors, maintain search engine rankings and showcase your products or services in their best light, a well-maintained website is crucial to ensure your business continues to run smoothly online.
Website Maintenance – What’s involved?
Website maintenance is best described as performing regular “health checks” on your website and many don’t realize the importance of enforcing this on a regular basis. While the most obvious risk is having your website hacked, there are other issues that could arise if you fail to, or even wait too long to action a website maintenance plan.
Security
The number one reason why website maintenance is so important is security! It’s critical to keep on top of all necessary updates, no matter how big or small your business might be. Leaving your website without regular maintenance makes it vulnerable to being hacked which can result in bitcoin ransom, loss of data, stolen bandwidth or spam campaigns and more.
If hackers get into your site, they can do all sorts of damage. Not just on a visual scale but damage to your business reputation and loss of trust from your visitors.
Whilst we can’t claim your site will never be targeted, committing to a website maintenance plan will ensure website security is at its optimal performance.
Updates
Most websites consist of a multitude of code and add-ons that all work together to provide functionality and give your visitors the best experience.
Add-ons are mostly created by third party developers that are continually making updates and improvements to ensure they are offering the best product. A poorly maintained website running on outdated systems creates website vulnerability.
Unfortunately, it’s a bit more complicated than just hitting the update button (if only it was!). If not performed using the correct procedure, running updates without experience could break your site and end up costing you more in repairs.
Backups
Committing to a website maintenance plan will ensure you have a regular backup system in place for your website. As part of our website maintenance service, we perform regular backups meaning your data will be safe.
Keeping regular backups on file means we’ve got a “plan B” should anything go wrong on your site. It’s a handy thing to have in case your website does get hacked or if you’re editing your site and make a change that breaks some functionality, this allows us the option to restore your website via the backup.
SEO
Did you know regular website maintenance can also boost your SEO strategy? Google will rank websites that are up-to-date and have the most relevant information. They may even ignore your website entirely if it hasn’t been updated recently enough or if they suspect it has been infected by malware.
And while we’re on the topic, it’s important to keep with current content, news, keywords, and articles in order to rank well in search results.
Testing (Load time, forms, links etc)
Once we’ve created a backup, run the required updates and resolved any issues, we take a good look over the site and test for any errors or functionality issues that may arise during the process.
Our routine examinations look at your website closely from the back end (the building blocks and functionality) to the front (what your visitors see). We check, test and fix any broken links, forms or page errors.
By committing to one of our website maintenance plan options listed below, you can rest assured knowing your website will continue to perform at optimum level allowing you to focus on other areas of growing your business.
Website Maintenance Plans
The more often your website is maintained and updated, the less likely these problems will arise. Do your website a favour and commit to a website maintenance plan today.
- Monthly: from $195 +GST (suitable for e-commerce and uptime critical websites)
- Quarterly: from $330 +GST (suitable for information sites that have a medium traffic load)
- Half yearly: from $577.50 +GST (suitable for low traffic websites that are basic in construction and functionality)
Our website maintenance plans are affordable and reliable with no lock in contracts. Have peace of mind knowing your website security, updates and backups are all taken care of.
Contact us today to get started.
