Why do website companies such as WordPress, Shopify, and Wix make app updates or obsolete some of your beloved apps, and why do you need to ensure that you're using the most recent apps?
It's for several reasons, but security, searchability, and user experience are the most important.
The same is true for updating your website's look, feel, and layout. And for updating your website's media (content/copy, images, videos).
Website updates are essential for the overall health of your online presence. If your website faces a cyber-attack, your online presence is affected. Your online presence takes a hit if your website can't be found on page one of Google. And if your users have a bad experience while on your website, your online presence is affected.
What good is a website if its online presence is underperforming?
Website Maintenance & Updates Schedule:
Weekly Maintenance: Evaluate the performance of your website's users weekly.
Log into your Google Analytics account weekly to review your visitor count, bounce rate, and other critical metrics. This data shows how people use your website and what they like. You'll be able to find underperforming pages or regions of your website that need more attention. By understanding visitors by nation, search phrase, intent, and study subject, we'll be able to reveal your website visitors' interests.
From there, use this data to customize your content for visitors.
Monthly Maintenance: Evaluate the performance of your website's functionality each month.
Once a month, ensure all your website apps and plugins are up to date. Cyber attacks work by exploiting the most vulnerable parts of a website. Make a copy of your website. The more up-to-date your software is, the less vulnerable it will be to threats. If your website ever comes under attack from hackers, this will protect any sensitive data from being lost.
After that, check how well your site works across browsers and devices with Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool. After evaluating your site's performance, it will recommend enhancements to hasten loading times.
Lastly, updating your Google My Business and online Directory listings such as Amazon Alexia/Yelp/Yahoo, Bing/DuckDuckGo, social media channels, Yellow Pages, and hundreds of places your customers are looking is essential so your company can show updated information online.
Quarterly Maintenance: Evaluate the performance of your website's content every quarter.
Use predetermined measurements and KPIs such as search engine optimization (organic traffic and backlinks), user behavior (page views and bounce rate), engagement (likes, mentions, and shares), and sales (conversation rates and ROI).
Check to see if your blog entries are getting targeted traffic and their meta titles and descriptions are optimized to their fullest potential.
Review your content and see if anything needs to be changed or updated regarding topics or links. Maybe you need an FAQ or a "Did you know?/How To" post!
Update the keywords and phrases on the front and backend of your website and what's on your GMB and directory listings because staying relevant to Google's suggested keyword and phrase suggestions is very important! You may even write more copy should Google tell you that certain pages do not have enough words or relevant content. This process has a direct correlation with how well an organization does.
Next, ensure that your site's visual and textual content shows appropriately across all browsers and devices, make any necessary adjustments to the content, and test out any calls to action throughout your sites.
Yearly Maintenance: Evaluate the risks, opportunities, and benchmarks of your website yearly.
Towards the end of your fiscal year, go over your renewal dates for your domain name, hosting service, and any additional tools you use for website maintenance, like paid Analytics and keyword research tools.
Your goal is to ensure that your customers have the best possible experience they can when they visit your website. The only way to do this is to update the UX of the website yearly.
Update the navigation, visual design, content, and functionality. Your site's header, footer, and legal policy may require special attention.
Ensure all your information is up-to-date and that the main menu category reflects what's most relevant to your business.
Look for old logos and company images that may no longer serve your best interest. These updates will not only help your search engine rankings, but you'll also have a more up-to-date website!
After some time, a website redesign could benefit your site immensely.
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As you can see, maintenance updates have little to nothing to do with updating a website's hours, restaurant menus, newsletters, products, services, and the general idea of modernization of layout, look, and feel. It's all about metrics, communicating with bots, and keeping up with online presence best practices. It's about SEO (search engine optimization) and the health of your website.
If you're using a web host like WordPress, you'll need to run updates on the core software and plugins manually. On the other hand, most software updates will happen automatically if you're using a website builder like Editor X by Wix (which is what I use). Wix is great for this, but you still, from time to time, have to make sure that you're using the most appropriate software for your users' experience.
I offer maintenance packages to my clients. If you are not currently receiving this service, which would be itemized on your invoices, and you would like to receive this service, get with me!
It's one of the most important services I offer!
A. Honey Amanda Honeywell "A. Honey" Owner / Web Designer & Marketing Manager PO Box 112, Hillsdale, MI 49242
hillsdalewebdesign.com
