Website maintenance options

WordPress Monthly Website Maintenance options – Why bother?

Regular WordPress Website maintenance means updating the WordPress website software and testing it, to ensure that your website is working properly. And to check that your website is getting found and that your contact forms are working properly. Most website owners do not understand the massive benefits of monthly or regular website maintenance, seeing it as just another ‘cost’. Usually, because it was never explained to them when they invested with a website designer. But engaging your professional WordPress website developer to update and maintain your website is critical to its performance and to ensure that it is delivering value for your business. You made an investment in your website, so do protect that investment, with some regular care. Much like you would service your car regularly and add fuel or oil etc.
It is critical to ensure that your potential clients can make contact with you.

Without regular website maintenance options – what happens?

If your WordPress website is not updated regularly, the software will become buggy, much like a car needs that regular servicing and fuel to run well, the website needs scheduled tasks done. The website also has plugins for contact forms or blog or galleries or SEO or shop etc, they need to be kept up to date too.  Your website hosting needs to be checked to see that there is no issue at server level, that the server software is up to date and that your hosting subscription is up to date. The website also needs server side software updates at your hosting level.
The same goes with your domain name www.example.ie – has it been renewed? Is it due for renewal? Both domain and hosting are usually billed on an annual basis. Are they actually in your own name and on your own credit card?
If either one is not renewed the website will disappear and your rankings will be badly affected. That can cause considerable damege to your credibility with Google. If you do not renew the domain name, someone else can buy it.
Apart from the software updates, plus domain name and hosting renewal, there are 404’s or broken links, image issues and navigation errors.

Doing monthly or regular maintenance includes checking for such broken links and repairing them immediately, to avoid any drop in your Google rankings.

Backups – Website maintenance options
Before any maintenance is done it is critical to do a complete backup of the website.
This allows you apply any updates, but have the security of having a complete backup, if something goes wrong. Keep a note of which updates you do, in case there is an issue or a conflict between any two of them.
You may have to restore the backup, if there is a conflict with the plugins after they have been updated. Sometimes the plugin developers lag behind WordPress when a WordPress platform update is released. It may take a few days or even weeks for the plugin developer to apply a fix or update their software. If you use a FREE plugin, then there is no onus on the developer to do any updates, which may mean you need to get a different plugin for that task. Which one you use depends on its reviews and feedback.
Having a backup means you cannot the whole website.

What tasks are done in a typical website maintenance options plan?

Just like updating your iPhone or iPad, regular website updates serve a number of different functions as listed below:

Create a backup – to have a clean, working version of the website in case you need to revert to it.
Update platform versions for WordPress – because these are always being updated which affects website performance
Fix security holes and check for attempted hacking, plug any holes – because people will always be trying to hack your website
Optimize the utilization of resources on the operating system – to make your site performs well
Add newer and more secure features – to keep the site up to date
Remove old and unprotected features – to avoid clutter or conflict or slow speed load
Update drivers to increase software efficiency – as these drivers are updated
Update versions for components such as Yoast, Widgetkit, Zoo or YooThemes and make sure they work together – or they may conflict and affect the look or performance of the website
Ensure the uptime of your website – to ensure that people can find the site 24/7/365
Check speed of website – to make sure that visitors get content quickly, before they move on to some other website
Check mobile or responsive view – to see that the website delivers on all mobile types
Keep a copy as a Backup in case the site goes down – so that you can put up a saved copy, if the site ever does get hacked
Submit updated Sitemaps to Google – to tell them about all your pages, so that they appear and get found
Check Calendar – to ensure that the date and time settings are correct
Train your in-house Marketer or Webmaster – to use optimisation tools and techniques
Run through an agreed Checklist – to see that all necessary tasks are done in a timely fashion
Create a Monthly Support Report – This is proof that the tasks have been done and gives great sense of security
Tip: Do little and do often – to avoid conflicts or large workloads. We recommend an hour or two monthly, you may need three if you find any issues at all.

Can you do these website maintenance options tasks yourself?

Yes and we provide an DIY check list HERE. (Bottom of page) So if you have or acquire the skill set and experience, you can do these tasks yourself. If you do these tasks yourself and the website breaks down somehow, you will need to get back to the professional again, to get it fixed, which may take time, as they do not know what you did.
Usually, they will firstly need to do an audit, to determine where the problem lies and how much time is involved in applying a fix. Getting the website fixed, could prove a lot more expensive than investing in low cost regular maintenance by a professional, who is familiar with the workings of your website and who brings value, just by doing these tasks.

Other benefits of monthly or regular website maintenance options

When you engage a professional web developer for a small fee to do all these tasks, you get the added benefit of having someone who knows your website, inside and out. That allows these guys advise you on new innovation and technology.
They can give you guidance on best practice, on security, on how to lay out pages or add video or simply keep up with changes on your behalf
You are getting the benefit of having a part time team member, with a specialty in web. How cool is that!
Plus! These guys can help ensure that your website performs well, lasts a long time, but crucially that it reflects your business well on the web and delivers a great return on your investment.

And they will send you a full report each time to tell you what they did, highlight any issues that were found and add any useful recommendations for you.

Having a website without a Support Plan of some sort is gambling with your investment and your business. Do the tasks or hire someone competent to take on that responsibility.

Do not think of it as a cost and start thinking about how a professional web design agency who can help generate the leads and sales that you want for your business.

Talk to us about what you need to ensure that your web presence works well for you.