Maintaining your business website is among the last thing on your to-do list. So many other priorities take time away from those tasks that sit quietly in the background. It’s easy to put it off, especially if your website is hard to update, clunky to use, slow to load, or you just don’t know how to use it.
Your website should be easy to maintain and maybe even an enjoyable task to tackle.
So how can you easily maintain your business website?
Follow these tips and spend less time worrying about your website and more time getting back to other parts of your job.
10 Tips for Easy Website Maintenance
Maintain a Website Content Team
Do you still have all the players in place from when your B2B website design launched? Certain sections of your website might need more updates than others. Don't do it alone! Tap other people in your company to help keep your website content fresh. Assign them pages to review on the site, and ask them to schedule time in their calendar. Have clear roles set for who should update and create content, who has access to various parts of the site, who will publish, and how often content should be reviewed and updated.
Seek out someone who's knowledgeable to review and update content. Consider adding an end-user such as a trusted client or a family member or friend who can help do some Q/A to make sure that your content is clear.
Set Short-Term and Long-Term Goals
A website is not just an online brochure. It's a powerful tool to generate brand awareness and encourage more purchases of a product. Do you want to be a thought leader in your industry? Do you want higher keyword rankings and increased engagement? Your website is the way. Keep on top of your analytics to know what content is popular with your B2C website customers. Set goals and measure their results. (And then pat yourself on the back!)
Have a Schedule or a Routine for Making Changes
If you don’t do any of the others, do this. Refreshing content often (at least monthly) is critical if you want search engines to keep noticing your website. Does your website still include a bio from a former employee? Meeting minutes from 1994? The 2018 annual fundraiser? Defunct program descriptions? If you keep the website updated regularly, the task will take less time and will help you keep the site optimized for search engines. It also will make a website redesign faster when the website information is current and accurate.
Know Your Audience
Who is the website for? (Hint: it’s not for your CEO or your trustees). It’s for your target audience/customers. But who are they exactly? Take some time to draft buyer/user personas and then use those personas when you’re adding content. Write directly to those personas and show how you can solve their problems
Have Secure Hosting Services to Avoid Downtimes
Really want to worry? Turn on your computer one morning and find a hacker has hijacked your website or your hosting server has crashed and your website is gone. (We’ve seen it and fixed it for clients.) Be proactive and make sure your hosting services are secure – really secure – and that your server provider has a solid “uptime.”
Check Accessibility to Avoid a Lawsuit
You probably don’t have a clue if your website is accessible or not. But people with disabilities know if it’s working for them. Don’t wait for a lawsuit; keep the website in compliance with federal regulations.
Ask a web developer to check on your accessibility and make the fixes needed to keep it useful for people of all abilities.
Keep SEO Up-to-Date
Don't know SEO? Search engines are pretty smart these days, but there are things that digital marketers can do to get to the front of results - That's SEO. Make sure the technical aspects of your site are the best they can be. Check metadata and content for keywords and headers. Publicize your site and stay active on social media. Check your analytics to see what content is driving conversions and sales.
Check Your Site Speed
Ever get frustrated when a website won't load? Check your business website's site speed with Google's page speed checker or Google Search Console. If it's in the red, get professional help to improve the website's speed. It may only take a few developer hours to make a big difference.
Budget for a Website Facelift Every 3 years
Web design changes pretty fast. Studies show that website designs start showing their age after about 2½ years. Make website updates part of your annual marketing budget.
Websites “live” about as long as a panther chameleon (2-3 years)
Don’t Worry; Dream Big
Taking these into account will help you stress less about your website. That’ll give you time to instead dream about big marketing goals and how your website will be the crown jewel of your marketing program. Just think of the accolades you’ll get when your website brings in that jewel of a customer!