When was the last time you updated your website? We don’t mean updating the content through blogs or other posts… We mean updating the internal structure of your site — including the site design, coding, and any integrated plug-ins.
In today’s world, it isn’t enough to just build a good website. Technology changes so rapidly, a site needs to be constantly updated in order to stay solid.
Reasons to Keep Your Site Up-to-Date
First off, updating your website is vital for security purposes. If you have data from your clients stored on your website, this material becomes easy prey for hackers if you don’t keep your website on par with the latest technology. Security is especially important to consider if you collect customer payments on your website, or if you store sensitive material such as client medical history or legal information.
Second, an up-to-date website increases your chances of ranking highly in search engines. When Google determines which sites to display for search results, its algorithm considers the frequency of maintenance and the technology behind every website. If your website layout aligns with the latest standards of optimization, Google will take note and favor your site above your less-savvy competitors.
Finally, it’s important to update your site for the sake of speed. An outdated website can result in slow loading times, which will cause some users to close the tab before even seeing your homepage. A slow site could be costing you more business than you realize.
Updating Plug-ins
Sometimes, we encounter clients who care for their websites by simply clicking “update” on their installed plug-ins. While updating plug-ins is one component of maintaining a website, it is not a good idea to update without considering the relationship between the plug-in in question, your other plug-ins, and the overall structure of your website.
Updating a plug-in will always improve the performance of that particular plug-in, but it can sometimes block the functionality of other aspects of your website. We’ve worked with clients who have updated a plug-in or updated WordPress, only to discover that their entire website has crashed as a result. It’s always possible to fix these problems…but in the meantime, prospects will have nowhere to go if they click on an ad campaign or want to learn more about your company.
Maintaining Your Site
So, how do you keep your website up to date and make sure that your updates won’t harm your site?
You could research website maintenance online and do it yourself…but you’ll have to be extremely careful in making sure that the information you read is current and relevant to your query.
You could train a member of your staff in website maintenance…but again, you’ll have to make sure that they understand the basics of web maintenance and the latest trends in optimization and compatibility.
On the other hand…
You could hire a team of experienced professionals to manage your updates, keep your site optimized to the latest standards, and check for security threats.
If this last option sounds good to you, then you might want to consider a Warranty Membership with Anchor Wave.
Our Warranty Membership includes:
- Routine security checks to ensure your site safety
- Web hosting in a healthy environment
- On-demand diagnosis for site issues
- Free quick fixes and yellow light resolutions
- Training by our expert team to help you understand the basics of content posting and management
- Special discounts on other services to help grow your site and your business
By choosing us to oversee your site maintenance and security, you can rest assured that your site will always be performing at its best. Discover what our Warranty Membership can do for you.
