We at Emphasize create websites we want people to be proud of, and setting it all up takes a lot of thought, time and effort. The very worst thing you can do after revealing your new website to the world is to “set it and forget it”, so to speak. When it’s done, it still needs to be looked after carefully.
There’s more to maintaining your website than meets the eye. A website is very convenient for the user, but the owner and operator has to be consistently on top of software and plug-in updates, page builds, content revisions and cyber security modifications, while also combatting hackers at the same time. And in addition to keeping your site running smoothly and securely, regular website maintenance is key to keeping up with ever-changing search engine optimization (SEO) algorithms.
The work simply doesn’t end when your awesome new website goes live.
The Most Important Maintenance Items for Your Website
- Security – Building your reputation and building trust go hand-in-hand. Online, that means taking the necessary steps to ensure that your website, and the personal information of your customers, is secure. Even if you don’t have e-commerce incorporated in your site, security is critical. I’m always keeping an eye out for unusual activity, and should a problem arise I know how to react quickly so that damage is minimal.
- Performance – I build websites that are easy to use, easy to find, and responsive to mobile devices. Maintaining top-level performance requires updating plugins, themes, and occasionally the CMS itself. Sometimes, updating a plugin or theme can cause trouble with your CMS, and troubleshooting requires real expertise.
- Backups – The most successful business websites are always making adjustments, from small, technical updates that improve performance to sweeping visual redesigns. Making any type of change to your website without backing it up first can lead to lost data, and major headaches. The good news? Backing up your website regularly means that your site will be safe, even if an update causes unexpected difficulties.
- Content – From technical particulars to images and links, there will always be little details on your website that need to be updated to reflect the current state of your business. Resizing a photo to be uploaded, formatting page content and adding text are regular tasks for website owners. In addition to showing visitors that you care about providing up-to-date information and their experience using your site, keeping your content updated is critical to SEO success.
More on the CMS
WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world, and it’s what we use at Emphasize to build our clients’ websites. It’s versatile enough to host your personal blog, and powerful enough to accommodate massive brands like Best Buy, Xerox, and even MTV. But although it helps build beautiful websites, it can also be tricky to use and update. Although the Internet world has simplified tremendously over the years, a completely custom website like those I design for Emphasize can require expertise to maintain.
Monthly Website Maintenance Programs from Emphasize
Operating your small business requires your full attention, so let us maintain your website. Emphasize Design of Calgary offers a monthly maintenance program including automated backups, security maintenance and monitoring, unlimited content and image updating, blog support, theme and plugin updating and even insurance against damage caused by hackers. Let us take all of this off your mind so you can put all of your energy into your business.
Ready to learn more? Emphasize Design of Calgary covers all of your website design and marketing needs. Get started by learning more about how a good website will benefit your Calgary business.
