Small Business Web Maintenance: Website Services

So you got a shiny new website for your small business. What happens next?

Building a website is just the first step in developing an online storefront for your business. And just like a physical store, things will break on your site, your business will outgrow it, and you'll need to refresh it to keep up with the times

Monthly website maintenance packages help small businesses keep their websites secure and updated, ensuring your site is always online, and reflecting the current priorities of your business.

The purpose of this guide is to explain the essential maintenance and improvements you’ll need to undertake for your website, as well as how to plan for and find cost-effective maintenance services to help you maintain your small business website.

What is Website Maintenance?

Definition and Importance

Website maintenance is the process of regularly updating and managing a website to ensure it remains secure, fast, user-friendly, and free from errors. This involves refreshing and optimizing content, ensuring features are functional, monitoring security settings, performing necessary software updates, and optimizing site speed. Regular website maintenance is essential for a small business to keep its website running smoothly and to prevent website health issues.

Website maintenance is important for several reasons:

• It ensures that the website is compliant with the latest technologies and security standards.
• It reduces downtime and improves website performance and page speed.
• It creates a secure environment for customers and helps to protect their data.
• It improves website traffic, user engagement, search engine optimization (SEO), and overall online presence.

By keeping your website up to date, you can provide a better user experience, protect your business from potential security threats, and maintain a strong online presence.

The Importance of Ongoing Website Maintenance

Keeping your website content fresh and relevant is critical to informing visitors about your services and giving them confidence in your business. It’s also essential to search engine optimization (SEO). Old and out-of-date websites are ranked below more current counterparts, so adding and updating content, whether new blog posts, news items, service pages, or whatever other content you can add to your site, is essential.

Often, when businesses start, their products or services evolve over time. Your website needs to grow with it, and ongoing site maintenance and support are critical to ensure your site reflects your latest services.

Security is another critical element of site maintenance. Regular maintenance helps prevent security breaches by ensuring that all software and plugins are up-to-date. Additionally, monitoring your website’s speed and performance can enhance user experience, reduce bounce rates, and increase visitors’ time on your site.

If you remember the Panama Papers fiasco, where papers were leaked exposing how a global network of influential individuals and corporations used offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca to hide wealth, evade taxes, and launder money, leading to widespread scrutiny and legal actions worldwide. Those papers leaked because Mossack Fonseca’s website had an outdated Wordpress plugin that allowed hackers to access sensitive information stored on their site.

Planning for Maintenance During the Initial Development

Read our article on finding Affordable Web Design

If you’re still in the market for a new website, planning for your maintenance needs can save you significant headaches. Considering a web maintenance package during the initial development phase ensures comprehensive upkeep, including updates, backups, and tech support. A few things to consider are:

• Does the developer offer ongoing maintenance as part of the package?
• Is this website platform a common one that will be easy to find developers to work on in the future?
• Will the developer provide documentation for future developers to make it easy to hand to them?
• Related to the above, are they developing the site using industry or platform standard methods, such as responsive design for mobile compatibility or clean code for easy debugging, to make future handoffs easy?

On the last point - something we always see when we take on project maintenance is a messy website that makes maintenance much trickier and more expensive for the client.

Read our article important questions when hiring a web developer

Benefits of Subscription-Based Website Maintenance Services

We strongly recommend utilizing a retainer service to maintain your website. These services ensure your site is always up to date, and you won’t wake up one day to your site being down or worse (i.e., hacked).

Hiring a website maintenance company for professional upkeep and security can alleviate stress and allow business owners to concentrate on other important tasks.

We offer this at Peak Digital Studio as part of all our website packages, so you get complete website design and development and ongoing maintenance for a set monthly price. We also offer standalone maintenance packages.

Convenience and Reliability

Subscription-based maintenance services offer the convenience of a dedicated team handling regular updates and monitoring. This can be as effective as having an in-house staff member dedicated to website maintenance, providing you with security and reliability without additional hires.

Cost-Effective

Comparing the costs of subscription services to hiring dedicated staff, you’ll find subscription services more cost-effective. They provide predictable monthly expenses, allowing you to budget more accurately and avoid unexpected repair costs from neglecting regular maintenance.

Comprehensive Coverage

Website maintenance packages typically offer comprehensive maintenance tasks, including routine backups, security checks, software updates, and performance monitoring. This ensures your website remains secure and runs smoothly, providing a good experience for your visitors.

Types of Website Maintenance Services

Essential Services

Essential website maintenance services are the backbone of keeping your site functional and secure. These include:

• Domain and Hosting Essentials: Timely domain renewals and effective hosting management are crucial. Ensuring optimal e-commerce functionality is also a key aspect.
• CMS and Plugin Updates: Regular updates for the website’s content management system, scripts, plugins, and other software components are necessary to keep everything running smoothly.
• Website Security: Adding firewalls, performing malware scans, and ensuring the domain has an SSL certificate are vital steps to protect your site.
• File Versioning and Backups: Regular backups stored off-site can save your business in case of a disaster.
• Uptime Management and Monitoring: Implementing preventative measures to maximize uptime and quickly address any threats ensures your site remains accessible.

These essential services form the foundation of a robust website maintenance strategy, ensuring your site remains secure and operational.

Advanced Services

Advanced website maintenance services take your site to the next level, ensuring it remains competitive and user-friendly. These include:

• Performance and Mobile Experience Optimization: Ensuring designs and features are always user-friendly and optimizing site speed for a seamless user experience.
• Accessibility Maintenance: Making sure all content is accessible on screen readers and other assistive technologies to cater to all users.
• Themes and Templates Optimization: Regularly checking for errors or bugs in themes and templates to maintain a polished appearance.
• Technical SEO: Optimizing 301 redirects, robots.txt files, canonical tags, meta tags, meta descriptions, and meta titles for each page on the site to improve search engine rankings.
• Keeping the Site Relevant with Google’s Updates: Staying updated with Google’s content update announcements and quickly ensuring the site meets new guidelines.

These advanced services can significantly enhance your website’s performance, ensuring it remains competitive in the online market. By investing in these services, you can provide a superior user experience and maintain a strong online presence.

DIY Maintenance Tips for Small Business Owners

Basic Updates

There are simple maintenance tasks that small business owners can handle internally. Regularly updating content and images and checking for broken links and outdated information can keep your site looking professional and relevant.

Using CMS Tools

Content Management Systems (CMS) like WordPress offer built-in tools and plugins that make maintenance easier. Leveraging these tools can help you perform essential updates without extensive technical knowledge.

Monitoring and Google Analytics

Keeping track of your website's performance and user behavior is crucial for making informed decisions. Tools like Google Analytics and Search Console provide valuable insights into how visitors interact with your site, allowing you to promptly identify and address any issues.

Conclusion

Maintaining your small business website is a continuous journey that ensures your online presence stays relevant, secure, and efficient. As we've discussed, regular updates to your content and services, robust security measures, and performance monitoring are essential aspects of this ongoing process. By planning for maintenance during your website's development and considering subscription-based services, you can achieve a reliable and cost-effective solution. Whether you handle basic tasks or enlist professional services, keeping your website in top shape will help your business thrive online. Happy maintaining!