If you have not looked at the dashboard of your WordPress website since it was launched then you are definitely missing out on the benefits of website maintenance.
When was the last time someone updated your website plugins and WordPress platform? Is the PHP up to date? How often does your website time out or lose its connection? Are there any other indications that your site is underperforming? How would you know?
Now is the time to take advantage of the benefits of website maintenance. Just like any software, websites require maintenance in order to keep the site working properly. Avoiding website maintenance pretty much like forgetting to change the oil regularly on your car. You wouldn’t drive your car very long if you didn’t look after its maintenance, would you? Well, the same process is true for your website. Your website should always be up and running optimally, ready for customers and presenting your business at its finest.
Websites Are Not a “Set and Forget”
If you don’t have website maintenance carried out monthly, you may actually be throwing money out the window. When visitors go to a website and find things wrong with it, they don’t stick around. Many website owners never check their website to see how it’s functioning. Missed website issues or downtime can lose you potential customers.
The Benefits of Website Maintenance
Many people are unaware of the benefits of site maintenance:
The website performance, its load time, downtime and uptime, is entirely dependent on the WordPress software and plugins all functioning as they should (and on the recent version).
The website growth, its fresh content, analytics monitoring, and design changes, depends on having someone make sure all updates to the website are done in a smooth and error-free fashion.
Maintenance Workflow
We take great care to backup the website first and check the website after our updates for any issues. Our software keeps a record of plugins we update so if there is ever an issue, we see what plugin version was changed and revert back. Also included in our monthly maintenance report are the performance and security scans. If in the event we ever catch a plugin issue, we address it before you ever know there’s a problem. Vision Marketing’s website care plans range from basic monthly maintenance to a monthly plan of strategic new content and incremental website design, however, each plan covers the basics of security and performance.
Dangers of Do It Yourself Maintenance
Maintaining your site yourself could cost you more than you may think. If you just update from your WordPress admin, you wouldn’t have a record of what was done. If an update to a plugin created an issue a couple of weeks later, it would be difficult to know what changed and how you should revert back without restoring a very old backup (and possibly losing content changes, sales orders, contact entries, you name it).
It Costs More to Fix Than to Maintain
Inexperience and neglect can damage the look and functionality of your website. When that happens, you have a choice to make. One, you can try to fix it yourself, in which case you may do further damage. Or two, you can then pay the (sometimes hefty) price for someone experienced to fix it. Just like your car, it costs more to fix it than it does to maintain it properly. Regular oil changes help keep your car running properly, regular site maintenance helps keeps your web site running properly.
Call in a Professional
Why not deal with what you know best and let us deal with what we know best? Would you try to fight that court battle without a lawyer? You might miss the many benefits of website maintenance if you’re not a web professional. By securing an experienced web professional to update and maintain your site properly you are actually saving potential lost sales and visitors.
If you’re interested in securing a website maintenance or website care contract for your web site, contact us to learn how we can keep your site in proper working order.
Want to learn more? Top 10 Reasons for Professional WordPress Website Maintenance