Believe it or not, some businesses see websites as a passive income. Although this may be partly correct, there are still steps that you must take to be able to reap the benefits of your website. It may not be as intensive as when setting up your website, but it will definitely need time and effort.
Your WordPress management plan is dependent on how your business runs. It might be as easy as constantly updating your product descriptions, but it may also be as extensive as changing the layout in your platform.
Whatever it is, always keep in mind that building your site requires some follow-up to retain customers. Here are some of the benefits on why staying up-to-date on your WordPress website maintenance is vital.
1.) Website Maintenance Provides Better Security
It’s a known fact how cybercrime is so rampant nowadays. With more business entities maximizing the reach of the digital world, more and more criminals are taking advantage of the situation. Studies show that Cybercrime is expected to reach a cost of $6 trillion this year. This is backed up by data that proves that every 11 seconds, there’s a business, big or small, which is victimized by ransomware.
If you experience this unfortunate event, it’s more likely that you will lose customers. No, we’re not talking about the data that will disappear. Be concerned more with the fact that your consumers will have a low confidence level in you, making it difficult for them to trust you. The less secure your website is, the more damage your brand reputation will take.
Your WordPress management plan should involve regular security maintenance. This is the perfect time to address the small security threats you found in your code before they translate into something bigger. Otherwise, potential hackers may consider you as the perfect target since they recognize that you have not updated your website for quite a long time.
2.) Website Maintenance Allows You to Constantly Backup Data
Although hackers are on the top of the list of the primary causes of data loss, a close second here is malware. Malware, also known as malicious software, puts you at risk of starting again. You’ll build everything again from scratch, which is time-consuming, frustrating, and costly. It will also put your business on hold, putting a huge dent in both brand credibility and potential business profit.
Website maintenance enables you to have uptime monitoring and regular website data backup. This means that should it be compromised, it would be easier to handle it since all you have to do is restore it to the latest version of your site. The smaller the time difference is between the backup and malware experience, the fewer problems you’ll face.
Surprisingly, the most reliable business websites do 720 daily backups and uptime checks on average. This is paired with round-the-clock security to avoid any malware issues.
3.) Website Maintenance is an Opportunity to Fix Broken Links
User experience is a big factor for keeping customers coming back to you. If they can’t easily navigate your website, then they’ll most likely transfer to one of your competitors. Obviously, broken links make it harder for people to find what they’re looking for. And even if they do, there is also a chance that the page will be inaccessible. This is why broken links are a no-no to building a business.
At the same time, this problem also impacts your SEO ranking. Even if your content is good, if its placement in the search engine is not on the first page, then it doesn’t matter. You won’t be competitive with broken links.
You won’t encounter this problem with a good website management system and a consistent website maintenance schedule. You’ll have the chance to explore and inspect your pages regularly and fix broken links should you encounter them. Doing this will ensure happier and more satisfied customers in the long run.
4.) Website Maintenance Enables You to Keep up With The Trends
Keeping up with the trends is anchored between two features – the user experience (UX) design and SEO technicality. If these two aspects are not up-to-date, then you’ll fall behind.
Let’s talk about UX first. This is an important factor to your website visitors, and it can affect your visitors in one of two ways. It’s either you retain them or push them away. No one wants to deal with an outdated and slow website. It only makes your shopping experience frustrating. This will also eventually hurt the reputation of your business.
With website maintenance, you’ll be able to check regularly whether the layout of your website is currently acceptable. These days, customers aim to have a mobile-optimized, secure, and easy-to-use website. There are also emerging trends that might further improve their experiences, such as 3D imagery and micro-animations.
Additionally, this should be a great SEO strategy. After all, there are trends that you have to constantly monitor and apply to your website. One excellent example is the use of keywords. Remember, keywords require timing. The terms that are on the main search today won’t necessarily be the primary search next week. Keep in mind that you don’t have to create new content to cater to this necessarily. All you have to do is update your current content and apply the necessary edits based on the new trends.
