It's no secret that keeping your website up-to-date is crucial to get organic traffic and sales conversions. However, many website owners mistakenly believe that monthly website maintenance packages are all they need to keep their website running smoothly.
But what if we told you it's not enough?
That's right—there are a number of critical tasks that you should include in your website maintenance plan but often aren't. In this blog post, we'll look at every little detail you shouldn't miss regarding your website's routine maintenance. We'll also share affordable website maintenance services to which you can't say no. Let's find out!
Why DIY Website Regular Maintenance Is NOT Recommended
It's tempting to study basic coding and do website maintenance to save money. But it's not worth it. Here's why.
- Waste of time. Unless you're prepared to dedicate a significant amount of time to these activities, it's better to let someone else handle it so you can focus on your core activities.
- More maintenance cost. If you don't have the right web development and SEO tools and resources, you could spend more money on website maintenance than you would if you hired a professional.
- Downgrade your own website. If you're not experienced in website maintenance, you could do more harm than good. For example, you might unintentionally delete necessary files or make changes that break your website.
- Not the same results. Professional website maintenance agencies have the tools and a dedicated team necessary to maintain your website. They also have a dedicated server and tech support. As a result, they can usually provide better results than someone working on their own.
Website Maintenance Pre-Checklist: What Type of Website Do You Have?
Before getting to what you need for web hosting and maintenance services, you need to take a quick refresher as to what type of website you have. What is the primary focus of these websites?
Ecommerce
With ecommerce sites, visuals and user interface are key. Your site's visitors should be able to peruse your web pages and easily find what they want. Plus, the checkout process needs to be quick and easy. If you can make the user experience smooth and seamless, you'll be more likely to convert sales to your online business.
The maintenance fees for this involve site security and technical support. Moreover, the website maintenance costs will depend on the size of your online store, ranging from $25 to $6,000 worth of maintenance services cost.
Marketing
Big or small business websites focus more on descriptive storytelling as product showcasing because they are marketing their brand rather than selling products online. This is where hiring SEO professionals play a crucial role. By incorporating the right words into your web content, you can help improve your search engine ranking and get more eyeballs on your business.
But it's not just about cramming in keywords. Your content should be engaging and well-written. Otherwise, potential clients will click away quickly. Aside from search engine optimization, you would need to set aside email marketing and technical maintenance services. In total, you'll be investing over $2,000 the most.
Blogs/Media Outlet
Maintenance costs for blogs are a mix of ecommerce and business sites. You need to ensure you're doing everything possible to optimize it for search engines and readers alike. That means not only using the right keywords and phrases but also making sure you have images to break blocks of text.
For personal blogs, you can create your custom web design with website builders like Wix or Squarespace. This will lessen your website maintenance cost to less than $25 a month.
Rundown of a Website Maintenance Package
Assuming you want to avail a website maintenance service for your website, you should get the most out of your chosen maintenance plans. You might want to make a monthly website maintenance checklist, but it should start with weekly website upkeep.
Weekly Maintenance
- Ranking in search engine results pages can mean the difference between getting high web traffic and being invisible, especially for small business websites. Keyword research is one, but it also involves website content, backlinks, and your overall online presence.
- After SERPs, you need to build on your keywords from your meta description down to your paragraphs. Your content should also be fully fleshed out with internal and outbound links.
- Broken links can be frustrating for users who click on them and expect to be taken to the information they're looking for. Not only that, but broken links can also hurt your search engine ranking because they signal to search engines that your website isn't well-maintained.
- Outdated software can be a security risk and cause compatibility issues, so updating your plugins and software should be done weekly.
Monthly Maintenance
- Slow-loading websites can cost your ecommerce businesses dearly in terms of website traffic and conversions. That's why it's important to test your site's loading speed on a regular basis and take steps to fix any issues as soon as possible, including optimizing images, minifying code, and using a content delivery network.
- Security checks could be anything from checking if your HTTP with SSL certification is still enabled to using CAPTCHA to sift strange site visitors. Depending on your CMS, you can also run some tests with a website security checker.
- Local SEO is a subset of SEO that specifically targets local search results. To do local SEO effectively, you need to understand how your target audience searches for businesses like yours in your area.
- Another is to make your content relevant so that your audience understands what your website is about. If you can brainstorm digital marketing strategies to suit your audience's needs, the better you'll rank on other search engines.
For example, if you are writing for an audience of stay-at-home moms, you might want to include more content about parenting, homemaking, and child-rearing.
Quarterly Maintenance
- Outdated graphics can make your site look unprofessional and turn potential customers away. On the other hand, fresh, modern graphics can give your site a cutting-edge look that will grab attention and help you improve your web design.
- Like any physical store, your website should be up 99% of the time. Otherwise, you should fix this with your web hosting provider. A website that is down can cost you visitors, customers, and sales.
- Broken contact forms, pop-ups, and other interactive elements can be a source of frustration for visitors if they don't work properly. Checking these UX elements will help ensure that your web visitors will have a good impression of using your website, thus compelling them to come back.
- If you're not making sure your website is mobile-friendly and responsive on popular devices, you're missing out on potential sales. That's because people often access the web through their phones and tablets, and if your site isn't optimized for mobile devices, they're likely to click away in frustration.
Yearly Maintenance
- Are you considering a web design update? Whether you're looking to refresh your current website or start from scratch, there are a few key things to keep in mind. A website would need additional expenses for web design costs.
- User testing is a yearly task that web hosting providers do. It allows you to see how real users interact with your website and can identify any areas that need improvement.
- Have you ever gone to your favorite website to find that it's no longer there? Chances are, the site's domain name has expired. Domain names must be renewed yearly, and if you forget to do so, you could lose your website.
- Your header is the first thing users will see at your site, so you want to ensure that it includes your latest contact information and links to your social media pages.
Your footer should also be up to date, with links to your privacy policy, terms and conditions, and copyright notice. So as the website owner, you should check and update it for changes.
Website Maintenance Services Worth Your Money
Just imagine doing all this technical support and maintenance for your business or personal website.
Fortunately, a web development agency can take care of the heavy lifting for you. Here at Mesmeric, you can get access to expert help with tasks like updates, security, backups, and more for website maintenance fees. Best of all, these web support and hosting services can scale with your needs, so you'll never have to worry about your website falling behind the times.If you're looking for peace of mind when it comes to your website, then trust your website maintenance with Mesmeric's dedicated team of UX/UX designers. Check our small business website maintenance services today!
