STAY UP TO DATE WITH YOUR MAINTENANCE AND FUNCTIONALITY
Most of the technical information I discuss has to do with WordPress sites, but there are still some valuable tips you can use on other platforms.
Delete Unused Plug-ins and Media
Do you have plug-ins that you haven’t used on your site in years? If so, it’s time to delete them. Trying to keep plug-ins updated is challenging enough and an excess of plugins will slow down your site. Simplify your future maintenance by eliminating anything you’re not using.
The same goes for unused media files such as photos, downloads, PDFs, audio and video files that are located in your media library. If you were experimenting with adding images to your site, and ended up not using some of them, then it’s time to delete the unused files. Your site and users will thank you!
Check for updates
Make sure you’re using the current version of WordPress and from there make sure your theme and plug-in files are updated.
One morning a couple of years ago, I received a panicked phone call from a client freaking out that her website was redirecting to a Viagra site. #nightmare! After doing some investigating, an outdated plug-in had a security vulnerability that allowed a hacker access to her site. They luckily didn’t do much more than redirect the site, but it was not only a pain to clean up but an additional unexpected expense for my client’s business.
If you take away one thing from this post, it’s please keep your site updated!
Backup Backup Backup
Ok, I lied. If you take away one thing from this post, not only should you keep your site updated, but please make sure you’re backing up your site. There are so many great plug-ins for automating your backups, there’s no excuse for not having a copy of your site. I include storing a back up of my clients’ sites in all of my web design packages to give them peace of mind.
Here are my favorite plug-ins for site backups
How’s your Security?
WordPress is notorious for being a target of hackers. One of the best things you can do is keep your WordPress version current and all your plug-ins up to date.
Here are my favorite plug-ins for extra site security
Sucuri Security
Cerber Security
Evaluate Your Hosting
Cheaper isn’t always better. Sight running slow? Consider upgrading and invest in decent WordPress managed hosting. Hosting that specializes in WordPress will automate some of your updates, maintain a backup of your site, help your site run faster, and can provide assistance when things go wrong.
Two of my favorite hosts:
Test Your Site on Mobile Devices
The number of tablets and cell phones available today are impossible to keep up with. I design all of my client’s sites to be responsive which means they automatically adjust to fit the device they’re being displayed on. Sometimes issues can arise between WordPress and mobile OS updates. It’s a good idea to frequently view your site on a variety of devices to ensure they’re working correctly.
Test Your Links
Go through your site and test your links to make sure everything is directing to the correct page. Have limited time and a large site? Divide this task up, and check a few posts and pages a day. Work it into your schedule because your website is essential to your business’s success.
Test Your Contact Form
Contact forms…sigh….contact forms can be trouble. There are so many moving parts between your email service, your hosting service, and email plug-ins that sometimes a simple update can cause your form to no longer work correctly. I always like to include my client’s email address on the contact page in addition to a contact form in case there’s an obvious error.
Sometimes you won’t know your form isn’t working unless you test it.
EVALUATE YOUR CONTENT
With all the Spring cleaning enthusiasm, it’s time to dive into your goals and content. Don’t try to do this all at once, but instead, break this task up in into a few hours a week.
Is the purpose of your site clear?
Do you serve your clients with updated and useful content with calls to action? You have to inform your users, and then tell them what you want them to do. Encourage them to take action.
Are your colors and graphics consistent and on brand?
As your business evolves, you’ll probably notice that your brand visuals start to change. it’s time to go through your site and evaluate your graphics and colors to make sure they’re consistent with your branding.
How’s your content?
Are you updating your content and keeping things fresh? Will your users be greeted by new, helpful information or has it gone stale? Do a thorough content evaluation and analyze the direction your business is going.
SHOULD I OUTSOURCE MY WEBSITE MAINTENANCE?
Make time for these important tasks and evaluations
Running a business and a blog is hard work, but taking care of these important housekeeping tasks will go a long way into benefiting the business you’ve worked so hard to establish.
If you’re not comfortable doing any kind of tinkering with your updates, then please, please, PLEASE hire a professional to take care of maintenance. I’ve heard so many horror stories of websites that weren’t backed up, and a simple update really messed up their site. If your web designer offers a maintenance package, then I highly recommend investing in this service. You’ll save more money in the long run by avoiding having your site hacked or losing functionality.
This post does contain affiliate links. After all, a girl’s gotta eat! However, I never promote products I personally don’t use, and all opinions are my own.
