By Kirby Mack, Vice President of Digital Media at Simplicity Lone Beacon
Have you ever looked at the recommended maintenance or service schedule of your vehicle? We all know, or at least we should know, that we need to change the tires, the oil, and the battery regularly. But do you realize how much you should be doing to ensure a luxury vehicle performs at its most optimal?
Take for example the recommended Lexus maintenance schedule.
Source: www.lexus.com
The bullet points you see here are just for the 18-month/15k milestone. What happens if we don’t do this? The car starts to run slower; it starts to feel like there’s sludge in the engine, a tire pops, the battery dies, and eventually, your car ends up in the shop. And what you think you saved by skipping the routine “road testing” or “inspection of the axle shaft boots” you’ve just spent double to get your car back to where it once was.
Well, the same goes for your website. You’ve spent time, energy, and money ensuring that you have the most elegant, lead-capturing, eye-catching, top-performing website. Are you really OK with it falling into disarray?
Let me give you some quick industry facts:
- In 2022, WordPress alone put out 27 major updates. This year we are already at 15.
- The average WordPress site runs 20-30 plugins. Some heavier sites may run up to 50. With every update WordPress puts out, most plugins need to also update their code. That’s over 800 updates to your website in a year. Not including JavaScript, PHP, and more!
According to Kinsta, more than 500 WordPress websites are hacked every day. It means that in a week, +4,500 websites are hacked and exploited for the hacker’s personal needs.
That means for every update you don’t complete, you open your website up to a new vulnerability. The digital landscape is everchanging, faster now than ever, especially with the addition of AI. New trends, technologies, and updated codes shift the environment of web development yearly. Last year, it was quick scheduling software like Calendly. Another year can be marked by mobile responsiveness. Who knows what’s next?
I’ve spoken on the importance of maintenance and security in the past. Maintaining a website is crucial for several reasons, as it directly impacts the user experience, security, search engine rankings, and overall success of your online presence. Here are some key reasons you should have someone maintaining your website:
- User Experience: A well-maintained website provides a positive and seamless user experience. Regular updates and improvements ensure that visitors can easily navigate your site, access information, and accomplish their goals, leading to increased engagement and customer satisfaction.
- Content Freshness: Regularly updating your website with fresh and relevant content keeps visitors engaged and encourages them to return. Stale or outdated content can deter users and give the impression that your site is neglected.
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Search engines like Google reward websites that are updated frequently and provide valuable, up-to-date content. Regular maintenance, including adding new content, optimizing keywords, and fixing broken links, can improve your site’s visibility in search engine results pages.
- Security: Websites are vulnerable to security threats, including hacking attempts, malware, and data breaches. Regular maintenance involves applying security patches, updating software, and implementing security measures to safeguard your website and user data.
- Performance: Websites that load quickly and smoothly provide a better user experience. Regular maintenance includes optimizing images, scripts, and other elements that can impact page loading times, ensuring that your site performs well for all users.
- Compatibility: The internet landscape is constantly evolving, with new browsers, devices, and technologies emerging. Regular maintenance ensures that your website remains compatible with different browsers, devices, and screen sizes, offering a consistent experience to all users.
- Functionality: Over time, functionality issues can arise due to software updates, changes in coding standards, or external services becoming deprecated. Regular maintenance helps identify and resolve these issues, ensuring that all features on your website work as intended.
- Brand Reputation: A poorly maintained website can reflect negatively on your brand’s reputation. Visitors may associate a neglected website with a lack of professionalism or attention to detail, potentially impacting your credibility.
- Analytics and Monitoring: Regularly monitoring your website’s performance through analytics helps you understand user behavior, identify trends, and make informed decisions to enhance the user experience and achieve your goals.
- Legal and Compliance: Depending on your industry and location, there may be legal requirements and regulations related to website accessibility, privacy, and data protection. Regular maintenance helps ensure your website remains compliant with relevant laws and guidelines.
Without regular maintenance and paying attention to these items, the consequences can be substantial.
Recently, we off-boarded a client who was with us for years. And over the course of the 3+ year relationship, we regularly provided maintenance and security on their website. While with us, they never had a security breach or major outage. Two months after they left, their site was hacked with malicious code. It took 2 days to resolve. And at what cost?
In another recent off-board, one of our previous clients decided to go with a less attentive alternative. And within 30 days of leaving our services, their SEO fell immensely, in some cases resulting in almost a 500% drop. So much so that their website was literally removed from Google search results. Even searching directly for www.theircompanyname.com, would not turn a result for their site.
Here you will see substance dip in Google Ranking that has yet to recover.
He is a real representation of the Monthly Estimated Visits after a recent onboard. Resulting in almost a 500% drop.
I am not sharing with you these unfortunate events to brag. It’s not as if we are perfect; we have blemishes. I tell you all of this to stress the importance of website maintenance. A website is not a set-it-and-forget-it item. I say this all too often: It is a living, growing, important piece of your business model. So please, if not Simplicity Lone Beacon, at least have someone whom you hold to a high standard to ensure that everything from SEO to maintenance, performance, and compliance is updated and maintained so it can perform at its highest.
In summary, maintaining your website is not just about keeping it functional; it’s about creating a positive user experience, optimizing for search engines, securing your data, and maintaining your brand’s reputation. Regular updates and improvements are essential to staying competitive in the online landscape and achieving your business or personal objectives.
