Website maintenance is vital to website success. If you are planning on launching your own business website, be sure to include it in your checklist when planning for your site. However, you must also make sure that all technical updates have been done before adding or updating any content of the website. You do not want to lose valuable data just because of neglecting small details that will eventually lead to bigger problems.
Since your website is a reflection of your business, it’s important to maintain its appearance and performance regularly. A website maintenance checklist provides you with an organized way for keeping up with all that needs to be done. They will help you remember tasks such as updating content, fixing broken links, and creating new pages. Web 3.0 trends such as decentralization and tokenization are changing the way we think about website maintenance checklists.
So here are some things that you can do to ensure that your website is up-to-date and running smoothly:
1) Fix Broken Links And 404 Errors
When visitors click on links on your site, they expect them to work properly. Sometimes links break because of human error (you misspelled a word), or the link to nonexistent pages (those pesky typos again). By having search engine crawlers visit your website on a regular basis, you can find and fix these broken links before they cause any trouble. 404 errors can also be frustrating for visitors, so it’s important to take care of them as soon.
Broken links can cause frustration for website visitors who click on broken links in search results. The best way to avoid this issue is by regularly testing every link on your site to see if they’re all working properly. You might even find some new content that gives users what they’re looking for!
2) Check Your Site’s Load Speed
Loading time is an important factor in website usability. If your pages are taking too long to load, you may lose potential customers. Use online tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights or Pingdom Website Speed Test to check the loading time of your pages and see where you can make improvements.
As more and more people start spending their time online, it has become very important for websites to load in a timely manner. Slow loading times can lose customers and bring down traffic. Use tools like Google Analytics to check how fast each page loads on the site and make sure they meet your expectations before you go live with them. If you find that some pages take too long to load or even crawl, then aim to address these issues by testing both the server and hosting environments of your site. Contacting web hosting service providers is a good course of action if there are any other problems affecting your website’s speed performance.
3) Optimize The Site’s Database
When you go live with your new site, chances are you’ll have some sort of database working on the backend. If it’s not optimized, then you’re increasing load times on web pages and causing more strain on the server. Databases can be optimized in different ways to improve speed performance. Installing the proper plugins is a good place to start when optimizing databases; they also help ensure compatibility issues don’t arise between server software and plugins themselves.
Over time, your website will accumulate a lot of data – from posts and comments to user information, media files, etc. While you don’t need to clean out the database every single time your site is updated or maintained, it’s a good idea to run database optimization tools on the backend at least once every few months. This will keep your website running smoothly throughout its lifetime.
4) Test Your Site On Multiple Devices
When designing your website, always keep mobile users in mind. Your site might look great on desktop but what happens when someone visits from an iPhone? Look into responsive web design and test how your site looks on different devices – this way you won’t be caught off-guard by any negative reviews for not having a good mobile design.
It’s important for websites to work across all devices – desktop, laptop, tablet, and phone alike – so it would be wise to test your website across multiple platforms before launching the site into public access. It doesn’t hurt to run full diagnostics that test website functionality and compatibility with different browsers, either.
5) Test Your Website Forms
Have you ever filled out a form on a website, only to have it not work? This is a common problem and can be easily avoided by testing your forms. Make sure all the fields are working properly and that the submit button actually submits the form.
Forms are a necessary part of many websites; they allow site visitors to interact with the site or submit queries or requests. However, if these forms aren’t tested for compatibility and working order, it can lead to frustration on the part of the visitor and potential loss of business. To avoid this, be sure to thoroughly test all website forms before making the site live.
6) Make Technical Updates
Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) is a must for your computer to run a webserver. Furthermore, the signal strength of the internet should be good enough to make it work without any hiccups. If you are managing your website online through CMS (content management system) then you need not worry about power supply as it automatically detects system crashes and resumes work within a few seconds after reboot. But if you rely on a local server, UPS also uses several free software available on the net for dependable results such as Wake On LAN and remote shutdown utilities which manage your server remotely.
In order to run properly, your site needs to be updated. This is especially important for those websites where people expect the latest version of a product or service – that happens everywhere! The good news is that most companies offer free support and updates that come out periodically without additional costs for existing customers.
7) Freshen up Your Website Content
Your website can become outdated in just a matter of days, especially if you don’t post anything new or make use of social media tools like Twitter and Facebook. Update the information on every page (change text, images, etc.) at least once a year.
The web is ever-changing and so should your website! You don’t want to be caught with the same information on your site for years. It’s important to keep your pages updated with fresh, new content that will attract visitors and keep them coming back for more.
8) Update Plugins and Themes to Current Versions
Make sure that all necessary plugins and themes running on your site are updated to the latest versions. You can monitor this by keeping track of the number of updates received from respective plugin/theme developer websites or using reliable tools like WP-PluginManager and WP-Optimize.
According to many webmasters, It is always better to update your WordPress installation and plugins/themes with the latest versions which will not only boost your website performance but will also fix the most common bugs that may hamper site functionality or render the whole content useless.
9) Check For Spam Comments And Posts
Scan your website for spam comments and posts. Spam comments and posts can affect website ranking in search engines and as a result, your site visitors may drop significantly which in turn may hamper your business objectives in the long run. There are many spam cleaning plugins available such as WordPress Blackhole plugin, WP Spamshield, etc., to give you reliable results when it comes to removing spammy content from your website. You can also use online tools like WPRobot that offer you free service to check whether the comment is real or junk by using the Captcha system.
You should also check for spam comments and posts on your website that can be identified by mentioning words like viagra, click here, etc., as they are mostly used by spammers to gain more links. You need to delete those spammy comments as soon as possible as some of those might be from blacklisted websites which can generate a negative SEO impact on your blog or website. Hire an SEO company to help with website maintenance and improve your website’s ranking in search results.
10) Make Full Website Backups
Backup of restored files & databases will save you a lot of time required for re-uploading lost files or retransferring backup data. You can also go for a free online backup tool that lets you keep up to 25MB of data on their secure server.
Some things that you need to consider for website maintenance are not even related to your business. Some of these factors would involve natural disasters, hacking, and other internet-related problems that could affect the overall look and functionality of your site. Check if the website is mobile-friendly as part of the website maintenance checklist. The best way to prepare for this is by making full website backups (download all files including media) on a regular basis (at least once every month). On top of that make sure you save any custom changes or previous versions in case something goes wrong with the most recent backup copy.
Conclusion
Making updates is one thing, but maintaining your website is very important also especially if it’s an online store or e-commerce site. The good news is that there are tools you can use to help save time, energy, and resources when it comes to website maintenance which includes things like up-to-date WordPress plugins, helpful themes, and reliable hosting services.
By following these simple website maintenance tips, you can help ensure a glitch-free user experience for your visitors and keep your site running at its best.A web developer is an essential hire for any company that wants its own website. With Pixel Street- A Web Design Company in Kolkata, you won’t be disappointed with our services since we provide high-quality standards throughout every step of this project from the initial consultation all the way up until providing clients personalized websites at affordable prices!
