Congratulations your new website is finally launched! Surely all the hard work is done and it’s time to put your feet up and take it easy? Mmmmmmmmmmm nope!
To keep your site alive and dynamic there are some tasks you need to schedule on an ongoing basis.
Backup!!
I cannot add enough exclamation marks to this one simple word BACKUP. I find it incredible that the most basic of tasks to ensure your site is safe, is often forgotten about or low on the priority list of things to do by a lot of people. And the irony is that it takes just a few minutes each month. Most CMS’ have a backup plugin installed. With a few quick clicks, your backup is done and you’ve saved yourself from a potentially huge headache. And I mean migraine! If you’re updating your website frequently then you’ll need to back it up more than once a month.
Change passwords
We all know we should do it, but with so many online accounts and so many passwords we tend to keep to the same ones. So I’m putting my mum hat on now and telling you to go change your passwords – for your backend and also for your cPanel. How often you change it depends on how sensitive your site data is and how many people have access to the passwords. Choose what seems to make sense for you and schedule it.
Check broken links
While working and making changes to your site, it’s not uncommon for some links to break. As part of your routine ‘site heath check’ run a broken links checker to flush any out. There are many free checkers you can use online – here’s one.
Update plugins and versions
Again, as part of your routine site check-up, ensure you’ve updated any plugins you have running to the latest versions. Updating often gives you more secure versions, lets you take advantage of any new cool features, has fixed bugs, often improves speed and gives greater compatibility with new developments. Just keep in mind, some updates might cause issues – so back to my point above, make sure you’ve done a backup before you do any updates.
Keep adding unique content
Nothing looks worse than a site that hasn’t had anything new added to it for months. Google crawlers give priority ranking to pages with original content and every time you publish, Google gets a ping so it knows to browse and index your pages. I know, you’re busy getting on with business, but don’t forget you also have to work ‘on’ your business, not just ‘in’ your business. It can be a challenge to find time to post but regular updates gives your visitors more reasons to come back strengthening their loyalty and increasing conversion.
Social Media
There is no way to ignore it or not doing it. Promoting in social media channels is a MUST.
Depending on the product or service you sell, choose the best social platforms to promote your business. Upload frequently news and updates about your company, write blog articles and promote them on social media, introduce your team, show your daily routine, add tips, tutorials or anything else and remember; your followers chose to follow you, they want to see these kind of updates.
Search Engine Optimisation
This is another vital area of your website that with a few simple tricks, can earn you loads in ranking strength. But, this is an entire topic of its own, so read about it here
Doing these simple tasks as part of your weekly or monthly routine will help ensure your site stays current, relevant and fresh!