A website is a one-time project. Design it, launch it, and you’re good to go! All the work is done…right?
In this article, we’ll dive into this common website belief and explore whether this is true or false.
Let’s Talk About It
Let’s say you’re starting a business. Naturally, you need a website where clients or customers can learn more about you and the services or products you offer. So, you build a WordPress website (or hire someone to do it for you) and launch it. Is the work over?
Well, not quite…
Here’s the thing – websites are like gardens. They need to be weeded, pruned, and cultivated. Gardens can’t just be left unattended and then expected to thrive and produce fruits and vegetables. Instead, they need to be maintained, or else it’s likely we’ll come back to a garden that’s overrun by weeds – or, at the very least, one that isn’t producing the results that it could.
The same applies to a website. Once you build and launch a website, it’s true that you’ve done the bulk of the work…yet, there’s still things that need to be done.
Tending to Your Website
So, what are these things? Here’s a quick list of some of the tasks that will likely come into play after your website is published for the world to see:
- Theme Updates
- PlugIn Updates
- Security Monitoring
- Website Backups
- Updating Content
Could we choose to ignore these items? Yes. Is it a good idea…not so much. Falling behind on theme and plugin updates can introduce security vulnerabilities on your website that could be exploited. Allowing content to become outdated can leave website visitors questioning if your website is still relevant, and if the services and products listed are still accurate (and even still being offered).
Just like a garden, regularly keeping on top of maintenance keeps things manageable, while falling behind causes the weeds (or tasks in the case of a website) to pile up.
What’s the Verdict?
While building and launching your website does account for a large chunk of work, we can’t just sit back and never touch the site again. Websites require regular maintenance, updates, etc. Updating themes and plugins, updating your website to reflect any updates to your brand assets, adding new customer testimonials, regularly running website backups…keeping up with all of these things improves your website, enhances the user experience, and in turn, strengthens your overall online presence.
And that’s a big win for any business.
Looking for more tips on how to enhance your online presence? Feel free to check out this article: The Power of Color and How it Impacts Branding.