Website Maintenance…
Why to do it, when to do it
A website is similar to a vehicle – it needs regular maintenance to perform at its best. Since a website is a dynamic forum in which to present who you are and what you do or offer to all those potential customers out there you need to keep content fresh and the website functioning properly in order to keep interest in your business alive.
A website that is updated regularly with both fresh content and updated “looks” stands a much better chance of remaining competitive.
With standard websites that don’t have an admin login, content updating needs to be done by the webmaster. Usually sites that have this type of website design don’t need their content changed that often so the expense of website maintenance is small. Standard website are also based on HTML/PHP code and CSS style sheets. If the site was well constructed and up to standards from the start than very little maintenance needs to be done in the code. Occasionally a “style” facelift may be in order (optional) or the addition of another page or two as the business expands.
With standard websites using a admin software addition, the same guidelines as for a standard website apply with the exception of having the website developer occasionally go in and check through the page code to make sure the admin software isn’t cluttering up the pages with junk code.
For the full-on WordPress websites, regular maintenance is a must. Typically this means updating WordPress versions as new ones are released and updating plugins which can occur frequently depending on the number of plugins installed. Many people elect to have us do this task once a month because we do a database backup first, then methodically update each plugin or the WordPress version checking the front end of the site for glitches before moving on to the next update. However, we can teach the website owner how to do this process. There’s generally no maintenance for content as owners can do all of that themselves through the admin panel. Some owners experience an increase in their business due to better presentation online and because of time limitations, elect to have their website developer do content maintenance.
Whatever the need, Equine Online Design can help! Whether it’s website maintenance, graphic art needs, photo editing, copy editing, marketing or print material layout – we can work at our hourly rate of $45 and keep your online business up and running.