The majority of business owners understand the importance of having a website, but often they simply create a site, launch it, and never look at it again, ignoring website maintenance entirely.
If your site isn’t properly maintained, chances are you’re losing valuable clients or customers – and that is going to impact your business’ bottom line.
Creating a visually appealing, user-friendly, and responsive WordPress website is the first step for letting the world know your business exists. However, regular upkeep is essential if you want your business’ visibility to grow and flourish.
Here are our top reasons why WordPress maintenance is important for your business.
Security
Website Security is one of the primary reasons why Website Maintenance often makes news headlines. It doesn’t matter if your business’ website is on WordPress or some other platform, if it utilizes many plug-ins or not, or if you have an online store – hackers around the globe are always searching for a vulnerability and preventing security breaches before they happen is essential.
When your business uses WordPress or a similar Content Management System (CMS), it’s important to make sure that you are always running the most up-to-date version. This ensures that WordPress’ latest bug fixes and security patches are installed on your site.
Customer Experience
When customers encounter outdated information, this reflects poorly on your business and often results in a negative experience. Think about it this way, a customer discovers that you have a certain product, at a certain price, on your website and then visits your store to buy it in person.
Once they arrive, they discover that you don’t have that item, or that the price is very different – and all because you didn’t keep your website up-to-date. At that point you may have lost them as a customer!
If you contract for scheduled maintenance, you can be sure that the most current version of the site has been installed and is working properly. This will lead to a positive customer experience.
Search Engine Traffic and Rankings
You will drive traffic to your website and improve your search rankings when you add new content. Part of routine website maintenance is making sure that content is correct and up-to-date.
The more you update your WP website, the more search engines will raise your rankings. Conversely, search engines will reduce your rankings if your site is infrequently updated and they may even remove your website from its search results if they suspect it has been infected with malware.
If your business’ website is not mobile friendly, then your website may not be presented in search results when Google detects a person is searching from a mobile device. Losing rankings for any reason means a loss of business too.
Essential File Backup
One of the primary tasks of WordPress maintenance is backing up all of your website’s files. This can either be done manually or through automated services.
Backing up your files is important because the last thing you want to happen is to lose all of your website’s information. If this were to happen (due to a natural disaster or malware attack, for example) you would need to rebuild your entire website from square one – and that would cost significant time and money.
If your business’ website is a simple, informational one, backing up monthly is probably sufficient. However, if your website has more dynamic components such as an online store, or content and images that are constantly changing, then backing up more frequently may be critical.
Let WordPress Experts Help You!
At Abacus Web Services, we offer a range of professionally managed WordPress hosting and support services. Whether you are setting up a personal blog or running a complex eCommerce store, our various hosting support plans will keep your website up and running 24/7, stress-free.
To learn more about our website maintenance plans, contact us today!
