You have spent literally months pouring over content, reviewing your website, and then reviewing it again. Finally, your new website is done! You think you can finally put this to rest and get on with other things. Wrong! A website is a living, breathing thing that needs to be tended to on a regular basis.
Like your car, a website will depreciate, possibly breakdown, and as design trends change, your website will start to look outdated. Waiting until something happens will not only cost you more money in the long run, but you could lose valuable online time as your website’s issues are being fixed. Below are six reasons why it’s important to consider a web maintenance agreement:
- Upgrades to Software- Any upgrades to the following could break or at the very least affect the way your site looks or even the way it functions:
- Browsers
- Security
- PHP
- Server
- Javascript
I have seen the main functionality on a site stop just because of one outdated jQuery file. A web developer will save time by updating software as it becomes available, instead of expensive and time-consuming troubleshooting.
- Security Updates- This very important issue is a never-ending task. An ignored security vulnerability will most likely lead to your site being hacked. This will also cost more than a maintenance agreement, as it can take a developer far longer to clean out all your site’s files than to fix the vulnerability. The main reasons for security updates are:
- Exploits in server software
- Server-side language (PHP, node)
- Frameworks (WordPress, Magento)
- Your operating system (Windows, Linux)
- Site Speed- As your site ages, so does your software, which will affect site speed. Your visitors will not wait around for a slow website. This could become expensive because of lost sales as some of those visitors will go to your competitor’s site. Keeping everything tight and right will ensure a positive experience for your visitors.
- Backups- Required website backups are not always part of your hosting package. If your site is in a CMS system, having the files along with the database is a service not normally done, except by the web developer who built it. How quickly can you get your site back up if your files are hacked and have been tainted?
- Domain Name Expiration- Believe it or not, this is not the responsibility of your web developer (except under a maintenance agreement). Domain expiration notice is usually sent to the account holder’s email. However, there have been numerous occasions when the website owner didn’t receive or simply ignored the notices, then called whoever developed his or her website asking what the problem was. Nothing will shut down your site quicker than an expired domain.
- Saves Money- The best reason for a business owner having a monthly maintenance agreement is that it eventually pays for itself, as it usually runs a good deal less than an hourly rate. Just like your car, the goal is to maintain before a more costly time-consuming issue arrives.
Just like your automobile, if taken care of, your website will take care of you by providing leads, sales, or even save you time by acting as an online team member. By having a maintenance agreement, it ensures that these constantly changing issues will be addressed before something more costly happens.
Thanks for reading.
Rick
