Website management comprises many activities designed to keep your website up and running and at full capacity. This includes software updates, data backup, website hosting and content updates. It may also include SEO, content development, visitor analysis and more.
Why is website management important?
Regular website management is important because it will help improve the performance of your website and keep it secure.
What website management tasks should I perform for my website?
Here are some of the website management tasks you should do regularly.
Ensure that your CMS is always up to date
If you are using a content management system like WordPress for your website, ensure that it is up to date with the latest software patches, bug fixes, and security updates. An out of date CMS will make your website vulnerable to security breaches.
Regularly review all plugins and third-party integrations
Installing plugins can expand the functionality of your website and help you achieve your business goals. However, sometimes plug-ins and third-party integrations can be a potential source of security issues.
It is important to regularly assess all your plug-ins and integrations to know if they are implementing security measures. Plugins that hadn’t been updated by the developer for a very long time may cause security issues in the future or incompatibility with the latest version of the CMS you are using.
Remove the plug-ins and integrations that you are no longer using to minimise your exposure to security issues. If you have a plugin that is still useful to you but is no longer being updated by its authors, look for a possible replacement.
Backup your website
Creating backups for your website is crucial. If your website gets compromised in any way, backups enable you to restore your website as soon as possible.
You have several options for creating a backup for your website.
One option is to use backup services from third-party companies. Many companies offer website backup services either individually or bundled with other website security services.
Another option is to use a backup plugin that allows you to backup your database, themes, plugins, uploads, and content. Blogvault, Updraft, and JetPack are some examples of backup plugins for WordPress.
The third option is to use cPanel, a website utility that allows you to manually create a backup, among other things. Many web hosting providers use this utility.
You can also backup your website manually to a local computer by using FTP software like FileZilla but this requires more technical knowledge.
Monitor uptime/downtime
Use website monitoring tools that will notify you if your website is experiencing downtime. Once you’ve been informed that your site is down, you can perform troubleshooting to get the site back up and running as soon as possible.
Test the site across browsers
Test your site across browsers and devices from time to time to make sure that there are no issues with the layout or formatting of your website. This is one step you can make to improve the user experience of your website.
Check website speed and loading time
Website speed refers to the speed at which each webpage is downloaded from its hosting server and displayed in a user’s web browser. Page load time, meanwhile, is the time it takes to display all of a webpage’s content in a user’s browser after they’ve clicked onto the site.
Your site’s speed can fluctuate or slow down over time. Several online tools like PageSpeed Insights and GTMetrics can be used to analyse your website’s speed and performance.
If there are issues with your website’s speed and loading time, you can do several things to optimise your site such as optimising images, using a content delivery network, minifying your codes, and more.
Optimise database
A database is a collection of tables of information. A typical database for a blog has tables for users, categories, posts, and comments. For an eCommerce website, the database typically contains tables for customers, products, categories, orders, etc.
A brand new website without much content can run very fast. But over time, your website database can become crowded and unorganised as you add more content, install new plugins, get more customers, add more products to your shop, and so on.
Some of the files accumulated on your database are not needed anymore. Post revisions, deleted posts, drafts, deleted plugins, and spam and unapproved comments can all use up precious space in your website and affect its performance.
Regularly running database optimisation will rid of these unnecessary files on your database. You can use a database optimisation plugin like WP Optimize, WP Sweep, and Plugins Garbage Collector to clean up your database.
Perform monthly site-wide content checks
No matter how careful you are, it is still possible to make some typos, incorrect punctuations, and formatting errors in your live site. Regular content checks will help you catch these errors.
Add and improve web content
Updating and improving your web content can help you get higher rankings in Google and other search engines. This in turn will help drive more visitors to your website.
Create original posts that answer your reader’s questions, and provide valuable information. Regularly updating content and adding new information send a positive signal to search engines.
Add actionable items to your website such as social media icons and signup forms to increase engagement with your audience.
Review Analytics
Website analytics show you which traffic sources visitors are coming from, how long they stay on the website, which pages are the most viewed, and other insights about your website.
With the data from analytics, you can gauge how your website performs. You can then optimise pages that bring in the most conversions as well as tweak those that show visitors dropping off to get the best results for your website.
Test the forms
Try and fill out forms on your website to ensure that no inquiry or sale gets lost because of a non-working form.
Improve Search Engine Optimisation
Optimising your website for search engines will help you rank higher and show up on the first page of search engine results when users search for terms that are relevant to your site. You can improve your SEO by including keywords related to your business or products in your website copy.
Website management for your business
Website management is important to keep your website performing well and secure. But it can be a daunting task for new business owners especially if they don’t have the technical know-how or don’t have enough manpower to do the job.
Mettro can help with many aspects of website management. We offer a maintenance and support package that includes the following services:
- Monitoring and adjustment of server performance
- Scheduled monthly testing and updating to ensure websites work on new
- browsers, devices and operating systems
- All CMS, security and plug-in updates
- General updates to content
- Conversion optimisation
- And more
Mettro is a proudly Queensland, independently owned and operated digital agency that has been delivering award-winning website design & development and digital marketing for over 20 years. We are dedicated to solving our client’s business problems with smart, simple digital solutions and have the testimonials to prove it.
We’ve built thousands of digital solutions including apps, eCommerce websites, custom software, eLearning applications, WordPress websites and Shopify Websites. Our website design team is second-to-none with a focus on real user experience and creative interface designs, and our website development team delivers quality online customer experiences and measurable benefits to our clients every time. We have a talented marketing strategy and creative team, renowned for designing and producing compelling digital campaigns, effective content marketing strategies, digital marketing and results-driven SEO.
Contact us or book a one-on-one to discuss your website management options!