“How often should I update my website?” The short answer? Constantly.
Creating a consistent maintenance schedule and reviving your website’s design every two or three years is enough to keep it performing at its best.
Could you completely ignore your website for years, letting the dust build-up, the plugins go out of date, and vulnerabilities? Of course, it’s your website.
But, if you want your website to perform at its best, not just for your potential clients or customers visiting your site but also for your business, it’s better to stay on top of those updates.
Here’s why an up-to-date website is important:
Maintain Tight Website Security
One of the first places hackers will look to infiltrate or attack your business is security vulnerabilities that appear from lack of maintenance. Potential security hazards include plugins that are outdated or with a current known vulnerability. Your passwords and other website security best practices should also be properly maintained as well.
Create a consistent maintenance schedule to keep plugins up to date-and active. Make sure your team is routinely practicing security protocols and that your web partner is adept at maintaining your website security at all times.
Keep Your Site Functionality Working
When a potential customer lands on your website, are they going to be able to solve their problem, or will they leave frustrated? That’s the difference between maintaining your website’s functionality or letting it fall to the wayside.
Maintaining your website’s functionality not only includes site speed, transitions, animations, and other visual or experienced-based interactions but also your contact forms. If your contact forms suddenly stop working, your revenue could start to suffer.
Keep Your Website Design Updated and Fresh Too
Refreshing the look and feel of your website every few years helps to keep your business from looking stale. We’ve all come across a website that looks like it’s from the ‘90s. That’s probably because the business is also stuck working like they’re in that decade.
Updating your website’s design every few years can also help your business to present more accurate data. There’s a chance that your pricing, product or service details and other crucial information can become outdated if you’re not consistently reviewing your website’s design. This can lead to frustrated customers receiving a different experience than expected or even lead to customers turning to a competitor to solve their problem instead.
Update Your Website to Maintain Your ROI
A properly functioning, secure, and well-designed website can drive more revenue and impact to your business than one that’s left to wither and die. At the very least, keeping a consistent website maintenance schedule or working with a trusted web partner to do it for you will keep your plugins up to date and your website working. If you can refresh your website design every two or three years as well, then your website can really start to be the foundation of your business on the internet.