So you’ve finally got your website up and running. Your leads are coming in and your Google rankings are rising slowly but surely. It’s time to just sit back and watch, right?
Nope! In order to get the most out of your website, you need to spend the time and effort to maintain it (or pay someone else to do this for you!). Here are a few things you can do to keep your site running smoothly and remain an effective source of business.
Security
An important aspect of maintaining any piece of property is to keep it secure. And this also applies to virtual property, like your website. The Internet is full of malicious people who might attack your website for a variety of reasons. They could be looking to access important data or just use your site for some black hat SEO tactics. Either way, you don’t want to let these people in!
So what can you do to stop them?
Well, since WordPress is such a popular content management system, a lot of these hacker types are constantly trying to find vulnerabilities. So in response, the WordPress community has developed a variety of plugins to guard against these hacking atacks.
Two of the best and most popular WordPress security plugins we use at our Maryland web design company are iThemes Security and Wordfence. These plugins can do things like protect against Brute Force attacks, monitor file changes, as well as block specific IPs from access. Features like these can protect your site from unauthorized access and even prevent unwanted bandwidth usage. It is also important to constantly check on your site to make sure it hasn’t been hacked. Keeping a backup just in case a hack does occur can help you quickly rebound and get things back to normal.
SEO
Even if your site is currently doing well in Google, that doesn’t mean that it will forever. SEO is a constantly moving target and competition is consistently changing and growing. Because of this, it is important to stay on top of things like keyword competitiveness, changes in search results display, and mobile related aspects to ensure that your site continues to perform well. Additionally, maintaining a blog will help to keep your site ahead of the pack.
Content
Not only is it necessary to stay on top of SEO changes, but you also want to make sure your website accurately reflects your business. Have you lowered your prices on certain items or stopped carrying some products? You’ll want to make any necessary adjustments related to these changes on your website. The last thing you want is a client calling and asking for something, only to find that you no longer stock that item or no longer serve their area. In addition, keeping your content up to date with current trends will show users that your website can be trusted and that you know your industry well.
Upgrades
The great thing about WordPress is that it is a constantly evolving piece of software that adapts and improves over time. In order to make sure you’re taking full advantage of this, you need to be constantly upgrading your version of WordPress. This is especially important in terms of security. As with any piece of software, vulnerabilities can exist and will be found. But, if you keep WordPress up to date, you can be safe knowing that any known vulnerabilities have been patched.
It’s not only important to keep WordPress up to date, but also any plugins you have installed. In addition to the same security concerns, plugins must be upgraded to stay compatible with WordPress. The last thing you want is that cool slider on the home page to break! Also, some plugin authors will include new features that you can use to make your site even better.
Taking Care of Business
Sounds like a lot of work, right? Well, if you want to keep your site top notch, you have to be willing to do what needs to be done. Fortunately, there are professional services available that can handle all of these maintenance issues and more. Advantage Internet Marketing is a Maryland website design company that designs, builds, and maintains WordPress websites. If you want to make sure your site continues to bring you business, give us a call today or contact us online.