WordPress is popular, but everyone needs a friend
If you haven’t heard by now, WordPress is kind of a big deal on the web. Millions of individuals and businesses around the world use the WordPress platform to share their thoughts, ideas and grow their businesses online. But popular or not, it benefits from a little attention. Just like any other software, websites require maintenance to keep the site working properly. Ignoring website maintenance is like not having regular oil changes on your vehicle. You wouldn’t drive your car very long if you didn’t look after its maintenance, would you? Well, the same is true for your website. Regular maintenance helps keep your website live, ready for customers and presenting your business at its finest.
“Set and forget”: a common misconception
You’ve put in the work and created a beautiful engaging online experience for your customer. Now what? Well, if you just sit by and do nothing you’re probably not going to see the results you’re looking for. In fact, without performing monthly website maintenance you may actually be throwing money out the window. When visitors go to a website and find things wrong with it, they often don’t stick around. Many website owners never check their website to see how it’s functioning. At that point even the most popular platform starts feeling awfully lonely, because missed website issues or downtime can lose you potential customers.
The benefits of a WordPress Care Plan
Many people don’t realize the benefits of site maintenance, but this important task makes a big difference to your website’s health and overall performance:
Your website is available:
Getting alerted if your website goes down is critical. You want to know the minute this happens so you can get it fixed and working again for your business. People trying to visit a site that isn’t working may not come back.
Better site performance:
Your website performs the way it should and you’re alerted to potential issues before they create big problems.
Better security:
Website infected with malware can potentially infect your site visitor’s computer and can go months without being noticed if you don’t have the proper tools to monitor the site’s security.
Better analytics:
Monitoring your site analytics tells you if your marketing initiatives are working, who’s visiting your website and much more.
With a WordPress care plan, you’ll see better growth:
Having a professional take care of your content and design changes ensures your website updates are smooth and error-free.
Website maintenance workflow
At WebArc Technologies we take great care when we update your website. All updates begin with a careful backup and end with a thorough check of your website to detect any issues. Our software keeps a record of plugins we update so if there is a problem we can easily see the version of the plugin that was changed and revert it back to a fully functional status. Additionally, we provide performance and security scans to catch and fix any issues that may arise. If we find a problem with a plugin we will create a ticket and address the problem before you ever know it exists. A WordPress care plan is more than a purchase; it’s peace of mind.
You could do it yourself, but should you?
Maintaining your own website could cost you more than you may think. When you make updates from your WordPress admin console you don’t have a record of what you changed. So what happens if you run into a problem a week or two later and don’t remember what was done? Most web hosts keep a limited number of backups, but from what day do you restore your backup? Do you remember? Have you made new blog posts, updated content or received e-commerce orders since that day that could be lost and need to be re-entered? Bottom line is the do-it-yourself approach may seem like it’s saving you money but in the long run, it could cost you more.
It costs more to fix than to maintain
Inexperience and neglect can damage the look and functionality of your website. When that happens, you have a choice to make. One, you try and fix it yourself, in which case you may do further damage. Or two, you can pay the (sometimes hefty) price for someone experienced to fix it. Most of us deal with these kinds of scenarios in our daily life. Just like your car, it costs more to fix it than it does to maintain it properly. Cars – and for that matter friendships – are no different from websites in that respect; regular attention and maintenance are necessary to keep all three healthy, strong and running well.
There are things you just may not know
You’re busy doing what you do and likely don’t have time to pay attention to industry trends and important information that could affect your business. Once such example is ADA Compliance. You may have heard some about the act but haven’t had the time to really dive in and learn how to protect your business and serve your visitors with disabilities with the proper tools to use your site. That’s one of the many topics a web professional can assist you with. Don’t be afraid to ask!
Call in a professional
Would you try to fight that court battle without a lawyer, or deal with the IRS without an accountant? Of course not! And yet many people try to maintain their own website. By securing an experienced web professional to update and maintain your site properly you minimize the likelihood of potential site failures, lost sales and missed visitors. Why not deal with what you know best and let web experts deal with what they know best?
WebArc has you covered, with WordPress website maintenance and hosting services that make it easy for you to properly maintain your WordPress website. If you’re interested in securing a maintenance contract for your web site, contact us to learn how we can keep your site working properly. It’s the best way to be a good friend to your website.
