Many people wonder why there’s a need for maintenance when it comes to their website. You may ask, “Why can’t I just build a site and then leave it alone and let it draw in customers? As you probably know if you’ve been in business any time at all, it just doesn’t work this efficiently.
We often refer to the “Field of Dreams” movie when we are talking about websites because the truth is, if you build it they won’t necessarily come unless you take some direct actions to make it come about.
In this post, we will talk about some reasons as to why it is important to focus on maintenance in your web design as well as to build a good site to start with.
Web Design is not a One-Off Project
Web design is not a project that you can build and then just forget. There are too many things that you need to keep up to keep your site working properly and being something that people will want to come back to often.
Remember the goal of web design is to create compelling web content and the web design itself is just the framework and technical aspect or platform that provides this opportunity. You want to create something that customers will want to come back to time and time again to see what you will do next. That takes regular maintenance.
There are several things that you need to keep up-to-date on your website. Below are some of them.
Images and links
Your images may become outdated, or the links to the pictures may not work properly over time. For whatever reason, whether it be the image was removed from the original server or perhaps a link is just not functioning correctly, you need to make sure that all links and pictures work. Having old links and images is a sure way to decrease your conversions and increase your bounce rate.
Media files
Any media files such as podcasts, videos, infographics, or any other media content should display correctly. You should make sure that all players are playing your content in the way that they should.
If you have files that won’t play, it can be frustrating to customers who were trying to get the information, and they may move onto your competitors. It is well worth the extra effort to regularly check your media files to make sure they are accessing the server correctly and functioning right.
JavaScript or HTML or CSS Code
One of the biggest problems in programming and web design is the JavaScript coding. JavaScript is inherently a language that creates numerous errors over time. For whatever reason, JavaScript needs to be checked along with your HTML script and CSS code if you have some raw code on your page.
Make sure this code is correct so that you will minimize Javascript errors when people visit your site.
Payment and inventory settings
There is nothing that will make a customer bookmark your page to remind them not ever to return than payment or inventory errors. Also, you need to make sure that your list is kept up to date so that you know how many of an item that you are stocking.
This will keep you from having to issue a refund when customers order something that you are out of. So keep your inventory and payment settings correct and up-to-date at all times.
Forms
Another important aspect of your site is your web forms. You will often use these to generate leads as well as to get feedback from customers or utilize it for your customer service options. Make sure all of your forms are working correctly, and the CGI script and form handlers are not returning an error when customers use them.
Monitor what is working
Another reason that you need to focus on web maintenance once you have your site up and running is that you need to know what is working and what is not. You should be able to conduct experiments on various aspects of your site to see what is getting the best results.
Google Analytics allows you to run experiments on specific assets of your page such as your logo, infographics, and general traffic stats. Check for security issues as well to protect customer data from infiltration from outside sources. Security is of the utmost importance when it comes to developing a website and online business. Your credibility is at stake if your website security suffers and customers will not trust you.
So check your security regularly and get a web design team that can monitor this at regular intervals.
Making Subtle Changes
Finally, you should always try to improve your site by making subtle changes and then gauge the results. Use tools like Kissmetrics and Google Analytics to see how you were improving the results over time and increasing your leads and conversions.
Customer Orders, Questions, and Leads
You should also monitor your order record and leads and customer information through web maintenance. If you do not have the time to do this, make sure you hire someone that you can trust to keep track of your orders and make sure that customers get their questions answered on your site.
Remember that customer service is a major factor in Customer Loyalty. The better your customer services, the more you will increase customer loyalty and create not only customers but the brand evangelist for your brand.
We have given several reasons why you should focus on your site maintenance and that it is not enough just to build it and leave it alone.
You can ask anyone with a successful online business, and they will tell you that not paying attention to and monitoring the little things as well as the larger things about your website is similar to building a store and then not minding that store.
Remember that your presence online is your internet real estate and the face that you show to the world about your brand. Make sure that all of the aspects of your page are working properly and you can only do this by regular site maintenance.
Start with a great design.
One of the best solutions to site maintenance is starting with a good web design firm. We have been in business for over ten years providing customers with the best web design. But we don’t stop there. We also help site owners maintain their sites by monitoring and adjusting what goes on within their storefront and making technical adjustments to what is needed before customers become frustrated.
Go to webdesignteam.com to see our portfolio and examples of some of our work, then contact us for a free quote. Remember it’s not enough just to build a website. You must pay attention to all the aspects of your site to keep it going well and keep business coming your way.
Only with sound web design and web maintenance practices can you hope to achieve not only a great web design but an online business site that projects your brand in such a way that it will continue to produce revenue for you for years to come.