A website is like a baby that requires care and attention, You do that through periodic maintenance that forces you to monitor certain sections of your website. That is because there could be gremlins lurking all-around, preventing your users from ever reaching you.
That is why it is necessary always to run a maintenance check on your business website. Here is a monthly website maintenance checklist that you should probably print and follow stringently.
- Check Your Website Performance
Your website’s performance is crucial for the growth of your business, which is why this step is essential. The easiest way to do this is to use Google Analytics; a free tool allows you to analyze your site’s speed. Mind you, it is not technical, nor do you have to play around with codes. Through the GA, you can monitor your traffic, referrals, and organic leads. No doubt, this will help you determine where to improve, especially in areas of marketing.
- Test All Your Forms
It will entail going to all your pages where you have a contact form. You test each of them, and make sure everything is working properly. Most times, an update to your form’s plugin or CMS could change some settings, which isn’t always pleasant.
If you never check your forms or test to see if they still work, you might go a month wondering why you’re not getting leads, whereas your contact form is pointing to the wrong email address. This maintenance check is to be done monthly for the best result.
- Backups
You don’t need to rely on your web host to always backup your website. Imagine losing all your work in seconds because you had no backup. There are lots of third-party services that allow you to schedule monthly backups automatically.
If you want, you can also set the backup to monthly or perhaps weekly basis. As part of your maintenance check, you’re to ensure that these third-party services are operational every month. If there is a bug that stopped its functionality, you might lose your data. For WordPress users, the best has always been Updraft Backup Plugin.
- Website Speed
A website that loads fast offers a better experience to your site visitors. That your website is as fast as light doesn’t mean you shouldn’t run a monthly check to know if it’s still as fast. Creating more contents and updating your plugins or tools can hurt your website speed. With your Google console, you can monitor your site’s speed and areas where you can improve.
- Clean Up Dead Links
Every minute, more and more links are becoming broken, primarily outbound links. To ensure that your visitors have the best experience on your website, you have to ensure that your links are still accessible and up to date. When you discover broken links, clean them up, and update with something even better.
Conclusion
By regularly checking your website and ensuring that all its components are working, you avoid disruptions and poor user experience. So, go ahead and add these tips to your monthly website maintenance checklist.
To learn more or if you have any questions regarding marketing, web design and development, contact Windy City Web Designs today.