Today’s blog is an important one which I will explain further on. So many people do not know how to look after their website, and if they don’t, things can go wrong.
Websites are an integral part of business. I don’t know how often I have to encourage business owners to get a website rather than relying on a social media platform like Facebook or Instagram.
Those dealing in products can use sites like eBay or Etsy, and they’re excellent if you are one person making things at home to get a few extra pennies into the purse. Some have created lucrative businesses using these platforms as they are fabulous for the Ma and Pa home business.
No, I’m talking about bricks and mortar businesses that don’t seem to understand that they’re leaving money on the table if they don’t have a website. So, if you have a lawnmowing or home hairdressing business or one of the thousands of others, including cafès which are notorious for only using social media, get yourself a website to advertise yourself on the internet.
I don’t know how many times I have gone looking for a business and when I’m directed to Facebook or Instagram, I just click away and go and find a website that will tell me more about the business in a clear and defined way. Money left on the table!
So now you have a website. How often do you go into the back end of it and ensure it’s working correctly?
If you’re a reader of my blog, you’ll know that I encourage all website owners to put up new content regularly – once a month is good. And if you’re not sure about blogging, check out my previous post Different Types of Blogging.
Now I want to tell you how to look after your beautiful website.
You may already have someone managing it, in which case you can click away and read something else entirely. If you don’t, it will depend on what type of platform you have used. For example, if your website has been built on a platform like Wix, Weebly, or Squarespace, they will look after it. But if you’ve created your site on an individual platform like WordPress, you will need to go into the back end and make sure that everything stays updated.
This applies mainly to plugins or extensions, themes, links and images. You may be able to set plugins to update when needed automatically. However, it’s still a good idea to check as some may need to be manually updated.
Another job is to clear any spam you may have received (usually through the comments section if you have a blog). And also, delete the cache.
If you’re wondering, the reason to keep your website up to date and clean is because you want it to be fast and loading correctly for people visiting.
If you’re not sure how to clean your website, there will be many internet tutorials. For WordPress, you can have a look at this particular article by Themeisle: How to Update Your Website for 2022
Your website is a valuable asset and worth looking after.
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