Whatever you use your website for, whether it’s to promote your business, to provide information to others, or to act as an online resume for your personal achievements, it’s important that you keep it regularly updated. After all, you will have spent time and money to get it set up in the first place, so it makes little sense to let all that effort go to waste.
In this article, we’re going to look at five important reasons for keeping your website up to date in order to make the most of your online presence:
Your products and services
Whether you’re a local tradesperson, a freelancer, a small business, or a major corporation, your website should reflect what you can do for your clients today, not what you could have done for them a couple of years ago. If you no longer offer a particular service, keeping it on your website just encourages enquiries from people you will have to let down. Conversely, if you currently offer an exciting new product but don’t bother to update your site, who’s going to know about it?
Keep things fresh
Search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Bing, all share something in common – they love websites that are regularly updated with fresh, informative content. Not only does it show that the website is active, it also shows that you, as the owner, have something to say. This increases your site’s authority score with these search engines and places you higher up the rankings. A regular blog that talks about your customers’ concerns or changes in your industry can work wonders in attracting new visitors and keep your existing ones coming back.
New technology
We live in a digital world and the technology surrounding website use is forever evolving. If you don’t update your website accordingly, you will find yourself falling behind your competitors. An obvious example from recent years is the fact that most browsing is done on smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, rather than on desktops and laptops. If you want your site to look its best, you need to ensure it’s optimised to meet all current trends.
Security
As standard, NetNerd includes essential server-side security to protect our customers but there are also some updates that need to be applied manually by the website owner or their developers.
WordPress websites, for example, receive regular updates for the main platform, themes, and its various plugins that look to close security loopholes. These are usually simple to apply with just a single click.
Other platforms such as Magento release much larger and complex version updates that require the assistance of a web developer to implement.
In addition to this, it is essential that the latest PHP version is running as this will improve the functionality of the website and maintain security. This can be updated through the website’s cPanel. Sometimes updating to the latest version of PHP can cause errors on the website, so a developer may be required to ensure the theme is compatible with the latest coding requirements.
Failure to update your security could leave your website at risk from hackers looking to steal your customers’ information which, in turn, could leave you liable under GDPR regulations. Worse, they can use your website and domain name as a spam server, which will ultimately damage your reputation and potentially leave you blacklisted.
Legal obligations
New laws are being passed all the time that impact on the digital world, with website owners frequently being held to account for more and more online infractions. While it can be difficult keeping up with the latest legislation and what it demands from you as a website owner, it’s important that you do so and make the necessary arrangements to avoid running afoul of the law.
If you are looking for a web hosting package that will help you stay up-to-date with the latest security measures, get in touch with NetNerd today. Contact the team on 0333 222 4080 to discuss your particular requirements and discover the best services for your business.
