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Maintaining Your Website Is Just as Vital as Maintaining Your Brick-and-Mortar Shop
A shop or office with peeling paint and burned-out light bulbs doesn’t inspire folks to do business with you. Neither does a poorly maintained website. So is it time for a refresh?
If you have a brick-and-mortar location, you probably hire services to plow the parking lot and wash the windows so that your customers feel comfortable doing business with you. Budgeting for maintenance is simply an expected operating expense.
Your website serves as your online storefront, so keeping your web pages tidy and safe is every bit as important as the upkeep of your shop. Unfortunately, when small biz owners include a line item in the budget for office maintenance, they often forget to include website maintenance. Here are four reasons for regular upkeep:
Reason 1: A stale website looks like your business closed.
“News” from last year or calendar events that have long been over are the internet equivalent of dead flies and dirty storefront windows. A customer’s first thought is “ I wonder if this business is still open?” Their second thought is “Maybe it’s best I go someplace else…”
Reason 2: Small fixes circumvent bigger headaches.
In a brick-and-mortar shop, repairing broken floor tile, changing the furnace filter, and installing a new roof are regular maintenance duties that will help prevent even more expensive problems later. Websites don’t get water damage, but functions can break or be targeted by hackers. The longer you wait to update your site, the greater your chance to suffer a serious issue.
Reason 3: People do judge a book by its cover.
Trends come and go and your website is not immune to this fickleness. What was cool a couple of years ago may now look stuffy, unfairly reflecting on your business. Fortunately, it’s far easier to freshen web pages than it is to redo a physical shop. Most of the latest web platforms transfer your content easily to a new layout to give you a whole new look.
Reason 4: Improved processes improve sales.
In an office, you might rearrange desks for efficient teamwork. In a shop, you might place impulse buys next to the register. Reworking the flow of your website is a similar practice. Using your site’s analytics and guidance from industry experts, you can add functions, simplify procedures, and boost engagement to promote a better customer experience. Happier customers mean bigger sales and greater loyalty!
The best use of your time and talents is to focus on your core business while delegating chores such as window-washing. Website maintenance is another one of those chores you should delegate – and sooner rather than later. It's both frustrating and expensive to clean up a sudden issue that could have been avoided with regular upkeep. Sprocket offers a monthly maintenance service. Give us a call now, to find out what we can do for you and your website.
Photo by Taras Chuiko
This article is an update to “Do You Need a Web Janitor?” dated 1/5/2015.
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Kate Gingold
I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.
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