A competitive advantage in the digital marketplace is increased customer engagement and retention and, ultimately, business success – every business in today’s digital era dreams of achieving these goals.
As expansive as these goals may sound, a simple pathway can lead a business directly to them – a well-maintained website.
Serving as a virtual storefront, these simple tools can elevate a business and provide a competitive advantage in the digital marketplace.
In 2023, maintaining a website is more important than ever. Providing customers with a first impression of the company and its products or services, websites are the go-to solutions for existing and prospective customers exploring their options.
A website that is slow to load, difficult to navigate, or has outdated information can turn potential customers away, negatively impacting the business’s reputation.
Additionally, a well-maintained website can improve search engine rankings, making it easier for customers to find the business online.
Regularly updating website content, checking for errors, and implementing security measures can protect the business from potential cyberattacks, data breaches, and other disasters.
While keeping a website up-to-date may seem a daunting task to many, what it needs is to focus on some specific aspects.
Staying abreast of the latest trends
First and foremost, keeping your website up-to-date with the latest technologies and trends is essential.
As technology continues to evolve rapidly, your website should too. According to a survey by Statista, 53% of internet users globally expect a website to load in under 3 seconds.
Therefore, optimising website speed should be a top priority for businesses.
Google has even started to use website speed as a ranking factor in its search algorithm, so a slow website can negatively impact your search engine rankings.
Regularly updating website content is also essential for maintaining a successful online presence.
A study by HubSpot found that businesses that publish 16 or more blog posts per month receive 3.5 times more traffic than those that publish 0-4 posts per month.
Additionally, updating website content can improve search engine rankings, as Google prefers fresh and relevant content.
Alleviating user experience
Another critical aspect of website maintenance is ensuring that it is mobile-friendly.
With mobile devices accounting for over 50% of internet traffic, having a mobile-friendly website is crucial for success.
According to Google, 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing.
Optimising your website for mobile devices can improve user experience and increase customer retention.
In addition to updating website content, businesses should regularly check for broken links and errors.
Broken links can negatively impact user experience and decrease the credibility of your website.
Google also penalises websites with broken links, so it is crucial to keep them in check.
Tools like Google Search Console can help identify broken links and other website errors.
Securing the website data
Regularly backing up your website is an essential aspect of website maintenance.
Backups can protect your website from hacking, malware, and other potential disasters.
According to a survey by ITIC, 98% of organisations reported that a single hour of downtime costs over $100,000, so ensuring that your website is properly backed up can save your business significant money in the long run.
Moreover, businesses should prioritise website security. Cyberattacks have increased in frequency and severity in recent years, with small businesses being the primary target.
Close to 50% of small businesses have experienced a cyberattack, and a small business’s average data breach cost is $200,000.
Security measures like SSL certificates, firewalls, and regular software updates can help protect your website and customer data from potential threats.
Maintaining a website is crucial for businesses to succeed in 2023.
According to a survey by Clutch, 64% of small businesses have a website, and 92% of those believe that having a website is important to their success.
Therefore, it is essential to prioritise website maintenance and ensure that your website is working for you and not against you.