Your website is probably the most powerful marketing tool you have, in some cases it will be the core of your entire business.
Following on from our previous article ‘Maintaining your website once its launched‘, we’re back to give you some additional guidance on how to keep your website performing the best it can. There are a number of key elements you should be aware of that will help you keep ahead of the game and prevent any unwanted website performance issues. Being proactive in maintaining your website will help you on your way to achieving online success.
Here another 7 key elements for you to familiarize yourself with and monitor…
1: Mobile Responsiveness:
Do not forget to periodically check that your website looks and performs perfectly on mobile devices. Your customers will expect you to have a mobile-friendly website that is intuitive to browse and easy to access the information they want. Search engines such as Google prioritize mobile-responsive sites in their rankings, simply because these websites are accessible and accommodate users. You can monitor how your website is performing on mobile devices, as well as improve all aspects of your SEO using Google’s Search Console.
2: Optimize Images:
It is great having large images and graphics on your website to help attract and engage users, but those elements could be slowing down your website and interfering with page load times. Did you know that you can optimise images for web use to improve page loading speeds? It is possible for you to compress your website’s images without sacrificing quality. Also consider using responsive images for different devices. For further advice on how to optimise your website images to improve site speed check out this great article from Hubspot.
3: Server monitoring:
The server that your website sits on may not be sufficient enough and causing issues of which you are unaware. Many people choose to have their websites housed on shared servers to keep their hosting costs down. This solution may not provide adequate space if your website has high volumes of visitors, all requesting the same information at the same time; your website pages may load slowly, which of course will lose you customers. If you discover your server performance is poor, its time for you to talk to your hosting provider and upgrade your hosting plan.
4: User Feedback:
Sometimes you can be too close to something to see the faults or issues. Getting opinions and feedback from others on how they experience your website can be really beneficial in identifying areas of improvement. Maintaining great user experience not only helps you maintain and build you customer base, but helps you score better with search engines too.
5: Legal Compliance:
Is your website compliant with the latest laws and regulations such as privacy policies, terms of service, and accessibility standards? Laws and regulations often change, and you won’t want your website to fall foul and breach any of these. Take time to keep abreast of any changes that may affect your online presence and make any necessary changes to your website as soon as possible.
6: Interactivity:
Website forms and other interactive features on your website may malfunction out of the blue without you even knowing. This may be down to security breaches or software updates. It is always good practice to test all forms and interactive features regularly on your website to ensure they are functioning as they should.
7: Social Media Integration:
Websites are often linked to or integrated in with social media channels. Social media users can make up a huge number of your website visitors, so ensure that any social media links you have are working correctly and that your social media profiles are kept up to date.
Concluding thoughts:
Websites are very much workhorses for businesses, generating much-needed customer leads and sales. As such, these online assets should be maintained the best they can. Being aware of the various elements that can affect your website’s performance, and proactively monitoring and rectifying any issues will be a well worth damage limitation exercise if done regularly. If you need assistance with any of the maintenance, it is worthwhile contacting an experienced web development company. You may also want to think about taking out a website support contract for your website for peace of mind.
