The Importance of Regular Website Maintenance

Cybersecurity is one of the most booming professions in the internet industry for a reason. Hackers are getting more sophisticated every day and seem to stay one step ahead of security experts. Almost everyone has experienced some sort of malicious attack like having email compromised or an online account, phone or website hacked. Things like strong passwords, avoiding public wifi, and using two factor authentication are all important, but if you own or work with a website it is critical to keep your site properly and regularly maintained. In 2022, with the geopolitical unrest and the increasing attacks on websites by hackers in countries such as Russia and China, you have to do everything in your power to keep your web investments safe.

This article is going to cover the three primary reasons to keep your website regularly updated. Those are security, performance and responsiveness.

Modern websites are not static, they are dynamic and rely on sometimes dozens of different software programs working together to deliver the user experience or functionality and design you require. Hackers study these programs and if a backdoor or vulnerability is discovered it puts your entire site at risk. An attack can harm your brand, customer retention and trust, and cause a hefty cost of time and money to repair. In addition to keeping your software updated, it is critical to have daily automated offsite backups that go to a separate server. Keeping trailing copies for one to two weeks is also a good idea in the event a hack or issue isn’t discovered for a few days or more. Using a robust firewall and virus scanning software package is also a must these days. Finally, avoiding shared hosting if you can is always preferred especially when it comes to security and performance.

Load time is one of the biggest factors in SEO and keeping your user on the site longer. Keeping your website software updated and optimized will ensure you are using the full capabilities of your hosting environment. As new versions of your software are released they take advantage of new releases of the engine your website uses like mySQL, PHP, and Apache.

As we all know a new Samsung or iPhone comes out every year and we see those software updates a few times a year. These releases often address improving the way websites display in big ways. Keeping your website maintained and updated allows the software on your website to adapt to these new mobile and desktop browser features.

In conclusion, the degree of website maintenance will depend on the type of website you have and the amount of traffic, purpose and complexity of the software configuration. It is always recommended to make sure your web person or team has experience with your type of website and is making sure things like backups, software updates and best practices are being exercised.