Everyone knows that they need a website, but typically simply set up a site, launch it and never come back to it. Yet, failure to properly maintain your website can lead to dire consequences for both sales and your business as a whole. If your site isn’t a success, you could be losing valuable customers.
Mission Critical Functions
If mission critical functions fail, then your customers won’t be able to perform needed activities on your website, i.e. access their bank accounts and check their balances. Website owners should periodically run tests to verify that these functions are still working properly – even if they performed fine when initially launched. Slight changes to the site, hacks and more can cause these mission critical functions to stop performing correctly.
Broken Links
Broken links and 404 errors don’t provide a good first or subsequent customer experience. Not only do these hurt a company’s reputation, it can also negatively affect how you display in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs). These types of issues typically arise when a website page is moved or deleted. Broken link tests help avoid these issues.
Browser Compatibility
Browsers get updated all the time. We’ve all experienced the near continual requests to update Safari, Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and more. Every time that a browser is updated, it leads to a chance that your site won’t work correctly on it. For example, images may not display as intended. Consistently testing your site will help avoid these issues.
When it comes to websites, one and done cannot be your motto. Set up a routine for reviewing and testing the site, and potentially get outside assistance for site audits and advanced testing.
