What is Website Maintenance (Website Maintenance)?
In short, we could generally say that website maintenance is a set of preventive and corrective activities aimed at fixing errors that threaten
- the structure, security, usability, and functionality of the website
It is important to note that sometimes these errors do not “remain” static but can worsen over time.
The question arises, what kind of errors could initially require maintenance? For our websites, it is almost zero, and this probably applies not just to our company. Many of our competitors deliver websites as if they were error-free. This is the most natural state for us if we are talking about professional service providers, not “do-it-yourself” cases. You, as a customer, should start from this assumption. Why?
Because when a website is finished, every element works, and it is easy to test, identify, and prove. Here we are talking about programs, not that we handed over a website and it turned out that on a mobile phone, the font size on the address is too large, so the word does not fit on the screen, and neither we nor you noticed it during the handover. This is not maintenance for us, but simply fixing (external) project errors.
A WordPress website consists of the following elements:
- CMS or WordPress: Updates are released periodically, say a few times a year. These versions are functional without exception, whether Word or iOS.
- Plugins or extensions: These plugins cover features that the core WordPress cannot or will not. It’s like talking about apps for iPhone or Android. We use the best plugins, meaning they are functional, error-free, and have excellent customer support. It is important to mention, and this is really the point, that plugins try to keep up with WordPress updates. Let’s say you are now using WordPress version 5.8.0. On your website, there must be a plugin that is not yet compatible with it, so the development team recommends using at most 5.7.x. You understand that in this case, it is not worth installing the latest WordPress version, as you would have to give up functions or find an extension that is similar yet compatible with the new WP version.
- Theme or template: This is a set of programs used to create the visible part of the website. The theme also tries to keep up with the progress and update the WordPress calendar. Again, it is not irrelevant which WP version we choose here.
- Server or Hosting: Hosting we cannot change much, but our professional hosting provider can give us an interface that allows us to change many parameters, and that is enough for us.
Maintenance, therefore, is the updating of the above elements to reach a state where, just like when the website was handed over, all programs are mutually compatible, and everything works as before. In theory, no one should notice any changes unless during an update, the developer added a new feature that will be visible on the admin interface (backend) or a new design element that will be clearly visible on the frontend.
Why is Maintenance Necessary?
Mainly for three reasons, at least in our case:
New Functionalities
It allows us to know after some time about new functions to expand the website. It used to be very hard to explain. Now it might be easier if we follow the analogy with a mobile phone. Let’s say we bought a mobile phone 4 years ago, but of course, it still works well, just like the website we created 4 years ago. The question: Why do you need to update the operating system? The answer: Given how it works, you probably don’t need to. But… have you ever wanted to download a new app and received a message that it is not compatible with the current version of your operating system? If we really need this new app, we will be forced to update the operating system. Additionally, the default apps will also update. Other downloaded apps are updated manually. Keep in mind that in this case, we just press the Update button, and we cannot choose the version number. A lot can happen at the end. For example, the development of some of our apps has not reached the status of, say, the latest iOS, and it does not work with it. The app that triggered the process works, but the one that was already on our phone no longer does. Now we are in a worse situation than before, because an hour ago, the app that wasn’t downloaded didn’t work, and now three downloaded apps aren’t working. Maybe if we configured versions from a few months ago, everything would work, but how could we, as the Update button always automatically forces the latest version? Well, that’s what maintenance is: achieving a configuration put together by a very well-trained person. What’s not maintenance: blindly pressing the Update button. That’s called a cat in a bag,
Security Factor
Another important reason is the security factor. This is what is usually referred to when it comes to maintenance. It is quite natural that systems become more vulnerable over time. We won’t talk about the reasons for that, but here we are talking even about years. Keep in mind that if a program is vulnerable from the start, it can be hacked within an hour.
Technological Changes
The third reason is technological changes. It took us years to clearly notice this. Several things play a role in displaying a website, for example, browsers. A browser is more than just a view. They can interpret CSS or HTML code in various ways, incorrectly display outdated commands, etc., so, for instance, a website 6 years old might fall apart. The most obvious example of this is websites designed for smartphones, which do not adapt to screen sizes in a mobile way.
What is Not Website Maintenance?
- Fixing design and content errors.
- Redesign, modernization, beautification.
- Content writing
- Introducing new features, e.g., new payment method, new form, etc.
We typically handle the tasks mentioned above, but often our client writes content and creates new pages based on templates. We believe that a merchant clearly understands what maintenance is when performed by a mechanic, and they are clearly aware that putting a product on a shelf or listing it in stock is not part of maintenance. Many people consider the tasks listed above as maintenance, but they would be better called upkeep.
We mentioned that the website will not externally change after maintenance. Although we do not rule out that the benefits of program updates might affect our business, we would be lying if we treated it as an automatic consequence. If you understood the above, you will easily realize that maintenance will not automatically improve your Google ranking, your conversions will not increase, and people won’t contact you more. Sure, it’s possible that a Google update will affect your rankings if we update the website. However, this is not a maintenance task, and don’t count on it.
