What is Website Maintenance?

Website maintenance is a routine process of checking and updating your website to ensure that it’s secure, fully functional, and up-to-date. It includes tasks such as updating content, fixing broken links, improving page speed, updating security features, and regularly monitoring the website’s performance.

With the technical terms that are involved in maintenance, it can feel as complex as trying to understand maintenance for the international space station whilst doing a space walk. This blog post will help you to understand website maintenance so that you can be more informed and invest wisely.  

Types of Website Maintenance

There are various types of website maintenance services, including but not limited to:

Technical Maintenance: This includes site speed optimisation, server and domain management, data backup, and regular software updates.

Content Maintenance: Updating and adding new content, fixing broken links, and optimising images and videos.

Security Maintenance: Regularly updating security features, protecting against hackers, and running malware scans.

SEO Maintenance: Regularly updating SEO practices, keeping up with search engine algorithm changes, and monitoring website analytics.

The Importance of Website Maintenance and Hosting

Website maintenance and hosting go hand in hand. A web host provides the storage space and technology for your website to be accessed on the internet, while website maintenance ensures everything on your website is running smoothly and efficiently.

Regular website maintenance improves user experience, security, and site performance. In the long run, it helps attract and retain customers, maintain search engine rankings, and enhance the company’s brand image and credibility.

Without proper website maintenance, your site can become vulnerable to cyber threats. An unprotected site is an easy target for hackers, and a successful breach can result in significant reputation and revenue loss.

Typical Duration of Website Maintenance

The duration of website maintenance can vary depending on the size and complexity of the website, the types of updates needed, and the frequency at which these updates are executed. For minor updates, it might take only a few hours each week. However, major upgrades or overhauls could require days or even weeks of work.

How different major platforms do website maintenance

Website maintenance is crucial across all platforms, but the approach to maintenance can vary significantly from one platform to another.

Platform Comparison

WordPress: One of the most popular content management systems (CMS) globally, WordPress offers a wide array of website maintenance services. These services include regular updates, security monitoring, backup services, site optimisation, and support. WordPress regularly updates its core software and its many plugins and themes, which users need to keep regularly updating to keep their sites secure and functioning correctly.

Drupal: another robust CMS, Drupal has complex website maintenance needs. These involve regular module updates, security patches, bug fixes, and performance optimisation. Drupal’s broad community support can provide solutions.

Wix: a user-friendly CMS known for its ease-of-use, Wix handles the majority of website maintenance tasks in the background. These tasks comprise of security updates, hosting matters, and certain integration updates. However, users are still responsible for keeping their site content up-to-date and ensuring any third-party apps they have installed are working correctly.

Magento: primarily used for e-commerce sites, Magento provides a range of website maintenance services, especially surrounding security and performance optimisation. Its services include security patching, version upgrades, code audits, and performance optimisation. Magento’s platform is robust and flexible, but it also tends to be more complex, and thus, might require more maintenance than others.

Comparison and Contrast of These Platforms

Security: All these platforms take website security seriously and regularly release security updates. WordPress and Drupal, due to their open-source nature, have large communities constantly working on security improvements. Wix handles most security updates automatically, shielding the end-user from the technicalities. Magento, with its focus on e-commerce, has robust security measures but requires more technical expertise to handle.

Updates and Upgrades: WordPress and Drupal regularly issue updates for their core software, themes, and plugins/modules. Wix automatically manages updates, while Magento users must schedule and perform updates manually.

Complexity and User-Involvement: Wix stands out for its simplicity and user-friendly interface, making it ideal for less tech-savvy users. Both WordPress and Drupal offer a balance, flexibility for developers, yet user-friendly for beginners. In contrast, Magento’s complexity and the need for manual updates require a steeper learning curve and the assistance of a developer is almost essential.

Community Support: WordPress, Drupal, and Magento, being open-source platforms, benefit from active community support, resulting in quick answers and shared solutions. Wix, being proprietary, provides official support channels but lacks the community support seen in the other platforms.

The approach to website maintenance differs across WordPress, Drupal, Wix, and Magento. Your choice should depend on the specific needs of your website, your level of technical expertise, and the amount of time you can dedicate to website maintenance.

Website Maintenance in Australia

Using an Overseas Maintenance Provider

Many Australian businesses may consider using an overseas maintenance provider due to potentially lower costs. However, several downsides should be considered. Time zone differences can delay communication and urgent updates. Also, overseas providers might not be as familiar with local SEO strategies, or Australian-specific regulations and standards such as data privacy.

Freelance Website Maintenance Services

Choosing a freelancer for website maintenance has its perks. Freelancers often offer competitive prices, flexible working hours, and personalised services. However, they might not provide the breadth of service that a specialised maintenance company might offer. Plus, relying on a single individual could be risky if the freelancer is unavailable when urgent issues arise.

Website Maintenance from Established Companies

Established companies like GoDaddy offer comprehensive website maintenance services. These companies have dedicated teams to handle various aspects of maintenance, ensuring a higher level of reliability and accessibility. They often have vast resources and robust systems to deal with any issues that may arise. However, their pricing may be higher.

Understanding How to Select the Right Website Maintenance Provider

Choosing the right website maintenance provider is crucial for the smooth operation and success of your online presence. But how do you know who to select when there are numerous providers, each offering a variety of services?

Things to Consider When Choosing the Right Website Maintenance Support

Here are several factors to consider when making your selection:

Technical Expertise: Choose a provider with the technical skills needed to maintain your specific website platform, whether that’s WordPress, Drupal, Wix, Magento, or another CMS.

Range of Services: The best providers offer comprehensive services, including content updates, technical maintenance, SEO maintenance, and security scans, so you don’t have to get these services from different providers.

Response Time: Fast response time is essential, especially if there are glitches or security issues on your website. If your website becomes totally unavailable for whatever reason, a good maintenance provider will resolve it as quickly as possible minimise downtime.

Reputation: Consider their track record and reviews. Are their clients happy with their service? A company with a solid reputation is usually a safe bet.

Quality Variations Depending on the Type of Service Provider

Different types of service providers offer varying quality levels. For instance, a web development agency could be an excellent choice for website maintenance as they are experts in understanding the ins and outs of how a website functions. Therefore, they may provide a more comprehensive and higher quality service, from improving site performance to fixing bugs.

On the other hand, freelance service providers might be more affordable, but they might lack the wide range of skills and resources that an agency would have.

The Role of a Website Maintenance Business and Their Offerings

Website maintenance businesses play a crucial role in ensuring your website remains operational, secure, and updated. Their offerings typically include (but are not limited to):

Regular website updates: These include software updates, content refreshes, and SEO updates.

Security: They ensure your website remains secure from cyber threats by installing security plugins, running regular security scans, and updating security patches.

Performance optimisation: This involves improving site speed and functionality to provide the best user experience.

Routine backups: They regularly back up your website so you won’t lose your data in case of a technical glitch or security breach.

24/7 support: They offer around-the-clock support when needed to resolve any critical issues quickly.

Understanding Key Technical Terms Relevant to Website Maintenance

Understanding these technical terms will help you to grasp the full scope of website maintenance, and to allow you to better communicate with your maintenance provider

Staging Environment: A staging environment is a clone of your live website where updates and changes are tested before implementation. It provides a safety net, preventing untested changes from causing problems on your live site.

Uptime Monitoring: Uptime monitoring involves checking your website periodically to ensure it’s accessible and running smoothly. It’s crucial in website maintenance to ensure your visitors and customers always have access to your site.

Off-site Backups: Off-site backups are copies of your website data stored in a different location from your primary data source. It safeguards your site against data loss in case of server failure, hacking, or other disasters.

Database Tune-ups: This practice involves optimising your website’s database by cleaning up unnecessary data to improve the site’s performance. Regular database tune-ups help maintain your website’s speed and efficiency.

Spam Filtering: Spam filtering is a program used to detect and block spam emails or comments. It’s essential in maintaining your website’s credibility and protecting it from potential security threats.

Maintenance Report: A maintenance report is a detailed document summarizing the maintenance tasks performed on your website within a specific period. It usually includes information such as updates made, security scans performed, uptime, backups, and any issues identified and resolved.

For example, a monthly maintenance report could include:

• The number of updates made to the site’s plugins, themes, or core software.
• The number of security scans performed, any security issues found and how they were resolved.
• The site’s uptime percentage, any downtime experienced, and the actions taken.
• Information about the off-site backups performed.
• Any performance improvements made, such as database tune-ups.
• The maintenance report is vital as it helps you keep track of your website’s health and the value you’re getting from your maintenance services, providing transparency of the work done.

Multisite Network Management: This involves managing and maintaining multiple websites simultaneously, usually from a single dashboard. It’s crucial for businesses that have several websites to ensure all the sites are updated, secure, and functioning optimally.

Resource Monitoring and Resource Alerts: Resource monitoring involves keeping track of your website’s resources, such as CPU usage, disk space, and bandwidth. Resource alerts, on the other hand, notify you when these resources reach critical levels. These processes are crucial to prevent overuse of resources, which could slow down or crash your site.

PHP Version Updates: PHP is a popular scripting language that powers many web applications. Regular updates to the latest PHP version ensure your website runs smoothly and securely.

Server Side Caching: Server-side caching is a method of improving website speed by storing a static version of your website on the server, reducing the need to process every request from scratch.

Cloud Hosting: Cloud hosting involves hosting your website on a network of virtual servers. It ensures your website remains accessible even if one server fails, providing better uptime and fast load times.

Conclusion

Regularly updating your website, ensuring its security, optimising its performance, and routinely backing up your data are all crucial tasks encompassed by website maintenance.

Understanding the ins and outs of website maintenance can be daunting, especially given the variety of platforms and service providers available. However, the importance of selecting the right service provider cannot be overstated.

While the cost of maintenance is a factor, the price of a poorly maintained website is much higher.

Pixel Key understands the intricacies of website maintenance and offers a wide range of services to protect your digital presence. Our team is dedicated to providing exceptional service, we prioritise your website so you can focus on what truly matters—growing your business.

Remember, in the digital world, your website is often the first impression you make. Ensure it’s the best it can be. Don’t hesitate—contact Pixel Key today for your website maintenance needs.

Ready to invest in your website’s health and longevity? Contact Pixel Key today and experience the difference that professional website maintenance can make.