Small business owners tend to think that once their website
is built, the job is done. They rarely look at the site critically again until
it is time for an overhaul several years later.
Smart Business spoke with Steven Vicinanza, Ph.D., CEO of
cloud computing provider BlueWave Computing LLC, for some tips on how to keep
the customer Web experience crisp and fresh.
Why is website maintenance important?
When your website falls into disrepair, customers come away
with a feeling that your company is not on top of its game. Especially in
service industries, delivering a quality Web experience can mean the difference
between winning and losing business. Why take a chance? Keeping a website in
good repair is a simple matter of putting a routine maintenance program in
place.
What is the biggest issue with website maintenance?
The No. 1 issue with website maintenance is out of date
information. Forget about the fact that the last press release on the site is a
year or two old. I’m talking about the basics. A company moves to a new office,
yet the old address is still listed on the website. Pages showing discontinued
products or referencing personnel who no longer work at the company are other
common problems.
Errors like that don’t put your firm in its best light, and
when a prospect shows up for a meeting at your old office, it won’t be fun
explaining that your site has the old address. So the first step in Web
maintenance is verifying that all information is current.