Step by Step Guide to Website Maintenance
How often do you check the status of your website? If you’re like most people, it isn’t very often. But doing regular checks and maintenance on your website can make all the difference in the world to ensure that it’s performing at its best and keeping you safe from cyberattacks and other problems.
Here are some things to keep an eye on so that you can use this information to improve the site’s performance, security, and uptime.
- Set up your website: Setting up your website might sound like a lot of work. It’s not, though. There are plenty of free tools that make getting started easy and affordable. Choose a website-building platform—WordPress is an excellent choice since it’s both free and famous—and build your site from there.
- Backup your files: Backing up your files can help minimize downtime if you ever experience an issue with your server or hosting. It’s one of those things that sounds like overkill but can come in handy down the road. Take some time to back up your files and databases regularly and avoid potential headaches later.
- Update your plugins:Many website owners don’t spend time updating their plugins, which can result in a compromised site. There are hundreds of plugins that can help improve your site—but many aren’t updated as often as they should be, leaving room for security vulnerabilities.
- Scan and remove malware:Scan your site for malware and adware by downloading a free web-based scanner. This will help you identify any malicious files or scripts slowing down your site or causing unwanted pop-ups. After scanning, use your FTP program to access your site’s folder on your web host’s server. You can then delete any folders you don’t recognize, remove any suspicious files, and install new antivirus software if necessary. Ideally, it should take just 5 minutes.
Conclusion
Scheduling and carrying out these maintenance tasks isn’t tricky, but it can be daunting. However, if you follow our simple guide, your website will stay healthy so you can focus on more important things in your business.