These days, many websites opt to use open-source CMS platforms like WordPress, Drupal, and Umbraco. But although these platforms offer a more convenient and approachable site-building experience when compared to developing from scratch, their popularity also makes them a bigger cybersecurity target, given the greater ROI to bad actors.
These platforms make installing updates as simple as possible, but hitting the ‘Accept all updates’ button isn’t the same as developing a comprehensive website maintenance program. For instance, if you don’t review every potential update, how will you determine whether or not updates to one module will conflict with another? How can you ensure that patching one area of your site won’t impact the custom code you’re using there?
Although putting your maintenance on autopilot may seem appealing, it can cause more problems than the time-save is worth. Indeed, to update reliably, competently, and safely across sites of scale, you need comprehensive testing processes in place to ensure nothing goes wrong, along with a team that can guide you through ongoing maintenance activities and the order in which they should be scheduled.
Further, to ensure that your site stays accessible and compliant — no small task in today’s rapidly evolving environment — you’ll need the help of skilled partners that have experience undertaking comparable projects and that can implement efficient maintenance structures. Why Website Maintenance Matters
A lot of business leaders think that building and launching a new website represents the end of the project. The site is live, so they can move on to other priorities — only returning to the site when the content needs to be updated or new news items are released.
But this ‘set-and-forget’ mentality doesn’t make sense with the way modern business works. These days, companies often find themselves having to quickly pivot their operating models to respond to industry changes and global events. Even businesses that don’t change will find themselves faced with advancing technology and evolving regulations.
In other words, even if you’ve implemented best-in-class security and accessibility into your first build, it’s only best-in-class for that specific moment in time. As the technological and regulatory environment shifts, your top-of-the-line build can quickly become bottom-shelf. To prevent this, you need a solid maintenance and service structure that can keep up with the changing tech and legal landscapes.What is Website Maintenance?
Website maintenance is the practice of keeping your site safe, secure, enjoyable, compliant, and accessible over time. In other words, it’s the process of making sure that your site doesn’t just start out great. It actually stays that way.
Looking at the bigger picture, the most common website maintenance priorities typically involve identifying, evaluating, and implementing any security and patch releases for the OS, CMS, the site’s theme or framework, and any modules or plugins being used.
For example, many sites that used jQuery before v3.4 unknowingly exposed their sites to an XSS security vulnerability. While this issue was fixed in 2020, many businesses have yet to update their sites to the latest jQuery version and, as a result, are continuing to put themselves at unnecessary risk.
Beyond that, website maintenance also includes website optimisation: making sure that the site is still performing well and that it’s meeting the benchmarks of standard frameworks like Google Web Core Vitals.