Website management, according to a pro

Whether you run a small business or a large corporation, your website is one of the most important assets you have. If your site isn’t managed properly, it can be hard to get the most out of it. In fact, 88% of consumers are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience. In this article, you’ll learn what website management is, why it’s important and how to build your own management plan to take your business to the next level in the year ahead. Tip: Learn how making a website on Wix gives you access to dozens of features that make website management easier. What is website management? Website management is the process of maintaining and developing a website so that it is secure, attractive, fully functional and up-to-date, once you've built your website. This process applies to the site’s design, structure, content, features and marketing. Why is website management important? Website management is important because a website that is poorly managed tends to be slow, clunky, outdated or even unsecure. Let’s discuss the reasons website management is important in greater detail: User experience: According to a global market research company, every $1 invested in user experience (UX) has a $100 return on investment. Effective website management can help to ensure that a website is easy to navigate, visually appealing, and provides a positive user experience. This can keep visitors on the site and encourage them to interact with its content. Content freshness: Regularly updating and adding new content to a website can help to keep it fresh and relevant, and can also help to improve the website's search engine ranking. Technical performance: Proper website management can help to ensure that a website is functioning properly and is available to users. This can include monitoring and fixing technical issues, such as broken links and loading errors. Slow loading, for example, is one of the most common reasons consumers leave a website: An Adobe survey found that 41% of consumers will stop viewing a site that takes too long to load. Security: Website management can also include implementing measures to protect the website and its users from security threats, such as malware and hacking attempts. Brand reputation: A poorly managed website can reflect poorly on a business or organization, damaging its reputation and potentially causing loss of customers or donors. On the other hand, an effectively managed website can help to build trust and credibility with users. How to manage your website in 6 steps Most business owners can relate: we work hard and we want to spend time doing what makes us happy. However, managing our websites is just another item on our to-do list that never seems to get checked. If you're struggling with website management, don’t worry—you don’t have to be an expert to make your website work for you. Here’s how to manage your website: Choose a content management platform Back up your website Secure your site Monitor your website Refresh your site design Market your website 01. Choose a content management platform A content management system (CMS) is a software application that allows users to create, publish and edit digital content on a website. A quality CMS simplifies the website management process from the beginning with a user-friendly interface for managing and organizing website content. Very often your CMS will include options that range from simple website templates, to more complex ones - enabling you to get your site off the ground easily. You can also decide whether you want to create a static website or a dynamic one. 02. Back up your website If something goes wrong with your website, you will be glad that you took the time to back it up. Website backup refers to the process of creating a copy of the website's files and data and storing it in a separate location. Backups are helpful in a variety of situations, such as when you make large-scale adjustments or when you want to revert changes you made by accident. There are a few different ways to back up a website, including manually downloading the website's files and database, using a backup plugin or using a backup service provided by the website's hosting company. It's important to regularly back up a website to ensure that it can be restored in the event of a problem. The frequency of backups will depend on how often the website's content is updated and the importance of the content to the business or organization. 03. Secure your website One of the most important aspects of website management is security. Implementing security measures protects an online business and its customers from threats such as malware and hacking attempts. Where you host your website impacts how secure your website is, so choose a reliable free hosting provider such as Wix that has a good reputation, security certifications and 24/7 customer support. 04. Monitor your website Website maintenance is the practice of monitoring your website’s overall health and performance. This step is very important because it will determine which website management tasks are most urgent. Here are a few best practices for website maintenance: Use analytics tools such as Wix Analytics to monitor the website’s traffic and performance. Regularly visit your website and open each web page to make sure they’re all working properly. Check plugins and update them as needed. This will keep your website from failing users. Look at competitor websites and see if your website is keeping up with the trendiest web design. Check your website speed to make sure it’s running fast. Slow-loading websites lead to a massive revenue loss each year and negatively impact your website performance. 05. Refresh your site design If a customer goes onto your site and sees an outdated design, they’re more likely to leave and go to a competitor with a modern, up-to-date website. Indeed, 38% of visitors will stop engaging with a site they find unattractive. Regularly updating your website design keeps visitors on the page and therefore improves the likelihood that they will convert. The same goes for content creation, make sure you keep the content on your site refreshed and up to date. Over time this may make redirects necessary, in which case its important to choose a website builder where these content optimization and refresh processes are easy to do. Don't also forget to include a website privacy policy page if you've forgotten one up to now. 06. Market your website Marketing is important to website management because it gives you control over your content so you can connect with customers in the ways they prefer. You can also use website marketing to create personalized experiences for users and build loyalty by providing them with content that fits their needs and interests. When used correctly, website marketing has been shown to increase traffic and sales for businesses (and when creating a personal website). It also makes their websites more effective at converting visitors into customers by providing them with a personalized experience that matches their needs. Here are a few marketing strategies that are good for website management: Use search engine optimization (SEO) best practices on your web page to bring in traffic to your web address and site. Send out email campaigns to your contact list, thus keeping them in the loop. Run a referral program with incentives for clients that bring you new business. Create paid ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms. Website management resources and tools For business owners, whether just figuring out how to start a business or more seasoned, it’s important that website management not cost an arm and a leg. While you should invest in your website management, you can also be resourceful and mindful of how much a website costs. Here are some free and paid options to help manage your website. 01. Wix When it comes to hosting your business website, you need a platform that has a CMS, marketing tools, website security and more. On the Wix Editor, you can efficiently manage your content with its CMS (Content Management System), market your site using its step-by-step tools and stay up-to-date with your system. Plus, Wix is one of the leading platforms for site reliability. It also has an average server uptime of 99.98%, so downtime isn’t much of a concern. Check the Wix Status page for real-time updates. 02. Semrush When it comes to marketing your website, Semrush will give you all of the data you need to excel. The all-in-one marketing platform is designed to help you efficiently and effectively promote your business with tools to grow traffic, increase leads and sell more products. You can do keyword research, run SEO and website audits, analyze your PPC and social campaigns, track backlinks and monitor your website analytics. Semrush allows access to a lot of their features for free, but their paid plans have even more features to take your website management to the next level with marketing. 03. Notion Are you struggling with keeping your content managed? Notion can help you navigate your content whether it’s customers, inventory, services, and more. Their platform is free for one user. They allow you to add your team, upgrade storage, and unlock more premium features with their paid plan. How much does it cost to manage a website? Website management costs can vary depending on the complexity and size of your website, type of content you have and the specific needs of your business. There are however some common factors that can influence the cost: Domain and hosting: Domain names usually cost from $0-$20 per year and web hosting can range from around $0 to $200 per month, depending on your provider and package. With a Wix site, web hosting is included free, for example. SSL certificate: To ensure your website is secure, an SSL certificate is needed. This can be free, with a Wix website it is, or cost up to $200/year. Website design: If you’re updating your website design or implementing new features, a freelance web designer might charge anywhere from $20 to $100 per hour. Content creation: The cost of content such as blog posts, videos, or infographics, can range from $50 to $500+ per piece, depending on the complexity and quality required. SEO: Basic SEO services from a freelancer or agency can start from $80 per hour, and up to $2,000 per month. Get started for free with Wix's SEO features. Maintenance and support: This could be as low as $0 for small sites, or with Wx sites, to over $2000/month for larger ones for managing updates, solving issues and providing user support. Marketing and advertising: If you're promoting your website through SEO, Pay-Per-Click advertising, social media marketing or other methods, these could all have varying costs. Tools and plugins: Many websites use paid tools or plugins to add functionality, which can range from $0 to $100 per month. Check out the Wix app market for more information. e-Commerce features: If your website includes online selling, additional costs may include payment gateway fees, shopping cart software and potential inventory management solutions. With Wix ecommerce, many of these are included for free.