Whether you already have a website or are still in the planning stage – there is one especially important thing to keep in mind: Websites need frequent attention and updating. Your business changes, and your website needs to change with it.
You may already be aware that creating a valuable and productive website takes planning and thoughtful execution. And when you’re done, you may be ready to ready to throw a party, take a long weekend, and shout, “We did it! I can cross that item off my list now!” However, just because a site is live, doesn’t mean the work is done.
Your website is your public face
Your website is often the first contact someone will have with your business or organization. It is where current and potential customers will expect to find the most up-to-date information. Those who already know about you can use it to learn about new products, services, staff, etc. Those who don’t know about you, but are in the market for products or services you offer, can find your website and then learn about your company. A website is an excellent vehicle for persuading existing customers to be even more loyal and for enticing potential customers to reach out.
However, to maintain a website’s value, someone must be responsible for keeping the content up to date. If the information is inaccurate, the first impression is unlikely to be positive one.
The most important thing to remember: “It’s never done.”
We recommend tasking one person with the sole responsibility of maintaining the website. This person will gather all the information, format it in a compelling way, and then post it following basic marketing principles, web standards and search engine optimization.
Note: A part-time volunteer or a great-grandchild aren’t necessarily the best fit for the task of keeping content current. You wouldn’t have your neighbor’s kid act as your full-time salesperson. You wouldn’t mail an outdated brochure or use crayons to create your business cards. Trust a committed responsible adult to keep your website up-to-date.
Tasks for the website point person
- attend meetings with the sole focus of gathering details to add to the website
- become known as the go-to-person within the organization for website content
- be familiar with what your competition is doing online
- know what information is currently on the site
- keep track of content to be added, expanded, updated or removed
- know where new information will best fit within the structure of the site
- keeps a watchful eye on web statistics
Keeping your website up-to-date is critical to your success
Some websites are easier than others for non-professional developers to update. At Trevellyan.biz, we build our websites with the client in mind. Because we understand the importance of frequently updating a site, we do our best to build the site in a way that will make it easy for the client to update the content that changes most often.
Still not sure you’ll have time to update website content? Maybe it’s time to consider hiring out for this work. When you hire us to maintain the content of your website, you are ensuring that your website remains secure and up-to-date. Also, you can be confident that it will function smoothly and this upkeep will reflect well on your organization.
Learn more about our Content Management Service. Alternatively, give us a call at (518) 392-0846 or email [email protected].