So, you’ve launched your shiny new site and you’re celebrating. Before you pop that bottle of champagne, we need to tell you something.
Even though your site has been launched doesn’t mean you can put your feet up and forget about it.
Let’s break it down with an analogy you may have heard before. Just like a car, you need to maintain it to make it run the best it possibly can. If you bought a new car, you wouldn’t run it into the ground by not scheduling regular oil changes and maintenance check-ups. Those same check-ups and updates are needed with your new website too!
Like new cars, modern websites are complex beasts with a lot of moving parts and technology. You have to think of your new website like a piece of software. Software is ever evolving and it needs to be updated to keep it running at peak performance.
What’s the solution?
A website maintenance plan with Roketto.
Here’s why you need a website maintenance plan, what’s covered in the deal and the risk you’ll experience if you opt out of a plan.
1
Why You Need a Plan
You need a maintenance plan so that you can have peace of mind that things are being monitored in the background. When updates are needed, they are applied. If there is an issue, we can fix it and you don’t have to worry about downtime and missed business opportunities.
If you decide to run these updates yourself, and you don’t have knowledge of the software, there is a very good chance things are going to break. Would you get under the hood of your car with no experience in mechanics? We hope not. There is a good chance you could break something there too. It’s always best to leave it to the experts who have a deep understanding of how your website was built. You want to avoid all the cascading effects one botched update can do to your site.
With custom built websites, like the ones we build at Roketto, there are many levels of software and design elements that can break if not updated properly. If you don’t have a full understanding of the software and run an update, your site could become unusable to your customers and be down for days.
The best practice when it comes to maintenance is to let the professionals handle it. Just like they handle your car.
2
Risks of Ignoring Updates
If you ignore essential updates, you are a sitting duck for a major hack. It’s not a matter of if, but when in most cases. Regardless of your business, bots constantly scan the web for known software vulnerabilities. And over time, your site becomes a target without updates. Once your site is hacked, you have the risk of ending up on on a blacklist and you might have your domain blocked completely.
Too often we see contact forms, special functionality, complete pages and full websites not working when regular maintenance checks don’t happen. More often than not, clients aren’t even aware that their site has been down for hours, or even days, because they’ve developed a “set it and forget it” mindset when it comes to their website.
3
Security Level With Maintenance Plan
The biggest reason you need a website maintenance plan is to ensure the security of your website.
As mentioned, vulnerabilities can be found, hackers and bots can run scripts and the end result is a major headache. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you do, your website could become a spam server or even a portal serving up porn. Trust us, we’ve seen it all and the end results can negatively impact your business both in the short term and in the long run.
Worst case scenario your domain can get blacklisted. This means you won’t show up in any searches. Your email marketing campaigns can also become blacklisted, which means no emails can be sent or received through your business email. Yes, things can get this bad and we’ve seen it happen before!
4
What We Do
When you let the professionals help with the maintenance of your shiny, brand new website, you’re allowing yourself to know that it’s in good hands. We’ll take care of it.
We offer a variety of maintenance options, for websites of different calibers. For smaller, simpler websites without complex features and functionality, we provide automated updates to all of the various systems that make up your website. And for larger, more complex websites that require a more hands-on approach, we'll manually update, followed by a close inspection of the website to ensure all is in order.
While many clients don’t understand the backend of their website, especially when it comes to updating and monitoring the security of it, they should acknowledge the importance of it. We’ll provide the client with detailed information about their website maintenance package and why it’s a good idea for them to understand what we’re talking about.
Sometimes it can seem like nonsensical jargon to you, just like the jargon at a mechanics shop, but we'll do our best to explain everything in clear and simple terms. We understand that there will probably be questions about the website management services. Don’t hesitate to call us, we can have an Account Director go over everything in detail with you.
5
Commit To a Maintenance Plan
Many people don’t think website maintenance is their problem until it becomes a major pain. A lot of regular maintenance is also preventative maintenance, much like with your car. Regular oil changes are relatively cheap vs never changing your oil, then having to replace your entire engine when it suddenly blows up without warning. Instead of rolling the dice and risking it all, it’s time to secure a website maintenance plan with Roketto.
Check out our maintenance plans and give us a shout to set your business up for peace of mind. Let’s start discussing the different website maintenance packages we offer and what would work best for you and your business needs.
Jason Pettyjohn
Doer of all things digital – Jason keeps projects on target, drawing on his rich background in web design, development and agency management.