We all know the world of the internet moves fast . . . to say the least. In the past, we’ve written about when your website requires an upgrade (generally 2-3 years). But even if your site is fairly fresh, say 6 months old, you should still be doing regular checkups to make sure your site is healthy and is accomplishing your goals.
Introducing Your 6-Month Checkup Checklist
- Make sure your plugins are all up-to-date, and check to be sure you have a plugin installed for regular backups. We like UpdraftPlus, a free WordPress plugin that you can configure to do daily backups onto your server or hard drive.
- Refresh any outdated static content. This could include your staff bios/descriptions, services, contact information, or any of the other static content on your site that may have become incorrect/irrelevant.
- Make sure you are getting the most out of your SEO. SEO is a world in and of itself, but anyone can make sure they are using healthy SEO practices by installing an SEO plugin (we like Yoast), and making sure that the headers and snippets are active and filled out for each page, as well as for each blog post.
- Do a quick run-through to make sure all links on your site are still working. Links should open in a new tab — you don’t want to direct people away from your site when they are in the middle of reading about you.
- Re-evaluate your blog. Are you posting at least 2x per month? If not, you may want to re-evaluate whether you really need a blog. A blog that is not active is sometimes worse than no blog at all. If you are posting regularly, make sure the topics are in line with your goals for your website and get some honest feedback from peers about the effectiveness of your content.
Need Some Additional Help?
The Weaving Influence web department is at your service! We can help you with:
- New fully designed and developed custom websites (we specialize in websites for authors and thought leaders).
- Templated websites for your book page, business, and more.
- Strategic advice about your website’s effectiveness, direction, and content.
- Blog curation, posting, and writing.
Interested in learning more about our web offerings? Be in touch with us at web@weavinginfluence.com.
Cheers!
Margy Kerr-Jarrett enjoys reading, writing, and spending time in nature with her husband and daughter. Born and raised in Indianapolis, IN, Margy has been living in Jerusalem, Israel for the past three years.