7 Things You Should Check on Your Website Every Month

Comsys Web design offers unsurpassed quality websites in any niche.

When was the last time you checked on your business website? Have you committed the cardinal sin of web design and left it alone since it went live?

We share 7 things you should check on your website each month in this infographic.

The key points are below:

Check your links
Update your content
Test on new browsers and devices
Double check all JavaScript interactions
Double check all forms
Update all hacks and workarounds
Have a backup plan

Check out the infographic for more detail.

Maintaining a website is like caring for a garden; it requires regular attention and maintenance to thrive.

Just as a gardener regularly checks for pests, weeds, and dying plants, a webmaster must also regularly inspect various components of their website to ensure optimal performance and user satisfaction.

Here’s a comprehensive monthly checklist to keep your website in prime condition.

Check Your Links

For small business owners, maintaining a functional and user-friendly website is crucial to establishing credibility and attracting customers.

One of the simplest yet most impactful ways to ensure your website remains effective is by regularly checking the links.

Here’s a detailed guide on how to keep your website’s links in check.

Why Checking Links Is Important

User Experience: Broken links lead to frustration and may deter visitors from exploring your website further, reducing engagement and potentially affecting sales.
SEO Impact: Search engines view links as a significant factor in ranking your website. Broken links can negatively impact your SEO, as they suggest that the site is not being properly maintained.
Credibility: Professionalism in a website includes attention to detail. Functional links show that you care about your customer’s experience and your business’s online presence.

How to Check Links Effectively

Manual Checking:

Frequent Inspection: Especially after updates or changes to your website, manually click through each link to ensure they lead to the correct pages.
Focus on High-Traffic Pages: Prioritize your homepage, contact page, and other popular pages to make sure all links are working as these are most often visited by your users.

Use Automated Tools:

Dedicated Link Checkers: Tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or free resources like Broken Link Check or W3C Link Checker can automate the process. These tools crawl your website similar to how search engines do and report any broken links.
Google Search Console: Utilize Google Search Console to find 404 errors reported by Google’s crawlers. This tool helps you see what links are not working from the perspective of search engine indexing.
Scheduling Regular Checks: Set up a monthly schedule to use these tools so that you maintain consistency without having to remember to do it manually each time.

Addressing Common Issues:

404 Errors: If a page on your site no longer exists but is still linked to, either update the link to point to a relevant existing page or remove the link if no alternative exists.
Redirects: Temporary redirects (302) should be converted to permanent redirects (301) if the change is no longer temporary, as 301 redirects are more SEO-friendly.
External Links: Check external links to make sure that the content they point to is still available and relevant. Websites you link to might have restructured or shut down.

Best Practices for Link Maintenance

Keep an Organized List: Maintain a spreadsheet of all external links and the pages they are found on. This helps you keep track of your site’s external dependencies and makes it easier to verify and update as needed.
Educate Your Team: If you have a team managing the website, ensure everyone understands the importance of linking correctly and how to check links themselves. This can be part of standard training for new content creators.
Optimize URL Structures: Keep URLs consistent and predictable; avoid overly complex URL structures. Simplified URLs are less likely to change and easier to maintain.
Test After Changes: Whenever updates are made to the site structure, content, or after migrating to a new CMS, thorough testing of all links on the site should be conducted to catch any issues caused by the changes.

Regularly checking the links on your website is a critical yet manageable task for small businesses. By ensuring all links work correctly, you maintain an optimal user experience, boost your SEO, and enhance your site’s credibility.

With the right tools and procedures in place, this task can be efficiently integrated into your monthly website maintenance routine, helping you keep your digital presence robust and professional.

Update Your Content

For small businesses, keeping website content up-to-date is not just about freshness; it’s a strategic imperative that impacts customer engagement, brand perception, and search engine optimization (SEO).

Here’s a guide on how to effectively update your website content.

The Importance of Content Updates

Engagement: Fresh content keeps your audience interested and coming back for more. Regular updates can also foster trust by showing that your business is active and informed about industry trends.
SEO Benefits: Search engines prioritize websites with updated, relevant content. Regular updates signal to search engines that your site is current, which can help improve your rankings.
Accuracy: Outdated information can mislead customers and damage your brand’s credibility. Keeping information accurate and up-to-date is crucial, especially for product descriptions, contact information, and pricing.

How to Update Content Effectively

Conduct a Content Audit:

Identify Outdated Content: Periodically review your content to identify pieces that are outdated, no longer accurate, or underperforming. Tools like Google Analytics can help identify which pages are visited less frequently or have high bounce rates.
Prioritize Updates: Focus on updating high-traffic pages first, as these have the most impact on your audience and SEO. Also, prioritize content that is crucial for your business operations, such as product information, pricing, and contact details.

Plan Your Updates:

Content Calendar: Create a content calendar that schedules updates throughout the year. This can include major industry events, seasonal changes, or product launches which your content should align with.
Regular Reviews: Set up regular intervals (e.g., monthly, quarterly) for content review and updating. This ensures your website does not fall out of date and allows you to respond to user feedback and analytics insights.

Update for Relevance and Quality:

Refresh Old Posts: Update blog posts and articles with new information, improved graphics, or additional resources. This not only adds value but can also revitalize older content for new audiences.
Enhance User Experience: Improve readability by breaking up text with headers, bullet points, and images. Ensure the content is mobile-friendly, considering a significant amount of web traffic comes from mobile devices.

Optimize for SEO:

Keywords: Review and update your keywords based on current SEO trends and keyword performance. Tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs can provide insights into which keywords are currently driving traffic and which are underperforming.
Metadata: Update meta titles and descriptions to ensure they are engaging and include relevant keywords. This helps improve click-through rates from search engine results pages.

Leverage Multimedia:

Incorporate Videos and Images: Adding or updating multimedia elements can make content more engaging and accessible. Consider creating video versions of popular posts or updating old images with higher quality versions.
Infographics and Visuals: Use visuals to explain complex information or data. This can increase user engagement and make your content more shareable on social media.

Best Practices for Content Maintenance

Track Changes and Performance: Use a version control system or a detailed changelog to monitor what changes have been made and when. This helps in assessing the impact of updates on traffic and engagement.
Engage with Your Audience: Encourage feedback on your content through comments or surveys. This direct feedback can be invaluable in understanding how your content is perceived and what updates are necessary.
Training and Delegation: If your team involves multiple people managing the website, ensure everyone is trained on the importance of content updates and how to execute them. This can include training on writing for the web, basic SEO, and using your CMS effectively.

Updating your website content is a crucial task that requires thoughtful planning and execution. For small businesses, it’s a powerful way to maintain a competitive edge, improve customer interaction, and boost search engine rankings.

Regular content updates should be an integral part of your digital strategy, ensuring that your website remains a dynamic and valuable resource for your customers.

Test on New Browsers and Devices

In the digital age, where technology evolves rapidly, ensuring your website performs optimally across all browsers and devices is essential. This not only affects user experience but also impacts your brand’s accessibility and reach.

Here’s how small businesses can effectively test their websites on new browsers and devices.

Understanding the Importance of Browser and Device Testing

User Accessibility: Your customers use a variety of devices and browsers. Some might browse your site on the latest version of Chrome using a high-end smartphone, while others might use older versions of Internet Explorer on desktops. Ensuring a good experience across the spectrum is key to reaching a broader audience.
Consistency in Experience: Your website should offer a consistent experience, meaning it should look and function similarly across all devices and browsers. This consistency helps in building trust and reliability with your users.
Optimization for Performance: Different browsers and devices handle website code differently. Testing helps identify performance issues that could affect load times and user engagement, which are critical for retaining visitors and improving SEO.

How to Test on New Browsers and Devices

Identify Your Audience’s Preferences:

Use Analytics: Tools like Google Analytics can show you which devices and browsers your current visitors are using. This helps prioritize which platforms need the most attention.
Market Trends: Stay informed about market trends, such as the most commonly used browsers and devices globally and in your specific industry.

Use the Right Tools:

Browser Testing Tools: Tools like BrowserStack, CrossBrowserTesting, or LambdaTest allow you to test your website on multiple browsers and devices without needing to own them physically. These platforms simulate how your website will appear and behave across different environments.
Responsive Design Testers: Tools like Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test or Am I Responsive? help you check how well your site adapts to different screen sizes, crucial for ensuring a good mobile experience.

Test Across Key Areas:

Functionality: Ensure all interactive elements like menus, forms, and buttons work correctly in different browsers and devices.
Layout and Visuals: Check that all visual elements appear as intended without alignment issues, overlapping components, or unintended styling changes.
Performance: Assess load times and responsiveness. Heavy sites can be particularly problematic on mobile devices with slower hardware or network connections.

Establish a Routine Testing Schedule:

After Updates: Always test your website after making changes, whether it’s a new feature launch, a redesign, or content updates.
Regularly Over Time: Even if your website hasn’t changed, browser and device updates could affect how your site functions or appears. Schedule regular tests to ensure ongoing compatibility.

Document Issues and Solutions:

Tracking: Maintain a log of any issues found during testing, including the browser/device combination and a description of the issue.
Resolution Follow-up: Keep track of how and when the issue was resolved. This documentation can help speed up future troubleshooting and prevent recurring problems.

Best Practices for Browser and Device Testing

Progressive Enhancement: Design your website’s functionality so that it provides a basic level of user experience in older browsers, but enhances it for users with the latest technology.
Graceful Degradation: This strategy starts with a full set of functionality which is then scaled back to accommodate older browsers and devices. The goal is to ensure that core functionalities are accessible even on older platforms.
Embrace Automation: Automate repetitive testing tasks where possible. Automation can save time and ensure consistency in testing procedures.
Engage Real Users: Sometimes, real user feedback can identify issues that simulated tests cannot. Consider beta testing with a segment of your real audience before a major launch.

Regular testing of your website on new browsers and devices is crucial for any business that aims to provide an excellent user experience to all its visitors.

This not only helps in retaining customers but also plays a significant role in attracting new ones by ensuring your site is accessible, functional, and aesthetically pleasing across all platforms.

By incorporating these testing practices, small businesses can maintain a robust, inclusive online presence.

Double Check All JavaScript Interactions

JavaScript is a cornerstone of modern web design, enabling interactive and dynamic user experiences. However, poorly functioning JavaScript can lead to a host of issues, from minor annoyances to major functionality breakdowns.

For small businesses, ensuring that all JavaScript interactions work correctly is vital to maintaining a professional online presence.

Here’s a detailed guide on how to efficiently manage this aspect of your website.

The Importance of Checking JavaScript Interactions

User Experience: JavaScript drives many aspects of modern web interfaces, including forms, sliders, pop-ups, and responsive menus. If these elements don’t work correctly, it can frustrate users and potentially drive them away.
Functionality: JavaScript errors can prevent users from completing actions, such as submitting forms, completing purchases, or accessing content, directly impacting your business operations and sales.
SEO Impact: While primarily affecting user experience, JavaScript issues can also impact SEO indirectly. For instance, if JavaScript errors slow down your site or prevent content from loading properly, it could lower your search engine rankings.

How to Effectively Check JavaScript Interactions

Identify Key Interactions to Test:

Critical Paths: Focus on testing critical paths that your users take to convert or complete important actions, such as making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or filling out contact forms.
Common Features: Ensure that features common to many users, like navigation menus and search bars, function seamlessly.

Use the Right Tools for Testing:

Browser Developer Tools: Modern browsers include developer tools that can be used to inspect JavaScript errors. Tools like Chrome Developer Tools, Firefox Developer Edition, or Safari’s Web Inspector provide consoles where errors are logged, making them easy to identify.
Automated Testing Tools: Consider using automated testing frameworks such as Selenium or Jest to simulate user interactions and check for JavaScript functionality. These tools can automate the clicks, typing, and other user actions to ensure your scripts react correctly under various scenarios.

Test Across Multiple Environments:

Different Browsers and Versions: Test your JavaScript on all major browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge) and different versions, especially older versions that your analytics indicate are still used by a significant portion of your audience.
Mobile and Desktop: Since JavaScript can behave differently on mobile and desktop, test on both types of devices to ensure functionality is consistent.

Simulate Real User Interactions:

Manual Testing: Have team members or testers manually interact with every JavaScript-driven element on the site and report any issues or unexpected behaviours.
User Feedback: Collect and analyse user feedback specifically about website functionality and responsiveness to identify areas that might need investigation.

Regular Updates and Refactoring:

Keep JavaScript Libraries Up-to-Date: Outdated libraries can lead to bugs and vulnerabilities. Regularly update any third-party libraries or frameworks you use.
Refactor as Needed: Over time, your JavaScript code might become cumbersome or patched with fixes. Periodically review and refactor your code to improve performance and maintainability.

Best Practices for Maintaining JavaScript Quality

Document Your JavaScript Code: Good documentation helps new developers and team members understand your JavaScript setup and makes troubleshooting and testing easier.
Implement Error Handling: Robust error handling can improve the user experience even when things go wrong. For example, gracefully handling errors when a form submission fails due to a network issue can keep the user informed and guide them on what to do next.
Monitor JavaScript Performance: Use performance monitoring tools to track how JavaScript affects your website’s load times and responsiveness. This can help pinpoint inefficient scripts that need optimization.
Train Your Team: Ensure that everyone involved in web development understands the importance of quality JavaScript implementation and knows how to test and debug JavaScript code effectively.

Properly functioning JavaScript is essential for a smooth, interactive web experience. By diligently checking JavaScript interactions, small businesses can ensure that their websites are both engaging and functional.

Regular testing, combined with the right tools and practices, will help keep JavaScript-driven features running smoothly and enhance overall site performance and user satisfaction.

Double Check All Forms

Forms are essential components of most business websites, facilitating everything from customer feedback and newsletter sign-ups to complex transactions and user registrations.

Ensuring these forms are functioning flawlessly is vital not only for user experience but also for maintaining operational efficiency and data accuracy.

Here’s a detailed look at how small businesses can ensure their website forms are performing optimally.

Importance of Reliable Website Forms

User Conversion: Forms are often the final step in the conversion process. A form that malfunctions can result in lost leads, sales, and sign-ups.
Data Collection: Accurate data collection through forms is crucial for effective customer relationship management and marketing strategies.
Customer Satisfaction: Efficient and user-friendly forms enhance overall customer satisfaction, reflecting positively on your business’s professionalism and attention to detail.

Steps to Double Check Form Functionality

Verify Form Fields:

Correct Data Capture: Ensure each field is collecting the intended data. For instance, that email addresses are recognized in the email field.
Validation Rules: Check that all validation rules are applied correctly (e.g., mandatory fields, format restrictions like phone numbers or zip codes).
Error Messages: Test for clear, informative error messages that guide users on how to correct entries. Ensure these messages are visible and easy to understand.

Test User Interactions:

Ease of Use: Ensure the form is easy to fill out, with a logical flow from one field to the next. Fields should be tabbable in sequence, and dropdown menus should work smoothly.
Mobile Responsiveness: As mobile traffic continues to grow, testing how forms behave on smartphones and tablets is crucial. Check for readability, ease of entry on smaller screens, and functionality of elements like date pickers or sliders.

Review Submission Process:

Submit Mechanism: Regularly test the submit button or mechanism to ensure it’s working as expected without delays or errors.
Confirmation Messages/Pages: After submission, users should receive confirmation either on the page or via a redirected confirmation page that assures them their data has been received.
Data Integration: Verify that data from forms is correctly pushed to other business systems such as CRM tools, email marketing platforms, or databases. Check for any integration failures or mismatches in data received.

Utilize Automated Testing Tools:

Selenium or WebDriver: Automate form testing, especially for complex interactions and validations.
Load Testing: Utilize tools to simulate high traffic on forms to ensure they function under stress, which is particularly important for high-traffic or critical business periods.

Implement Security Measures:

SSL Certification: Ensure forms are secured, especially those collecting sensitive information. Look for HTTPS in your URL as a sign that your forms are secure.
CAPTCHA: Implement CAPTCHAs for forms that are prone to spam submissions, helping prevent bot-driven abuse and ensuring data quality.

Best Practices for Form Design and Maintenance

Keep It Simple: Minimize the number of fields to only what’s necessary to reduce user fatigue and increase completion rates.
Regular Updates: As business needs and technologies evolve, so should your forms. Regularly review and update your forms to accommodate changes in your business process or user feedback.
Feedback Loop: Encourage users to provide feedback about their experience using the forms. This can be invaluable in identifying issues you might not have caught during testing.
Document Changes and Updates: Keep a changelog for form configurations and updates. This helps track what changes have been made and simplifies troubleshooting if issues arise.

Forms are a critical touchpoint between your business and your customers. By rigorously testing and regularly updating them, small businesses can ensure they are maximizing their effectiveness in user engagement and data collection.

A well-functioning form not only supports business operations but also enhances user experience, contributing to higher satisfaction and conversion rates.

Update All Hacks and Workarounds

In the fast-paced world of web development, hacks and workarounds are often necessary to address immediate issues, accommodate browser idiosyncrasies, or implement features unsupported by existing technology.

However, relying on these temporary fixes can lead to maintenance challenges and potential vulnerabilities as technologies evolve. Small businesses must periodically review and update these patches to ensure continued efficiency and security.

Here’s how to manage and update hacks and workarounds effectively.

Understanding the Impact of Hacks and Workarounds

Technical Debt: Hacks and workarounds can accumulate over time, creating technical debt that makes future updates or changes more complex and error-prone.
Security Risks: Many hacks involve manipulating standard functionalities in ways they were not intended to be used, which could open security gaps if not handled properly.
Performance Issues: Some workarounds might degrade your website’s performance, especially if they involve complex scripts or outdated plugins.

Strategies for Managing and Updating Hacks

Inventory Existing Hacks:

Document Everything: Keep a detailed record of all hacks, including where they are implemented, why they were used, and any potential risks they pose. This documentation will be invaluable for future maintenance and audits.
Regular Reviews: Set a schedule to review documented hacks regularly. This helps in assessing their continued necessity and potential impact on new updates or security patches.

Evaluate the Necessity of Each Hack:

Reevaluate Regularly: As browsers update and new technologies emerge, what once required a hack might now be natively supported. Regular evaluation helps determine if a workaround is still necessary.
Seek Standard Solutions: Whenever possible, replace hacks with standard, supported implementations. This might involve updating your frameworks, libraries, or even rethinking how certain features are implemented.

Test Alternatives:

Prototype Solutions: Before fully replacing a hack, prototype potential solutions in a controlled environment to ensure they work as expected without introducing new issues.
Gradual Rollout: Implement the new solution gradually if possible. Monitor the performance and user feedback closely to ensure no functionality is lost.

Update and Optimize:

Refactor Code: When removing hacks, take the opportunity to refactor the surrounding code. This can improve readability and performance, reducing overall technical debt.
Enhance Security: Assess any security implications of the original hack and strengthen security measures when implementing new solutions.

Use Professional Development Practices:

Version Control: Use version control systems to manage changes in your codebase, allowing you to track changes and revert back if something goes wrong.
Code Reviews: Implement a code review process where changes, especially those involving removal of hacks, are examined by multiple team members. This helps catch potential issues early.

Best Practices for Reducing Future Dependence on Hacks

Stay Updated: Keep your technology stack up to date. Regular updates often include fixes that eliminate the need for certain hacks.
Follow Best Practices: Adhering to coding best practices and standards helps reduce the need for hacks in the first place. Invest in quality coding training for your team.
Plan for Longevity: When designing solutions, always consider long-term maintenance. Opt for solutions that are sustainable and scalable over quick fixes that might not age well.
Engage with the Community: Participate in developer communities related to your technologies. These can be invaluable resources for finding out how others have solved similar problems without resorting to hacks.

While hacks and workarounds can be necessary at times, they should not become permanent fixtures in your codebase. Regularly updating and eliminating these can help ensure your website remains secure, efficient, and easy to maintain.

For small businesses, maintaining clean, professional-grade code is not just about aesthetics or functionality—it’s about ensuring the longevity and scalability of your digital assets.

Have a Backup Plan

In today’s digital age, the data on your website holds immense value and is often integral to the operation of your business.

Loss of data due to hardware failures, cyber-attacks, or human errors can be devastating. A comprehensive backup plan is essential to ensure business continuity and data integrity.

Here’s how small businesses can develop and maintain an effective backup strategy.

Understanding the Importance of Backups

Data Security: Regular backups protect against data loss from various threats, including system failures, malware attacks, and accidental deletions.
Business Continuity: In the event of data loss, backups ensure that your business can continue operating with minimal disruption.
Compliance and Trust: Certain industries have regulations requiring data protection, and customers trust businesses that can protect their information effectively.

Components of a Strong Backup Plan

Determine What Needs to Be Backed Up:

Identify Critical Data: Prioritize backing up data critical to your business operations, such as customer databases, transaction logs, and user-generated content.
Include Website Files: Don’t just back up databases; include all files making up your website, such as HTML/CSS files, scripts, and multimedia content.

Set a Backup Schedule:

Frequency: The frequency of backups should reflect the frequency of data changes. For businesses frequently updating content or handling many transactions, daily backups might be necessary.
Automation: Use automated tools to schedule backups to occur at regular intervals (e.g., nightly) to reduce the burden on staff and minimize the risk of forgetting to perform a backup.

Choose Your Backup Solutions:

On-site vs. Off-site: On-site backups are quick to access and restore but are vulnerable to physical threats like theft or natural disasters. Off-site backups provide protection against such threats but may take longer to restore from.
Cloud Backup Services: Services like Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure offer scalable, secure backup solutions that are ideal for many small businesses. They often include tools to manage backup frequency and data retrieval.

Ensure Security of Backup Data:

Encryption: Encrypt backup data both in transit and at rest. This protects sensitive information from unauthorized access.
Access Controls: Limit access to backups to only those who absolutely need it to minimize the risk of accidental or malicious data loss.

Regularly Test Backup Integrity:

Restore Tests: Periodically test restoring data from your backups to ensure the integrity of the data and the functionality of the backup system.
Review and Adjust: Regular reviews of the backup process can help identify and rectify issues such as inadequate coverage or failures in the backup software.

Document Your Backup Procedures:

Clear Documentation: Maintain clear documentation of your backup processes, including tools used, schedules, and personnel responsibilities. This documentation should be readily accessible and updated regularly.
Training: Ensure that staff are trained on the backup procedures and understand the importance of following them.

Best Practices for Backup Management

Incremental Backups: Consider incremental or differential backups, which only save changes since the last full backup, reducing storage needs and speeding up the backup process.
Diverse Backup Media: Use different types of backup media (e.g., SSDs, HDDs, tapes) to safeguard against specific media failures.
Stay Updated: Keep your backup software and protocols updated to ensure compatibility with current systems and security standards.
Plan for Rapid Recovery: Develop a recovery plan that outlines how to restore systems quickly and efficiently in the event of data loss.

Having a comprehensive backup plan is crucial for small businesses to protect against data loss and ensure operational continuity.

By implementing a robust backup strategy that includes regular, secure backups and periodic testing, businesses can safeguard their digital assets against unforeseen events and maintain trust with their customers.

Conclusion

Regular maintenance is essential for the smooth operation of any website. By implementing a monthly review routine, you ensure that your site remains functional, relevant, and engaging.

This not only enhances user experience but also bolsters your site’s reputation with both users and search engines.

Dedicate time each month to perform these checks, and your website will continue to serve as a dynamic and reliable resource for all who visit.

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