The Importance of Website Maintenance as a Business Strategy During a Recession

Author: Carolyn Menz Category: Web Design Date: May 15, 2020

Right now, at a time when in-person interactions are severely limited and just about everything is happening virtually – schooling, business meetings, even grocery shopping – the importance of website maintenance for your business cannot be overstated. For many businesses, your website may be the only marketing tool you have available to you during this pandemic, and properly maintaining your site is a critical first step in keeping your business alive. This is going to remain especially true if the virus-led recession that some experts are predicting ends up heading our way next.

A looming downturn can be a very scary thing for any business. However, understanding how to leverage your website in the face of a recession (by updating your website content regularly and readying the site for necessary shifts in your business operations) can put you ahead of the curve against your competitors if and when the market does spiral downward.   

What is website maintenance?

Website maintenance activities include things like site backups, security updates, site monitoring and content updates. In other words, it is any proactive step you take to check for issues and mistakes, and to ensure your website is updated and relevant.

Many marketing and web design firms offer website management services as they work to underscore the importance of website maintenance. You can think of website maintenance as an insurance plan of sorts, to protect your website, which is often one of your business’s greatest investments. In the event of a recession, when everything around you seems so uncertain, at least your website is up and running and continuing to showcase your business in a positive light.

Why do I need website maintenance?

Implementing a website-related business strategy during a recession – in particular, one that includes a regular website content audit – can quite literally save your business when the market gets rough. Your fully functional, thriving website shows the world that you were prepared for the storm, and you’re still here despite the nasty conditions. It also means that, if things do take a turn for the worse, and you need to refocus your time and energy on weathering that storm, your website won’t be one more thing to cause you additional stress and headaches, because it’s been properly managed from the start. By taking the importance of website maintenance seriously, your website is ready for you to leverage – in whatever way the current business climate requires.

Even outside of a recession, the benefits of website maintenance are vast and include things like:

•   Increasing the security of your site
•   Boosting traffic
•   Optimizing the user experience
•   Spotting and fixing bugs proactively, before they become a widespread issue

What happens if I don’t maintain my website?

The short answer is: Your business can be severely impacted. Your contact forms could stop submitting. Your images could quit displaying properly. Your site speed could start dragging. Your site could be attacked by malware. Or, the content could simply become stale and outdated. And, if that’s not enough to underscore the importance of website maintenance, consider that any one of those issues could end up damaging your credibility. When times are already tough, the last thing you want to do is turn off your existing customers, all because of a mismanaged website.

For more information on the importance of website maintenance in the midst of a recession, contact Paradigm today and ask about our monthly website maintenance services.