Web Site Maintenance

Since web sites actually consist of static sets of files and images safely tucked away on a server, what is there to maintain? Not much, if you're only concerned that the site comes up and the links work.

What should be considered in site maintenance is a periodic evaluation of the sites exposure within search engines, does it still serve the original purpose, and is the content as relevant as it could be.

Search Engine Response
For the first few weeks after commissioning a new web site, owners try to find it using search engines. That is exactly what they should do and (assuming the site was developed by Hemispheres) they should be pleased with the results.

With the web expanding and search engines evolving, site maintenance should include periodic re-evaluation of your search engine exposure. Ideally, keeping a simple log of search criteria will allow repeated tests and comparative results. A quarterly evaluation is reasonable and healthy since you will also be testing your competition. Designing for search engines is a very important topic which we address more on our Site Promotion page.

Update Content
If you don't have content that becomes outdated, you should reconsider your content. A stagnant site rarely gets repeat visitors. Assuming you have changing content, keep it updated and fresh and inline with your other marketing efforts.

Redirect Pages
Most web sites evolve over time and often restructure their pages. That's good news. The bad news is that search engines and bookmarks have long memories. If you've clicked a promising search engine result only to get the dreaded "404 File Not Found", you've found the perfect reason to use redirect pages. As pages become obsolete or restructured, a redirect page of the same name can be installed to at least reroute the visitor to a valid page. It's both courteous and, in the case of business sites, professional.

File Backups
Lastly, Update META Tags