Your website is FINALLY done, and you are so happy with the outcome. You hired a top-notch web designer who nailed it when it comes to both design and functionality.

Now you can sit back, relax and put it out of mind, right? Not at all. In fact, that mentality has hurt even the savviest business owners and marketers. Your website, no matter how fantastic it is upon completion, will need regular website maintenance.

So, if you don’t have a plan for that yet, it’s time to put one in place. Consider this list of items you will need to maintain:

• Security Protection. Websites get hacked, malware and viruses wreak havoc, and site errors appear out of nowhere. Problems can occur without you even knowing about them. Consistent, regular monitoring is critical, so that you can address problems quickly before they hurt your business.
• Backups. Without regularly backing up your website, you run the risk of losing everything if a server crashes or you are hacked. Keep a regular backup schedule. Otherwise, you could be looking at rebuilding your website from scratch.
• Software Updates. If you’re using any software on your website, someone must monitor and apply any new updates in the background without disrupting the site. For example, WordPress and WordPress Plugins regularly releases new versions and security updates that put you at risk if you don’t apply the security patches in a timely fashion.
• SSL Certificates. SSL Certificates are now being required regardless if you are selling online. If it expires, it looks bad for business because your website looks unsecure to customers.
• Speed. Your website could suddenly become slow to load because of videos, images, content and more. You need to be on top of it by checking it regularly to ensure that the user experience isn’t negatively impacted.
• Broken Links and Dead Pages. Both infuriate visitors to your website, so it’s critical that someone is noticing the problems and resolving them quickly.
• Service/Product Information. You will add new services/products, change prices, release new versions, end sales and change packaging. Those changes need to be applied immediately to your website to avoid customer confusion and complaints.
• Content Updates. Contact information changes, employees come and go, you receive new testimonials, or create new ads or images, and those changes must be reflected on your website.