Keeping Your Website In Top Condition - 5 Easy tips for
maintaining a streamline site
Whether you are the master of your own domain or webmastering
for someone else, you want to maintain the most efficient
website you can. To achieve this takes diligence and awareness
on your part. Here are five ways to maintain that site with
minimum effort. The best idea is to schedule this small list as
part of your regular weekly routine.
1. Go through your site and click on links. Check to ensure that
all links work and are loading properly. If you have massive
lists of links, break them down and do a portion a week as a
rotating maintenance. This upkeep includes images. Take a quick
tour through your site to make sure there are no broken images.
Nothing looks so unkempt as that little red x where your image
should be.
2. Check the bulletin board or guest book and reply or respond
to your correspondence. People love getting prompt and courteous
answers to questions or queries they address to you. Even if one
of your visitors has left a small comment or url in your guest
book, respond to them. This is internet networking in it's most
elemental form, but the returns are enormous. Branding your name
to your site is how people will remember you and return often.
Receiving a note in their email saying something such as "thanks
for dropping by (mysite.com) and leaving your url for us" is
going to further imprint your internet address in their mind.
It's great public relations.
3. If you carry affiliate advertising or other sponsor text or
banners, check your management page to make sure the affiliate
is still active. A common maintenance problem webmasters face is
a discontinued sponsor link. Your surfers end up at a 404 or
they reach the affiliate's home page, but you don't get the
credit for their click-thru. You can't make money if your
affiliate link isn't active.
4. Update time-sensitive information or links. One of the most
annoying things for your visitors is to be drawn into clicking a
link, only to find the topic/contest/offer expired. They may not
click next time. Keep your website current.
5. Remember to change your *this site updated on - * date.
People will continue on their way if they surf to sites that
haven't been updated in forever. Current information and
articles will attract readers far faster than material last
updated months ago.
With these five simple maintenance tips scheduled into your
regular routine, you'll not only cut down on larger upkeep
later, but embarrassment from receiving reader email telling you
this or that is down. You want to present efficiency and care.
Keeping the little things fixed is a great way to do just that.