It’s nearly impossible to find an online enterprise without a website. A well-designed and functional website is critical to your business, and is generally a prospective client’s first impression of you and your business.
However, websites need regular TLC. If there is no one in-house to manage your website or if you’d rather not deal with website maintenance yourself, you can successfully outsource basic website maintenance to a tech VA.
Updating Links
If your website contains outbound links (links to publications, affiliates, reference materials, etc.) it is critical those links are fully functional. Outdated or broken links can give the impression your site is poorly maintained and that can be an instant turn-off for prospective clients.
You can delegate this task to a website-savvy VA. They will go through your site, test any outbound links, and replace any broken or outdated links.
Likewise, they can test the internal links on your site (links to other pages within your website) for full functionality and delete any links that lead to outdated information.
Adding/Deleting Menu Items
If registration for your Mastermind group is closed, or if that webinar was last week, those items and pages will need to be removed from your website’s menu sooner rather than later.
Adding/Deleting Pages
Keeping your website current includes adding new pages for additional products or services, or deleting outdated and expired pages.
Your VA can either write the new page copy themselves, or upload page copy created elsewhere. They’ll format it correctly, proofread it, and make it live on your site in real time.
Uploading Blog Posts And Images
Blog posts are still a part of SEO-friendly websites. Uploading and formatting blog posts can be a pain if you haven’t done it enough or would rather not do it altogether.
Your VA can successfully upload and format your blog posts for your site, and add appropriate images and links. They’ll add and resize images, and attach alternate text to those images, making them more searchable and accessible.
A VA can also delete spam comments on your blog, block commentors who violate the Terms of Service, and report any customer issues to you.
In many cases, the same VA that uploads your blog posts can also write those blog posts themselves. All you need to do is ask!
Updating Plug-ins
WordPress is one of the most popular and user-friendly website platforms. WordPress’ websites can run plug-ins, or third-party enhancements that offer extra features such as contact forms and SEO capabilities.
Plug-ins will need to be updated from occasionally to ensure full security and functionality. While this can take only a few minutes, it can be a hassle if it’s not within your skill set or if you’d rather not do it.
Wix’s websites have similar features, but they’re referred to as apps, and those will need to be updated on a regular basis as well. Again, a huge headache if you’d rather focus your attention on other aspects of your business.
Routine Testing
A satisfactory customer experience with a website depends largely on how well it functions. A site that freezes, hangs up, or is slow to load can be a turn-off and your potential customer may head elsewhere.
By outsourcing routine testing, you will have a dedicated professional test your site for functionality issues. They’ll verify if the site loads quickly, whether the links work, and whether images appear correctly in addition to other features.
You guessed it: a tech-savvy VA can do this for you, in addition to reporting any significant problems to you or to your website hosting company if you prefer.
A well-designed, fully functional website is your calling card within the digital space. Websites need regular maintenance to remain fully functional. By outsourcing your website maintenance tasks, you’re free to concentrate on your unique zone of genius within your business.
Need an assistant that will help with website maintenance? We got you — the first step is for you to click here to schedule your consultation with The Buddy Effect!