7 tips for maintaining your website

The flip side of a poorly maintained website can be likened to an overgrown garden. Overcrowded image folders, broken link URLs and unnecessary content cluttering up your website can make your users' experience worse and your webmaster's job unnecessarily difficult. Here are seven tips to make your maintenance work easier and create a better environment for your website.

1. Check links regularly

Get into the habit of regularly testing links. An external or internal page may have been removed or an address may be incorrectly formulated. Incorrect links impair the user experience. Also keep in mind that incorrect redirects negatively affect the website from an SEO perspective.

2. Be reminded to update

To keep your site fresh and up to date, there are various tools that can make your work easier. Modern CMSs often have features that remind you when it's time to review a particular page. Update the content and delete what is no longer relevant.

3. When you know a text has an expiry date

If you already know that what you are publishing will be out of date after a certain point in time, you can choose to time manage posts. You can then choose to set a date when what you publish will automatically be unpublished.

4. Making it easier for editors

In a CMS tool, not all administrators need to see all content. Therefore, to avoid burdening your editors with too many complicated functions, you can authorise your website. Editors only need to see the content and features they actually use.

5. Don't wait for the big cleanup

Instead of cleaning up every now and then, it is better to clean up continuously. This is mostly about images as these folders fill up at a rapid pace. If you upload three images but only use one – get into the habit of throwing away the other two that are not in use right away.

6. The trash is not an archive

It's not uncommon for our digital trash cans to grow bigger and bigger. But – the trash is not an archive. Think of it this way, if you need an archive, create an archive folder. Make sure you never have more in the trash than you can keep track of. It makes it easier to empty it and you do not have to delete items that you may have been looking for. If the bin is too full, you may not dare to empty it (horrible thought).

7. Think twice before accepting customisation

If you are offered the opportunity to customise your website, you should think carefully. A customisation can work great if the user understands how it works. If not, it can actually reduce its effectiveness, and you should be wary of that. Instead, use modules and standard functionality as much as possible. This will increase efficiency and make the web editor's job easier.