WordPress is still the king when it comes to website building. It is the most popular web builder worldwide, offering a wide range of themes and builders that make it customizable and user-friendly. It is a solid base to build upon, with loads of room for creativity and personalized elements.
When it comes to the upkeep of your WordPress website, you do not need a web developer or coder. There are a handful of simple steps you can take to keep your website in tip-top shape. And the best news? You can do most updates within an hour. Here are our quick and easy steps to refresh your website.
1. Update your plugins and themes – 5 min
The first step in keeping your WordPress site running smoothly is updating all the elements used to build it. This includes plugins, themes, internal builders, and WordPress itself. Thankfully, this is super easy since WordPress sends notifications to your dashboard when an update is available.
Look near the top of your menu in the dashboard after you log in. You will see a red notification next to the item ‘Updates’ if you have updates available. From there, you are able to select and run updates on whatever plugins and themes you wish. As a default, you can generally run any updates available.
Note: Sometimes, different plugins and themes clash after big updates. Always make sure to have a backup of your site ready in case an update crashes it. This most often happens when WordPress itself has a big update, and plugins have not updated their programs to accommodate.
2. Backup your website – 10 min
On that note, make sure your website has a backup system in place. If you already have a backup plugin in place, run your website through and create a recent backup of your site.
If you do not have this in place, here are a few ways to do it:
- Download a plugin like Jetpack or UpdraftPlus
- Save a compressed folder of your site to Google Drive by doing exports of each individual element (your themes, customizer and appearance settings, media files, posts, and pages)
3. Run a speed test – 20 min
Visit the WordPress Speed Test site or Google Page Insights and spend some time seeing where your site speed can be improved. Simply plug in your homepage URL, and in about 30 seconds, you will have a list of improvements you can make to your site. These changes are ones you will make over time rather than right away; Site speed is something you will continue to work on throughout the life of your site.
Note: This is also a great time to review your media, plugins, and themes list and delete any you are not actively using. This is an easy way to improve your site’s speed!
4. Refresh your Header and Call to Action – 25 min
While your site speed and updates are important, a fast site is nothing without solid messaging, a beautiful design, and a strong call to action.
- Take this time to look at your hero image (the very first full-width section on your page). Do you have an engaging image that is clear, bright, and recent? Does it help draw visitors in and explain what you do? If not, consider updating your image. The best images are not blurry or pixelated and are simple, with a strong visual subject in the frame.
- Next, take a look at your messaging. Your header should contain a single strong statement that explains what you do. This is important for two reasons. First, any visitor to your site will know exactly what you have to offer immediately without scrolling. And second, your header text (or H1) is what Google will prioritize when indexing your site. That means the stronger your header statement, the better chance you have of your site being listed high on Google.
- The last thing to check for in your header (and throughout your entire site) is a call to action statement. This should be in the form of a bold bright button that directs your audience to where you want them to go. Is your goal for them to book an appointment? Join your email list? Choose a service? Make that goal clear and accessible through your site via a call to action button.
Still have time left?
Make a mobile optimization improvement to-do list! Visit your website on your phone and skim through all the pages. Are there any sections that don’t display well on mobile? Or text that is cut off or too big? Images that don’t show the main element? Make note of these things that can be improved and in your next refresh session, you can begin improving these page by page. Almost 65% of all website traffic is through mobile, so this is not something to ignore!
Refreshing your website is not a one-and-done task. We suggest you do this monthly to keep your site up to date. After all, your website is your best employee. It works 24-7 and 365 for your business. Thankfully, if you stay on top of these refresh tips, it should take less than an hour each time.
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