your site is alive
July 18, 2018
written by
Rex Vokey
your site is a living, breathing entity.
You know that website your “web guy” built in 2001? Those were simpler times. Throw some code together in Dreamweaver or FrontPage and put it on some cheap hosting. As long as you paid to keep your domain and hosting, you were good to go. Things aren’t so simple anymore.
your modern site requires constant work.
So you had your custom site built on WordPress. All done, right? Nope. Now you have something to nurture and care for, like a pet. Why? The easiest answer is, technology changes – a browser update (IE switching to Microsoft Edge) or iPhone size changes your site visitor’s experience for the worse and the site has to adjust to it. Next, it must be fed regular code updates to stay on top of security and privacy changes. Of course, there is also your web hosting setup, depending on what service you use, even your server requires attention.
Like your actual business strategy, things change so marketing initiatives may require structural changes. It’s been shown that having fresh content on your site may lead to better results on search engines. Lastly, it’s the law. ADA, accessibility, GDPR, privacy…. all of those things mean you have to update your site or get your pants sued off. But of course those updates are made because it’s the right thing to do, your website and therefore your business will benefit the more people who can use your site.
We know you’re asking now….WHY? For what reason did something so simple have to become so complicated?
content management systems bring your site to life.
It’s pretty much your own fault. Because website owners wanted to administer their own sites, open-source tools emerged from communities of people who wanted to give us that choice. There are lots of nice do-gooders out there who believe you shouldn’t have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to have the ability to edit your site. Some started as something other than a full-fledged content management system (CMS) –WordPress was a blogging platform, for example. Others were intended as full content management systems from the beginning. Market share and developer support has varied over the years, but WordPress has become a very dominant leader.
So instead of a static page, you now have a living and breathing piece of software that needs care and feeding or like your kid’s Tamagotchi, it will die.
Coming soon: How to care for your website.