Once a website is complete, it’s impossible to make another one. Regular maintenance is necessary for your website, whether it’s minor updates or major redesigns.

Can you recall the look of websites in the late 1990s or early 2000s? If so, what would you do? Websites that are less than a decade old may seem outdated.

Let’s look at the common tasks that you will have to do when maintaining websites.

Page Additions and Product

Your online presence may increase your sales. Sometimes, you may have to create new pages. These tasks are fairly simple as long as you use a CMS.

A bulk upload option is available in your CMS that allows you to make multiple additions at once. This will enable you to add pages and products to your website using an Excel spreadsheet.

CMS Updates

You might discover that your CMS software has been updated, or that you have installed additional plugins. You can consult a web development company if you don’t know how to update your CMS. After a brief downtime, your site will be back to normal. There may be new functions that will help you sell better.

These updates will be handled by hosted CMS providers. However, they may notify users if the site is experiencing downtime. Being careful mixing older plugins with a new database can cause problems.

Design Refreshes

After your site is up for a while you may decide to change the background to white or to center the logo rather than placing it on the left. It is very easy to do this and it takes only a few minutes.

Edit your HTML or CSS files to change the look of your design. It is not a good idea to think that changing the color of your design will increase ROI.

Functionality enhancements

You will likely find a plugin to allow your website to work with a specific CMS feature. 

It is easy to search the web to see if any plugins can accomplish the task you desire. Another example of a plugin is Avalara. It allows you to modify your checkout process and collect your email addresses to sign up for your newsletter.

This might be a problem for those who use a hosted CMS. You may need to change CMSes.

What should I do if my website needs to be redesigned?

Websites less than 10 years old can look old, as we’ve already discussed. These options will be identical to those you chose the first time. You might have other ideas about how your website should look.

Be aware: Website owners who wish to redesign their website may need to change their CMS. This can cause more work.

What happens when I want to switch to a different CMS?

Changes to your CMS can be complicated. Every CMS has its requirements and stores information differently. It may also handle different processes. Switching CMSs can be difficult and require more work.

Sometimes, however, you may need to change to another CMS. It may be necessary to add more functionality or code. If this is the case, you might need more functionality or custom code.

You will need to maintain both sites while you move to a new CMS. If your site isn’t working, you may be able to export or import some data (e.g. order history, product pages, and user accounts).

Make sure you think carefully before you decide to change your CMS. Kobe Digital can help you manage major website tasks and projects.