Your website is an important part of your work. In the 21st century it’s essential to have an online presence, and your site is frequently your ‘public face’ on the web. It offers a central location for people to find out more about what you do and then (hopefully) get in touch with you. That also means it’s vital for potential clients to arrive on a site that works correctly, loads speedily and where all the many elements that make up its functionality operate exactly as they should.

Second, websites aren’t static and unchanging – or at least they shouldn’t be. The content of your site may need to be edited if aspects of your work alter. You may need new pages added, text altered, different images uploaded or new features introduced.

Websites are complex

Your site is made up of lots of code – there’s the content management system, WordPress, the code that controls every single design element, and a number of plugins that provide additional functionality. And that’s before we even mention the vital ‘behind the scenes’ features like caching to speed up loading time, security to help prevent hacks and SEO to ensure your site can be found better on the web.

WordPress and the plugins used on your site are frequently updated, and it’s important to action those updates in good time so that your site keeps working smoothly. Sometimes, however, those updates can cause their own issues too, and it’s crucial to fix them as soon as possible.

Websites can be vulnerable

In designing and building a site for clients, Pilcrow + Pixel takes every possible precaution to ensure it will be safe from infections and malware – and obviously we hope that such problems never occur. But it’s impossible to guarantee 100% protection. If your site is infected, it can visibly break. Frequently, however, these hacks are completely invisible to visitors, but can signal to Google that your site should be blacklisted – something that will quickly damage your online reputation. Alternatively, visitors might be directed to spam sites instead of yours.

In the event of a hack, your site needs to be cleaned of the problem as swiftly as possible and, if necessary, a complete backup restored.

Can I take care of my site myself?

Yes, there’s nothing to stop you doing so. But keeping your website up to date, maintaining WordPress and its plugins, ensuring your site is secure and working correctly, plus taking regular backups – all these tasks are time consuming and (just between ourselves) often rather tedious. Carrying out such duties yourself takes you away from your work and all the things you should be doing. Plus, the technology used by your site continues to evolve and it’s important to keep abreast of all the latest trends and developments.