Due to the nature of how websites are designed and developed, it is easy to be overly focused on the initial ‘going live’ period. And while the process of designing and getting a website online is an important one, often this pales in comparison to the ongoing work and stress that can be involved in maintaining and supporting a website over the lifetime of your business.
It is therefore important to think of your website as an evolving entity that grows as you do. This means that updates, patches and content shouldn’t stop when you go live, but rather, going live merely represents the first milestone of becoming a digital brand. The best mortgage broker website designs always frame websites as long-term assets for businesses.
Keeping Your Website Up-To-Date
Did you know that due to the way automatic system and browser updates take place on computers around the world, your website could be out-of-date as early as next week?
In the same way your computer goes through updates of its own, security patches for your website system are also released on a regular basis. The main difference is that if you aren’t updating it, then nobody is. This means that if you aren’t routinely updating or patching your website, your business could be at risk.
A security patch could include server updates, an application release or even just a database backup.
The True Cost of a Website
Now think about how much your website is really costing you. If your website is not secure, or if you are overpaying for updates, then you have to factor this all into the true costs.
If the digital agency who created your website is planning to ‘love you and leave you’ once your website is complete, then you may want to reconsider using them. Inversely, if your current website designers are charging you an arm and a leg to regularly maintain or make changes, then you may want to look into a more cost-effective solution.
The true cost of your website is therefore not just the fees you pay to get your website live, but also the time and money that goes into keeping it running – ongoing updates and fixes, the cost of repairing incidents and additional content changes.
By making sure you consider the total cost and not just the initial website design and development fees, you are properly protecting one of your businesses most valuable assets. Finding the right company who can properly manage this asset can alleviate any potential incidents that may occur, and more importantly give you the platform your business needs to grow your website.