Keeping Things Running Smoothly

Your annual website functionality checklist is a bit like maintenance for your car; it needs regular maintenance to keep running smoothly. If you never take it to get the oil changed or the tires rotated, you’ll eventually deal with a breakdown. Personally, I’d rather pay for periodic maintenance on my good old Ford than have to trade-in my first born for a new vehicle. I don’t think he’d be too happy with that either. So here is my annual website functionality checklist.

Check Your Website for Broken Links

The first step of an annual website functionality checklist is a good ol’ link check. Nothing frustrates visitors more than clicking on a link only to land on a 404 page or finding themselves somewhere they did not intend to be. You can use a link-checking tool to find and fix any broken links. I build websites in WordPress and I use a plugin called “Broken Link Checker” by WPMUDEV. GA4 and Search Console can help you find and fix broken links, but those tools come with a little bit of a learning curve. I don’t want to have to sort through analytics reports to find these. There are lots of free online websites that do this as well. I tried “Free Broken Link Checker” and it took a few minutes to scan my website and then created a neat like table with the url with link was on, the link text and links directly to the pages, source code and the specific error.

New Website Features

Think about adding features that help visitors take action and streamline your processes. Need more newsletter sign-ups? Integrate your email marketing platform and add a sign-up form. Want more bookings? Make sure your booking system is integrated and displayed front and center. Think about those good old-fashioned forms too. Does yours work correctly? Do you need additional forms to collect specific data? Reviews for products, links to your socials, online payment integrations. These are all features that make it easier for your visitors to engage and the easier it is for visitors to engage, the better.

WordPress Plugin Updates

If you use a CMS like WordPress then you know that plugins (or extensions) are like apps for your site. Keeping them updated is crucial for security and functionality. Outdated plugins can cause compatibility issues, slow down your site or, worse, leave you vulnerable to hackers. This step should really be done way more often than once a year. I do this for my clients 1-4 times a month depending on their maintenance plan and number of plugins. Don’t forget to backup beforehand! 

Website Hosting and Page Speed

Lastly, evaluate your website hosting service. Is your site loading quickly? If not, it might be time to switch hosts or optimize your site for better performance. If you aren’t sure how to improve your hosting, reach out to their customer service for recommendations. They may be able to upgrade your plan or tweak server settings to improve performance. I use GreenGeeks and have been very happy with their hosting and customer service. Plus, they’re one of CNET’s best hosting providers of 2024 and are 300% Green Website. Another important performance check is your page speed. Use Google’s Page Speed Insight tool or GTMetrix.com to evaluate your website’s performance and see where you can make improvements. Google loves fast sites, and so do your visitors.

More is Better, in this Case

I’m going to say it again, updating your website plugins, going over an annual website functionality checklist and performance should be done much more often than once a year. Annual maintenance is a great way to catch up on items that get neglected, but should not be your maintenance plan. I recommend to clients that they perform those first and third items – checking links, backing up and updating plugins on their WordPress websites at least once a month. Weekly is preferable, though. With just a bit of time set aside for maintenance, your website will be in tip-top shape, impressing visitors and keeping everything running smoothly.

If you run a WordPress website and want to talk about ways to improve its functionality and performance, I would love to sit down for a WordPress session and show you how you can engage more customers and keep everything running smoothly. Reach out to schedule a one-on-one WordPress session!