Many business owners treat a website like a printed brochure: build it once and leave it alone. A WordPress website works differently. It runs on software that gets updated regularly, so it needs regular attention to keep working properly. What maintenance covers WordPress core, theme and plugin updates. Updates add new features and fix bugs, and many of them close security gaps. A site running outdated plugins is easier to break or compromise. Updating also needs care, because a new version can sometimes clash with another plugin, so changes should be tested. Backups. A backup is a saved copy of

On-page SEO is the work you do on the pages of your own site so that search engines and visitors can understand them. It will not bring results overnight, but without it, even a well-designed site is harder to find. Use this checklist to go through your pages one by one. Pick one main topic for each page Before you edit anything, decide what each page is about and which search phrase it should target. Give each important page its own phrase. Two pages aiming at the same phrase compete with each other. This is called page mapping, and a

A website that worked well a few years ago can slowly start working against your business. Nothing breaks overnight, so it is easy to miss. If you recognise a few of the signs below, a redesign is worth considering. 1. It looks dated Visitors judge a business by its website before they read a word. Old layouts, small text and clashing colours can make a good company look inactive. A fresh design shows people you are still running and paying attention. 2. It is hard to use on a phone Many visitors will open your site on a phone. If