There are a few key ways to manage your small business website that will make your life much more manageable. While it can be challenging to manage a website, the process can be made easier and more rewarding with the right strategy in place.
It's no secret that to build a high-quality, high-traffic website, your content needs to be engaging and relevant. Keeping this in mind, there are some small business website management practices that will help you get the most out of your hard work.
#The First Step: Technical Maintenance
If you're not performing regular maintenance on your website, chances are that your audience is less likely to be engaged with your brand. Technical maintenance allows you to diagnose any potential issues with your website while they are minor.
Being aware of how your webpage is running is essential when you want things to be managed as smoothly as possible.
Technical maintenance includes smaller tasks such as backing up your data, analyzing your metrics, and testing your contact forms and plug-ins. It might also be beneficial to perform annual maintenance tasks like testing how user-friendly your site is.
#The Second Step: Define a Development Maintenance Cycle
The easiest way to clearly define a maintenance cycle is to think in terms of ongoing sprints. Determine chunks of time in which you will design or develop your small business website and then carefully plan days on which you will deploy new updates to your site.
One way to create a maintenance cycle is to track items in a to-do list. This is also known as a backlog, and it's an excellent way for you and your team to understand which tasks need to be completed in any given sprint.
At the beginning of every sprint, review with your business partners or team what the priorities are. When you and your teams are on the same page, these tasks can feel less stressful and more organized.
Only work on those items for the sprint. It might be tempting to switch tasks, but this can impede your progress. When you stay focused on one sprint at a time, you can put your best foot forward and give it your all.
#Define Your Content Development Cycle Process
High-quality content can help to ensure your new small business website reaches out to potential customers effectively. Building brand awareness is one way to reach your target audience and grow your customer base. Having a content cycle helps your business stay relevant and engaging.
When will you post new content updates to your blog or social media platforms? Similar to development, think in sprints. To make your content development cycle easier, create a content calendar or use a third-party scheduling platform to preload items for later publication.
#Example Plans for You and Your Team
Use the following outlines as guidelines for your team members to stay focused and on track.
#Ongoing Two-Week Development Sprints
Your sprint can kick off with a planning session on Monday. Brainstorm ideas with your team and solidify a plan by the end of the session.
With a strong plan in place, development can start on Tuesday. This is when you'll add depth and details to the plan.
Wednesday, start putting your plan into action and assigning the tasks. The remainder of the week can be used to review and iron out any problems. Make sure to back up your website data daily, even when you're in the planning and development stages of your sprint.
Deploy your code on the second Monday of the sprint. Regularly maintaining your website code ensures that everything is functioning optimally. This is extremely important because codes and patterns might be continuously changing.
You can use the second Tuesday of the sprint to analyze your web metrics using Google Analytics or a similar platform. Bi-weekly measurement is helpful so that you can investigate any problems and quickly remedy them.
#One-Week Content Development Sprints
During the first week of every month, write and create content that you will use for the entire month. This can be as simple as writing two social media posts and one blog article a day. Make sure your content is scheduled for publication at high traffic times for the most engagement and reach.
Find a process and schedule that works for you and your colleagues. The important thing is to stay consistent and stick to your plan or sprints. When you stay consistent in your content development, you benefit from brand exposure and relevancy.
A content development cycle might look like this:
- 1st Week of the Month: Write and create content for the month
- Daily: Post two social media pieces per platform
- Mondays and Wednesdays: Release new blog posts
- Thursdays: Respond to all comments and direct messages
- Fridays: Review insights and analytics
However you decide to plan your content development cycle, make sure it is realistic and attainable for you and your teammates.
#Need Some Help? Reach Out to With Pulp
Managing a small business website can be tricky. At With Pulp, we know what it takes to get the job done right. We’ll discuss your business goals and help you enhance your customer experience by optimizing your workflow. Contact our team to schedule a free consultation today!