Webcare Plans – do you need to Care?

Is webcare worth it?

If you’re like most small business owners, your website can be a great source of new leads and sales if it is constructed well. I wrote here about what a great homepage includes in order to capture the attention of your target market.

Just like your car, your website needs regular maintenance. This comes in the form of software updates, security updates, checking for broken links and performance optimisation.

If you don’t look after your website, you run the risk of your website breaking down. Or worse, being hacked.

I’ve seen great websites crippled so badly by hackers that it has taken days to restore the site – that’s days when your digital marketing presence is not available to people looking for your products and services. 

Unfortunately, there are some bad apples in the world. It’s pretty common for most websites to be targeted by multiple automated hacking attempts each day.

These are ‘bots’ that scan through the internet looking for vulnerabilities in websites – looking for weaknesses that they can exploit. 

If an attacker gains entry, you could suffer from data loss, malicious content being uploaded, a website that doesn’t work, erroneous online orders or even just a defaced website. 

All very unpleasant actions that can be very damaging for your business reputation.

What is a Webcare Plan?

A Webcare Plan is a monthly service where your website is looked after so the risk of attack is lowered. Keeping plugins and software updated, ensuring databases are in good working order, checking broken links and providing support should the worst happen are all services you receive when you have a good Webcare Plan in place.

And you don’t have to worry about a thing – except running and growing your business.

Webcare Mythbustes

There are a few myths floating around the interweb and in the dark recesses of business owners’ minds when it comes to Webcare though.

Myth #1: Webcare is just a way of the website company to make more money

Webcare is there to protect businesses like yours. The damage to a business from a hacked website can be awful. From lost sales to stolen data and your business reputation – things that will cost you time and money.

The worst example of this would be if your website was hacked and the hacker was able to steal credit card data from your customers. Damages at this level can be almost unimaginable.

Even if you don’t take payments over your website, customer details are stored on the database when they use your contact form and these can be stolen and abused my malicious “bad apples” too.

A Webcare Plan also brings predictability to the organisation who is managing your website for you – they can set aside time each month to focus on your website and make sure it is working as expected. It also means you site is regularly updated. A payment means we can focus our attention on helping you and keeping your business safe.

It’s a partnership, not a profit machine.

Myth #2 - I don’t need you, I can update my website myself

Firstly, if you have the skill set to look after your own website then you absolutely can look after it yourself. It’s definitely possible.

However, you may not possess these skills or knowledge. You may not know how to keep your website updated. You might not understand the different threats that your website faces. 

And you may not understand what needs to be done should something go wrong.

In this situation, it would be unwise to attempt to go it alone. It only takes one mistake or one unlucky moment to cause you a headache and an expensive problem.

Myth #3 - I don’t sell anything on my website, so it’s not important

If you’ve invested money in a website for your business, then it should be considered an asset.

You don’t need to sell something directly from your website in order for it to be important. Your customers are at different stages in the buying cycle. Only a small percentage are ready to purchase your products or services.

The rest of your customers are either researching the problem that they’re facing or looking for the solution. A potential customer can visit your website to learn more about how you can help them with their problem. It provides trust and shows your expertise.

Your website is almost always more important than you think it is. Having a Webcare Plan not only keeps everything in top working order, if for some reason you are targeted by the bad apples, we can get your site back up and running quickly – so your business continues to run. 

Why wouldn’t you keep it up to date and safe for your visiting customers and potential clients?

Get in Touch

If you don’t have a webcare plan or don’t know whether you do or not (especially if you’ve had your website for a while) then get in touch and we can help guide you through the maze to a clear solution to keep your business asset safe.

P.S.

Found a spelling or grammatical error in this post? Then contact me as soon as possible and let me know. In return for your super proof reading, I will offer you a free 30-minute review of your digital presence and some fresh ideas you can try out for free.

Digital Marketing | Online Marketing | Web Designer | Website Devleoper | Victor Harbor | Willunga | McLaren Vale

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