How often do you check your website?

We reply on our websites so much, but you would be surprised how often they are forgotten, so when was the last time you checked your website?

There are many reasons why your website might break or not be available - here are some of them:

1. Websites are run on servers which are just fancy computers, and as we've all experienced - computers break.

2. There is an issue with the website code. This can happen seemingly randomly, or if your host updates some server software and your site is no longer compatible.

3. You missed an invoice. This also happens more than you think. It can happen that you missed an invoice payment and the host has suspended your account.

4. Your domain has expired. Again this happens all too often, and if not picked up quick enough you can lose the domain.

There are also other issues that can arise with your website that doesn't mean the site is totally down so require a more in-depth check. Your contact form is one for example. Your site might appear to be working correctly, but the contact form isn't, and if it's not you could be missing out on business.

Your website checklist

To help you keep on top of your websites health here is check list of things you should do regularly:

• Check that your website loads. This is as simple as visiting your site and clicking a couple of links. (daily)

• Test your contact form. (weekly)

• Make sure your site still displays correctly on mobile and tablet devices (weekly)

• Do a more thorough check of your website pages to make sure there are no broken links or pages (monthly)

• Ensure your hosting account details are up to date and have current billing details (annually)

• Keep your domain name details current - especially your email address (annually)

Bonus tip - know where your services are.

Keep a record of who hosts your website and where your domain name is registered. Make sure you know who to contact if there are issues and you keep any usernames and passwords in a safe and secure place.

If you don't know this information then make it a priority to find out today!

Oh, and make sure your passwords are secure. There are some great password managers out there that will help you keep track of all your logins and allow you to use complex passwords without needing to remember them. Also enable 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) on services that offer it.