An Ultimate Checklist for eCommerce Website Maintenance

In today’s digital age, eCommerce websites are a staple to every household, and therefore, to stay relevant, keeping up with the latest technology and its advancements is crucial. Creating a website is only the beginning; ensuring that it is functional, up-to-date, and user-friendly is necessary to convert sales. This is where eCommerce website maintenance comes in. Website maintenance is regularly checking your website for issues and errors and ensuring it runs optimally. It includes a range of tasks, including updating software, testing functionality, and optimizing performance. Keeping your website well-maintained can ensure it remains safe, secure, and user-friendly for your customers. That said, as eCommerce continues to evolve, keeping everything moving in the right direction can get overwhelming. In this blog, we have come up with the ultimate checklist for eCommerce website maintenance that’ll help you through and through: 

#1 Keep Your Software and Plugins Updated

Your website maintenance starts with updating the software and plugins of your website. Outdated software and plugins can lead to vulnerabilities that can be exploited by hackers. Be it for Magento, WooCommerce, Shopify, or BigCommerce — these updates are core to maintaining your website’s functionality, performance improvements, and user experience in the form of bug fixes, security patches, etc. Setting up automatic updates can also work in the long run. 

#2 Test Website Speed and Performance

Website speed is a critical factor in eCommerce website maintenance. Slow-loading websites can lead to losing customers, decreased search engine rankings, reduced conversions, and spiking bounce rates. On the other hand, fast-loading pages can improve engagement and conversion rates. Therefore, it is a good call to regularly test your website speed and performance using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix. Also, look for ways to optimize images, reduce file sizes, and minimize the number of HTTP requests.

#3 Checking for any Broken Links/Images

Any broken links can positively impact user experience and help your website’s SEO. The same goes for broken images that can hurt the overall user experience. Tools like Google Search Console, Broken Link Checker, Screaming Frog, etc., can help you properly spot and correct broken links. However, for broken images, you’d need to replace them promptly for a seamless customer experience.  

#4 Website Compatibility Test 

With the growing use of smartphones and other smart devices, ensuring your website is optimized for different devices and browsers is essential. Test your website on different browsers, operating systems, and devices to ensure compatibility. This will ensure a seamless user experience for all visitors, regardless of their device or browser choice. Also, test your website on different mobile devices and ensure it is responsive, fast-loading, and easy to navigate on smaller screens. 

#5 Website Security & Usability Monitoring

Website security is crucial for eCommerce website maintenance since these deal with sensitive customer information like credit card numbers, names, and addresses. An SSL certificate is necessary for securing sensitive data and providing visitors with a secure browsing experience. Regularly check your website for security vulnerabilities and ensure that the website is protected by an SSL certificate. For this, you’d require tools like Nessus or OpenVAS to check for any possible vulnerabilities and measures to fix those. You can also consider implementing two-factor authentication and regular password changes to enhance security. The checkout process is a critical step in the sales process, so it’s important to ensure it’s functioning properly. Additionally, regularly test your checkout process to identify and fix any issues causing abandoned carts.

#6 Website Uptime and Downtime Monitoring

Website downtimes are a common problem that most business owner experience, and therefore it’s crucial to investigate the cause and take steps to prevent future outages. Tools like Pingdom or UptimeRobot can help monitor your website’s uptime and receive alerts in case. 

#7 Backup Website Data

Regular website backups are essential for unforeseen crashes, hacking, or data loss. Regularly back up your website and store backups off-site to ensure that your website can be quickly restored in case of any issues. Also, store your backups in a secure location on your server or a remote location.

Suppose you’re looking for a company that can deliver you a fully-functional online store and looks after the security and maintenance of your website. In that case, you can hire BigCommerce developers from CodeClouds. Their experts come with years of experience in the industry and have delivered successful eCommerce solutions to brands worldwide. 

Conclusion

Maintaining an eCommerce website is crucial to the success of any online business. Regular maintenance ensures that your website is up-to-date, functional, and user-friendly. The ultimate checklist for eCommerce website maintenance includes updating website content, testing website speed, checking for broken links, optimizing website SEO, monitoring website analytics, backing website data, and more. We hope the points in this article will help you to take better care of your digital business and give your consumers the best experience in terms of customer satisfaction and security. Happy eCommercing to you!