SpiderServe Web Design

We all have to update our websites at one time or another, whether it is a full on server move, or a simple text change, but when is the best time to make those changes?

The bottom line is that no matter what your website offers, you make your changes at a time when it is least likely to cost you money.

If you run a B2B website, then the weekend is probably the best time to make large changes, while a B2C website would probably be in the small hours of the morning.

Before you make these kinds of decisions, you should consult your analytics program and guage when the best time is for your own website.

Small changes can be made any time, but if you value your site and your business cannot afford for any website downtime, you need to ensure your changes are handled effectively.

For example, for large and complex websites, I run a development site alongside the live website and all programming changes are tested on the development site before being transferred to the live site. This means bugs are fixed before going live and the downtime experienced on the real site is minimised. It then becomes easier to guage how long changes will take, and thus gives you an idea of when you can feasibly fit the updates into your work schedule.

If you cannot run a duplicate site as a development website, you need to factor in the possibility that the changes you make to your live website may break the site and will result in significantly more downtime than you envisaged.

So, in summary, small changes to the content of your site can really be done at anytime, but structural changes and feature additions should only be implemented when you can minimise the impact of your website’s downtime.

<< To Captcha or not to Captcha Armistice Day >>