How often should a business update its website?

Continuously: security and software

Websites run on software, and software gets security fixes. An unpatched site is how most small business sites get compromised. This isn't a quarterly task — updates should be applied as they're released, with a backup in place first.

If no one is doing this for your site today, it's the most important item on this page.

Immediately: anything customers act on

Update these as soon as they change:

• Opening hours, including holidays and closures.
• Prices and service menus.
• Phone numbers, email addresses, and locations.
• Staff who've joined or left, especially if customers book with them.
• Services you've added or stopped offering.

Stale details cost more than they seem to: a customer who arrives to a closed door, or books a service you no longer offer, rarely gives you a second chance. Keep your Google Business Profile in sync with your site at the same time.

Regularly: content and photos

A few times a year, read your site like a new customer would. Are the photos current? Does the homepage describe what you do today? Are there answers to the questions customers keep asking you?

Adding genuinely useful pages over time — a new service, answers to common questions — also helps search engines understand what you offer.

Occasionally: a redesign

Redesign when there's a reason, not on a calendar. Good reasons include:

• The site is hard to use on a phone.
• It no longer reflects your brand, services, or prices.
• It's slow, or built on software that's no longer supported.
• You're embarrassed to send people to it.

Who does it

The simplest arrangement is one where updates don't depend on you finding time. With Xeaura's website management, security updates and daily backups run automatically and up to 2 minor content requests a month — like new hours or prices — are included for $249 a month.