One of the big advantages of a WordPress website is that you’re in control of your own content. You don’t need to know how a website is built to keep it up to date, in the same way you don’t need to be a mechanic to drive a car. But it helps to know which jobs are everyday driving and which ones need a trip to the workshop.
Things you can easily do yourself
- Edit text on your pages. Updating prices, opening hours, service descriptions or your phone number is quick and straightforward.
- Add and replace images. Upload new photos of your work, swap out old team photos and add images to your pages.
- Write blog posts and news. Sharing updates, tips and recent projects keeps your website fresh and gives customers a reason to come back.
- Add new pages from an existing layout. If you’ve added a new service, you can often copy an existing service page and change the content.
A few tips for doing it well
- Resize photos before you upload them. Images straight off a phone or camera are often far bigger than a website needs and will slow your pages down.
- Use headings to break up longer text so it’s easy to scan.
- Preview your changes before publishing, and check how they look on your phone.
- Keep your writing friendly and clear, and avoid jargon your customers wouldn’t use.
Jobs best left to us
- Plugin and theme updates. These keep your site secure, but occasionally an update clashes with something else. We back up first and check everything still works afterwards.
- Design and layout changes. Changing the structure of a page or the look of the whole site is easy to get wrong and hard to undo.
- Adding new features. Online bookings, shops and newsletter sign-ups involve choosing the right tools and setting them up properly.
- Anything involving your domain, hosting or email. A small mistake here can take your website or email offline.
Keep it backed up and up to date
Whoever looks after the technical side, make sure your website is backed up regularly and that WordPress, your theme and your plugins are kept current. An outdated website is the most common way small business sites get hacked.
Need a hand getting started?
When we build a WordPress site, we show you how to manage your own content so you can make changes as and when you please. You can read more about the benefits on our content management page, or contact us if you’d like some help with your website.
