The short answer to this in most cases is yes! The long answer is: it depends.

Let me start by asking you some questions:

• Do you have the time and know-how to keep everything on your website and the server it's hosted on updated?
• Do you have dedicated staff for maintaining your website and web presence?
• Are you always up-to-date with current data privacy and web accessibility laws and are you able to keep your website compliant to those standards on an ongoing basis?
• If something on your website breaks, or if your site gets hacked, do you have the resources to fix that?

If you answered yes to these questions, then chances are you probably don't need a website care package. But for a majority of small business owners, the answer to these questions is usually no. If, like most people, you don't find yourself in the category of website owners who don't need a website care package, keep reading...

The world wide web and technology are constantly changing and evolving. These changes all impact your website in different ways. Some of these changes and their effects include:

Mobile Devices. We've all seen how quickly devices change and become obsolete. Back in the early days of the web, making a website that was considered mobile-friendly was either done as an afterthought, or just not done at all. Now it's an absolute must, and most web designers are now using "mobile first" standards and designing mainly for mobile devices while making sure the sites also work great on desktop. The percentage of mobile device website traffic worldwide as of the fourth quarter of 2023 has grown to over 50% (source: Statista), not including tablets. According to Google, 61% of users are unlikely to return to a site on mobile if they had trouble accessing it, and 40% visit a competitor's site instead. As newer devices come out, along with new features, you'll want to make sure your website is looking and functioning its best on them.

Security Vulnerabilities. Hackers are also evolving and finding new vulnerabilities all the time. Once those vulnerabilities are discovered, updates need to be made to the code of websites, apps, and integrations that protect sites from these attacks. Leaving a website up with outdated code and not updating it when needed leaves it vulnerable to attacks that compromise the functionality of the site, as well as the security of your users data. Which brings me to my next point.

Data Privacy Laws. They're not just for Europe anymore! More and more countries and US states are adopting data privacy laws. If you haven't been keeping up with the news about this subject, maybe you've noticed an increase in the amount of websites (this one included) with cookie notices and privacy policy pop-ups and banners. Websites don't include these just to annoy you, they're now required in many jurisdictions. As these laws get updated, that leaves businesses who don't update their websites at risk for non-compliance and possible legal action against them. You can read more about this in our article "Does My Website Need a Privacy Policy?".

Web Accessibility Laws. You may have heard of the high profile case in 2019 where pizza chain Domino's lost a lawsuit over its website not being accessible to people who are visually impaired. It's not just large corporations who are at risk of lawsuits over accessibility issues, these laws apply to all websites. Even if they didn't, do you want to prevent potential clients or customers from being able to access your site? We'll write more about the subject of web accessibility in a later article.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Google, Bing, and other search engines are always changing the criteria for how websites rank for certain searches. If your website was built 5 years ago or longer and it's been sitting there unchanged in regard to its SEO strategy, chances are that it's falling behind in search rankings. There are always changes being made to how search engines value different things in determining what's relevant to what searchers are looking for.

Design and Content Changes. Times change and design trends come and go. Your business can also change over time. You might want to add info about sales and promotions, or changing business hours or protocols due to natural disasters. Most website maintenance plans, ours included, come with a set number of hours for design and content changes that would cover this. If you need changes to your website after the design project is completed, and you don't have a website care package, the agency or freelancer who built your site may not have enough time to allocate for your project so you may have to be put on a waiting list. Having a website care plan can is like having a design & development team on retainer.

Look at a website care package like an insurance policy for your website. A website is an investment, just like a car or a house, and you want to protect your investments.

Ultimately, it's up to you whether a website care package makes sense for your business. But ask yourself: if you opt out of a maintenance plan for your website, are you going to take the time to monitor and continually update your website on your own? If not, you run the risk of security vulnerabilities and compliance issues, which can end up costing you far more in the long run.

If you do decide a website care package is something your business needs, or you just want more info on what we offer with ours, check out our Website Care Plans page. And if you have any questions, feel free to Contact Us!