Once you've got your website up and running, you may be tempted to forget about it and let it look after itself. But there are several reasons to spend a little time and money on frequent updates to your site, as well as design and feature reviews. Good website maintenance can make a big difference to the amount of traffic you can expect.

Content

At the risk of stating the obvious, content is what internet users are primarily looking for. It may seem like common sense, but often, excitable web designers and over-enthusiastic marketing teams can make you lose sight of the importance of content to the popularity and relevance of your website. There are several reasons for adding new content as frequently as possible.

- New content gives your visitors a reason to return to your site. Lots of new, unique content attracts returning visitors. You could offer an RSS feed of your website's content so that people interested in your products and services can keep up-to-date with any news you have to offer. However, if you do this, make sure that you will be able to add something new at least once a week. Dead RSS feeds are very bad form.

- Frequently updated content attracts search engines. Google and other search engines rank sites higher which regularly add new, unique and site-relevant content. For this reason, you should make sure that any articles or news items you publish are keyword-rich.

- Fresh content gives your visitors the impression that your website is an active one. There are a lot of dead websites on the web – scroll to the bottom of many pages, and you'll find that the site was last updated in 2004. If you add new content at least weekly, it will be clear to your visitors that you are still there, with the implication that you will be available if they need to contact you.

- While there's nothing wrong with keeping an archive of old news, having a news item on your front page from six months ago makes you look out of touch. Show your visitors that you are up-to-date with the latest information related to your business by featuring current news and the latest advice.

Design

Like everything else, fashions in website design come and go with surprising rapidity. Cast your mind back to the designs of yesteryear: new technology and design techniques are constantly being developed and becoming popular.

- Build your site using CSS (cascading style sheets). In addition to its compliance with web standards, one of the main benefits of using CSS is that you can update the design of your site in a flash, without having to edit thousands of individual table cells or formatting tags.

- Look at your competitors' websites. What designs are they using? Which do you think works best? There should be no shame in borrowing a few ideas from your most successful rivals!

- Generally speaking, clean, uncluttered designs tend to look the most professional and are generally the most usable. If you don't have the time or budget to redesign your site once a year, timeless elegance will serve you much better than gimmicky animations or overuse of graphics.

- Frequently reassess how easy-to-use your website is. Check that the navigation is clear and logical. If, with all the new content you're adding, you find your website rapidly expanding, make sure that your navigation can cope with the extra pages. Consider adding a site map, search box, and breadcrumb navigation, to make it easier for your visitors to find the information they need.

Features

While your content should be number one on your list of priorities, one or two carefully selected site functions could give your website the edge over your competitors.

- Consider running a coupon offer, particularly if you're using your website to advertise a bricks-and-mortar business such as a restaurant or shop. If your visitors find out that your website often features coupons or vouchers for money off or free gifts, they are likely to return to your site.

- Try offering free, downloadable gifts such as ebooks, graphics or buttons. If you sell software, you could offer your visitors a free trial or basic version of your signature product.

- Where relevant, if your website has a "fun" theme (particularly if it's aimed at children), you could offer a web game, free wallpaper downloads, or other fun features.

By Brian Jackson

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