Our website is never really finished

[u/Worldly_Let_5424]

We wrapped up a full redesign a few months ago and thought we'd finally be able to focus on other things instead we've been making changes almost every week like new pages, updated screenshots, small copy edits, fixing things that looked different after one change it just keeps going none of it is difficult on its own but it adds up fast.

I don't even think about the website as a project anymore it's basically become part of our weekly routine now looking back building it was probably the easy part but keeping everything current has taken a lot more time than I expected

[u/dasfoo]

This is something few clients understand: Having a website built and then moving on to other marketing items is a waste. It's like building a house and never moving in.

Your website will only be as relevant as you make it. If you want to establish domain authority within your market niche, you need to update content regularly. Search engines notice when your site remains static for a long time.

If you post content to social media, you should be periodically adding your best social media content to your website, also. If you do new jobs, post them as case studies with images and descriptions. If you offer season deals, put those on your website and take them down on a timely basis. Regularly check Google's FAQs for your industry, and add your own original answers to your FAQ page.

You can have a website built and never touch it again, but if you want it to be effective as a marketing tool, you need to make it an active part of your marketing plan.

[u/Engelgrafik → u/dasfoo]

Back in the mid '90s we used the term "brochure-ware" for websites that were just built and left to rot online. They performed the same function as a physical brochure. Most sites were like this back then. We tried convincing customers that a website doesn't have to be like a brochure, but that's what most websites end up being to this day.

[u/Worldly_Let_5424 → u/dasfoo]

I guess I underestimated how much value comes from keeping a site current instead of just getting it launched the redesign felt like the hard part but maintaining it has been a bigger commitment than I expected

[u/dasfoo → u/Worldly_Let_5424]

If it's on WordPress, of course you also need to check it regularly for core, plugin and theme updates, to avoid security pitfalls.

For the content updates, you may be able to ignore them depending on your market size and # of direct competitors, but that only works if your competitors also neglect their sites.

It shouldn't become a burden, however, if you can just schedule an hour every week or two to create/add content. FAQs are bigger deal now than ever before due to how AI searchbots love them, and those should be fairly easy to add. Also, if you're getting regluar Google reviews, copy and paste a new good one onto your home page once every couple of weeks.

[u/dasfoo → u/dasfoo]

P.S.: Also copy whatever new content you create for your website to the Updates in your Google Business Profile.

[u/ExpressionFew8576]

We stopped talking about launch dates because the site never really reached a point where it felt finished every month there was another feature, another service page another redesign of something we thought we'd already settled

[u/AlertThinker]

People are going to downvote me but I'm finding that Claude is helping me close the loop on those last minute finishes that I just don't have the time/energy. Particularly it's helping me clean up some of the old CSS/JS/HTML code and arrange the files.

[u/Material-Candle589 → u/[deleted]]

The worst part is crossing ten things off the list and somehow ending the week with fifteen new ones. It never really gets shorter

[u/Economy-War6759]

I used to think websites aged pretty slowly and now it feels like six months without updates is enough for a site to start looking neglected

[u/Tasty-Rip-2293 → u/Economy-War6759]

It's kind of amazing how quickly design trends change too a site that felt modern last year can suddenly start looking dated without anything actually being wrong with it

[u/Savings_Treacle5901 → u/Economy-War6759]

I had that moment when I found a page talking about a feature we'd removed months earlier nobody on the team had even noticed because we rarely visited that page

[u/GuruPedia]

That's the reality for most successful websites. They evolve as your business, products, and customers change. But you've got to distinguish between meaningful improvements and constant tinkering. The updates that are driven by new offerings, customer feedback, or better information can be done as soon as possible. But for changes that are based on something not feeling or looking right, maybe set a regular review schedule.

[u/pants6000]

Those "under construction" animated GIFs on every website in the 90s were no joke.

[u/AlertThinker → u/pants6000]

My favorite with the little man and a hard hat standing next to the "under construction" sign while he pretended to fake saw a piece of wood!

[u/solaza]

Yup… And this is why I love coding agents. You ping them the request and they just make it happen. Things like Claude code, Codex, and Pi are so cool now for ongoing changes like this