Maintaining Website
Maintenance generally means making sure that your website files, scripts, program code, databases are always up and running. However, maintenance also includes making updates, adding new features, enhancements, bug fixing, changes to code or database to make the pages load faster and so on. In a way just as you would like to maintain your garden to keep it lively and attractive, websites need to be maintained continuously to keep them interesting and useful for people who browse them.Since a website can have large number of files, scripts, code, database tables, lot of data in them, graphics components and various files linked with one another, changes or additions that you make to one section of your website may have effects on other parts of the website. Therefore, it is the job of the maintenance team to identify the affected sections and modify the code accordingly, so that the whole site functions properly.
The main aspects of website maintenance are:
- The website will need to be updated, to ensure that all information is current and useful to users.
- Its technical aspects will need to be checked, to ensure that all aspects of the site continue to function as they were designed and developed to do, for example online forms, links to other websites or services.
- It will need to be evaluated, to ensure that it continues to meet the needs of users. This sometimes leads to the addition of new elements, sections, features/functions or content to an existing website or web application.
- Regular backup of all your scripts, files, databases and other important information so that your website can be restored quickly in the event of a failure or crash of your web server.
- Regular monitoring of your website, processes, database servers, and other associated services or programs.
- Determining security holes and protecting your website from cross-server scripting, SQL injection or other forms of threats which can cause harm to your data & files or may render your web application unusable.