Year-end planning usually means reviewing finances, setting goals, and preparing for another busy season. But there is one business asset that deserves a spot on that list: your website.

Does it still accurately represent your business? Can customers easily contact you? Are updates and backups actually happening?

You do not need to be a web developer to identify many common problems. Set aside an hour, open your website on your computer and phone, and work through this checkup. Write down what needs attention, then assign each task to yourself, an employee, or your website provider.

1. Update Your Business Information

Start with the details customers depend on: your phone number, email address, location, business hours, and service area.

Check more than your contact page. Outdated information can hide in page footers, downloadable brochures, staff biographies, and appointment instructions.

Add holiday hours and planned closures, including when normal operations resume. Compare your website information with your Google Business Profile so customers do not receive conflicting instructions.

2. Make Sure Your Services Match What You Actually Offer

Read your service pages as though you were a first-time customer. Are you promoting something you no longer provide? Have you added a service that never made it onto the website?

Look for outdated prices, expired promotions, and vague descriptions. Each service page should explain what you do, whom you help, and how someone can take the next step.

Prioritize the services you want to grow next year—not simply the ones you offered when your website launched.

3. Test Every Contact Form

Do not assume your forms work because they look fine.

Submit a test through every inquiry, quote-request, and appointment form. Confirm that the submission reaches the correct inbox and that the visitor receives an appropriate confirmation. Check spam folders, too.

Try submitting with a required field empty. Is the error message understandable? Ask only for information you genuinely need at this stage. A basic inquiry should not feel like a lengthy application.

4. Take the Mobile Customer Test

Open your website on your phone without relying on your familiarity with it. Can you read the text, use the menu, tap the phone number, and complete a form without frustration?

Google uses the mobile version of website content for indexing and ranking, making mobile content an important consideration beyond appearance alone.

Check that key service information is available on mobile—not missing because someone simplified the layout. Test several pages, not just the homepage.

5. Check Links, Buttons, and Downloads

Click your main navigation links, social media icons, downloadable documents, and prominent buttons.

Pay particular attention to “Request a Quote,” “Book Now,” and “Contact Us.” Do they lead to the intended destination? Are you sending customers to an expired scheduling page or an old PDF?

Keep a simple list of the page, broken item, and correct destination. That makes repairs easier to delegate and verify.

6. Review Photos and Examples of Your Work

Your website should reflect the business customers will encounter today.

Replace outdated staff photos, remove images of discontinued products, and add recent project examples when you have permission to share them. For service businesses, explain what the project involved rather than posting an unexplained photo.

Before uploading pictures, ask your website provider to resize and optimize them. You want clear images without unnecessarily large files.

7. Look for Basic Accessibility Barriers

Try navigating your website using the Tab key. Can you see which link or button is selected? Enlarge the page and check whether text remains readable and controls remain usable.

Review form labels, headings, and text contrast. Meaningful images should have appropriate text alternatives.

The World Wide Web Consortium offers practical checks for these issues, while cautioning that passing basic checks does not establish full accessibility (World Wide Web Consortium [W3C], 2024). Treat this as a starting point, not a compliance certification.w3

8. Confirm That Maintenance Is Happening

Ask whoever manages your website when its software, themes, and plugins were last updated. Also ask who checks the site after updates.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency recommends keeping business software current and establishing regular patching procedures and tests. 

Avoid making unfamiliar technical changes during your busiest hours. Coordinate updates with your provider and make sure a recent backup is available first.

9. Verify Your Backups—and Your Recovery Plan

“We have backups” is only the beginning.

Ask how frequently backups run, where they are stored, how long they are retained, and who would restore your website after a problem. Confirm that backups cover both website files and the database where applicable.

CISA recommends automatic, regular backups and testing restoration procedures. A backup that cannot be restored is not a dependable recovery plan.

10. Turn Your Findings Into Next Year’s Plan

Sort your findings into three groups:

• Fix immediately: broken forms, incorrect contact information, and urgent security issues.
• Schedule soon: outdated services, weak photos, and confusing navigation.
• Plan ahead: new pages, improved functionality, or a redesign.

Give each task an owner and deadline. Then schedule a short monthly review so next year’s checkup is easier.

Get Help Keeping Your Website Current

A website should not become another unfinished project on a small-business owner’s desk.

212 Creative’s Cloud Care Complete combines professional website design and development with ongoing care for $169 per month, with no upfront development costs. The package includes premium cloud hosting, daily backups, monthly maintenance, personal support, content and image changes when needed, and a website redesign every three years.

Whether your checkup uncovers a few overdue updates or the need for a fresh start, having a clear maintenance plan helps turn your findings into action.

Visit 212creative.com. (586) 210-5125. Call us. Let’s begin.

References

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (n.d.-a). Back up business data. https://www.cisa.gov/audiences/small-and-medium-businesses/secure-your-business/back-up-business-data

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. (n.d.-b). Update business software. https://www.cisa.gov/audiences/small-and-medium-businesses/secure-your-business/update-business-software

Google. (n.d.). Mobile-first indexing best practices. Google Search Central. https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/mobile/mobile-sites-mobile-first-indexing

World Wide Web Consortium. (2024, March 21). Easy checks—A first review of web accessibility. Web Accessibility Initiative. https://www.w3.org/WAI/test-evaluate/easy-checks/