As the year winds down, many business owners are busy wrapping up projects, planning goals, and reflecting on what worked—and what didn’t. But have you taken a moment to check in on your website? Just like an annual review for your business, your website needs regular attention to stay fast, secure, and effective.
Before the new year arrives, it’s time to find out whether your website deserves a gold star or needs a little cleanup. Let’s walk through a quick end-of-year website checklist to see how your site measures up.
1. Site Speed: Fast or Frozen?
Website speed is one of the most important factors for both user experience and search engine rankings. If your site takes longer than a few seconds to load, visitors are likely leaving before they ever see your content.
Ask yourself:
- Do pages load quickly on both desktop and mobile?
- Are images optimized for web use?
- Is your hosting environment built for performance?
A slow website doesn’t just frustrate users—it can also hurt your SEO and conversions. Speed optimization should always be high on your priority list, especially heading into a new year.
2. Mobile Optimization: Built for Every Screen?
More than half of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly, you could be losing leads without even realizing it.
Check for:
- Responsive design that adapts to all screen sizes
- Easy-to-read text without zooming
- Buttons and menus that work smoothly on mobile
Google also prioritizes mobile-first indexing, meaning your mobile experience directly affects your search rankings. A site that looks great only on desktop may already be falling behind.
3. Security Updates: Protected or Vulnerable?
Outdated software is one of the most common ways hackers gain access to websites. Themes, plugins, and WordPress core files should always be kept up to date.
Your security checklist should include:
- Regular updates for WordPress core, themes, and plugins
- A firewall or security plugin
- SSL certificate enabled (HTTPS)
Ignoring updates can put your site—and your customers’ data—at risk. Staying proactive with security is far easier than recovering from a breach.
4. Backups: Safe or Sorry?
If something went wrong today, could your website be restored quickly? If you’re not sure, that’s a problem.
Reliable backups should be:
- Automated
- Stored off-site
- Easy to restore
Backups are your safety net. Whether it’s a failed update, a hack, or accidental data loss, having recent backups can mean the difference between a minor inconvenience and a major disaster.
Start the New Year with Confidence
If your website passed all these checks, congratulations—you’re starting the new year strong. If not, now is the perfect time to fix what’s holding your site back. A fast, mobile-optimized, secure website sets the foundation for better visibility, higher engagement, and more conversions in the year ahead.
Managing all of this on your own can be overwhelming, especially when your focus should be on running your business. That’s where expert support makes all the difference.
Let the Egghead clean it up before the new year!Reach out to Ask the Egghead today and start the year with a website you can trust.
