It’s hard to believe it is already 2020. It seems like just yesterday that the world was in a panic about Y2K. So what are the things you should do to prepare your website for the new year? The best way to start the decade is to focus on some basic domain and website maintenance. What should you do to get your website updated? Find out below.

1. Update Your Copyright Date

If the bottom of our website still says 2019 for the copyright year, you will need to update it to match the current year. To update it easily and have it automatically update every year, use the following Javascript in your footer:

<script type="text/javascript">
  document.write(new Date().getFullYear());
</script>

2. Check Your Domain Expiration

Do you know when your domain expires? If not, you should log in to your account and check the expiration date. If it is set to expire soon, renew it for another year. While you are there, add a credit card or payment option so you never have to worry about it expiring. Setting up a payment option will opt your account into auto-renew. This will not only save you time but could also save you a lot of money because letting your domain expire can be a very costly mistake. While you are there update any out of date contact information, including your physical and email addresses. Keeping all of that information is imperative to the safety of your domain, as well as that of your business.

3. Review Your Website

Make sure all your website information is current. Are all your newest product offerings on your website? Does all the copy reflect the most up to date information for your business? Often times websites get built, copy gets written and then nothing else happens. Sure, you may add a new product offering to your shopping cart, or change the logo, but is everything else right? Does your about page say you have been in business for 10 years, even though it has been 15? Giving your website a quick yearly once-over will help prevent small copy errors from slipping through the cracks.

4. Analyze Your Web Traffic

This should be something you are doing weekly, if not daily. But if you aren’t, get an analytics tool like Google Analytics and check things out. You can compare traffic from month to month/year to year and brainstorm ways to try to increase traffic for the new year. Are you running CPC campaigns? Check your ad copy and keywords to be sure that they are still relevant and that you are still targeting the right customers and sending them to the right webpages on your site. Consider creating a new campaign and a few new ads to keep your content current and fresh. This may be the most important maintenance you do this year, as analytics has the ability to show you when a problem occurs so that you can work to fix it. Always make sure this is updated and that all your tracking tools are working properly.

Following this simple maintenance checklist will guarantee you are ready to take on the new decade. Cheers!