Website Updates

Whether your website is updated manually or automatically it is important that the content is fresh and consistent with the theme of your site. Both methods of updating a website have their own advantages and drawbacks. The method that is right for you can be determined by a closer look at the two methods most commonly used.

Automated updates are available from many sources. RSS and Blog feeds, content feeds like Feedzilla and even industry specific feeds. There are free news, sports, medicine, parenting headlines and more. Each of these can be added to a website and offer regularly updated content. Some require links back to their website or other methods of recognizing the content provider. Blog comments can generate fresh content but a website owner must be aware of what is being posted.
 
Automated updates must be monitored to insure that the content being applied or added is in line with what your visitors come to your site to see. If you allow others to post to your site or add content it is even more important that the content be monitored and some sort of pre-approval process be implemented. Without a pre-approval process visitors could add vulgar or offensive content that would be visible to others until it is removed. It is also important to check periodically to be certain automatic updates are being applied appropriately or errors can occur which may drive visitors from your site.

Updating your website manually has its own challenges, such as timely updates and content creation. It is important that manual updates are added to the site on time and on a consistent basis, otherwise visitors won't know when to expect updates. For example, weekly content that isn't added until a week and a half has gone by may drive away visitors that came to your site expecting the update to be posted on the weekly schedule.

Creating fresh content isn’t always as easy as it sounds. If you intend to update your website on a schedule you may want to start by generating content at the desired intervals without posting it to your website. This allows you to determine if the schedule is something you feel comfortable with and it gives you a head start on content production. An illness or large order could derail the creation of new content and it is better to have a few articles (content) set aside for those occasions.

Automatic and manual updates offer fresh new content for visitors but it is important that you stick to a timeline or monitor update success or either method defeats the purpose of keeping your website up to date.