I used to dread maintenance. Whether cleaning the house or updating client sites, it lacked the gratification and excitement of new projects, big purchases, etc. Routine tasks are predictable and lack the promise of an exciting new future that’s better than the present.
Newness is alluring. The excitement that drives me into new projects is based on an errant belief that there is some future ahead that’s better than now. This next move will bring me to a higher level of success, happiness, and productivity. While new things can bring moments of excitement, maintaining and improving what we already have leads to lasting impact and contentment.
The joy of a clean house
While stuck at home during the pandemic, I was forced to learn a lesson in finding joy and meaning in the mundane, household things. Because I spent so much time at home, it made sense to spend a little extra time cleaning the kitchen, which I walked through 30 times a day. When the whole world is open to me it feels like a waste of time scrubbing the stove that I hardly even realize is dirty.
When life got busy again I eventually hired cleaners. While I have a long list of house projects, I found that keeping my space relatively clean and organized has the biggest impact on my day-to-day happiness. Because while new projects can be exciting for a couple of weeks, they eventually become normal. When cleaners come every two weeks and my house sparkles, it feels open and spacious, which translates to a calmer and more creative mental state.
Your website is your digital storefront
I’ve learned to find satisfaction in keeping websites looking fresh and running smoothly years after launch. And I’ve also learned that shortcuts often aren’t worth it—writing clean code and planning ahead is actually “easier” than laziness in the long run.
While I used to dread website maintenance and support, I’ve gradually come to appreciate its value. Some organizations build new websites, then gradually let the crumble until it becomes time for a new website. But I’ve had the opportunity to work with many high-impact organizations that continue publishing fresh content years after launch and keep their websites in tip-top shape.
Your website is your digital storefront—and since the 2020 lockdown, that’s true more than ever for many businesses and nonprofits. At the bare minimum, it should be clean and well-functioning. It should be welcoming and professional, to set the tone for the entire customer journey.
But more than just maintaining what already is, your website can be a dynamic workhorse that gets better weekly. You can add new content, announce events, swap in new photos, improve user experience and adjust your copy to match your current context and priorities.
Most websites end up being a snapshot in time from whenever they launched. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Your website could reflect your current work, updates, and priorities, updated in real-time. With user-friendly tools like WordPress and page builders, changing your website content is as easy as editing a Word Doc.
If you like but don’t love your website, we could start a big new project from scratch. Alternatively, we might also want to consider incremental improvements to your existing site, partnering together on an ongoing basis to make improvements, measure their impact, then decide on the next batch of changes.
If you lack the tools, ideas, or know-how to sparkle your existing website in 2023, get in touch. We can support you with a website care plan and work to iterate better versions of your site, ensuring that it’s ready to make that killer first impression whenever your next potential customer shows up at your digital storefront.
