Ten mistakes first-time website owners make, and how to avoid each one

The short answer: nearly all the problems of a site’s first months repeat from person to person. Most are not technical: they are not having the account and domain in the right person’s name, having no backups or not having thought about who visits the site. These ten are avoided with little work.

The ten mistakes

Mistake How to avoid it
1. The domain stays in the name of whoever built the site (the developer, a cousin) Register the domain in the company’s account, with its details. See Who owns the domain.
2. Letting the domain expire Put the renewal reminder in your calendar: Domain renewal.
3. No backups One copy, in two places, and test the restore: Your own backup.
4. A weak or reused password A long password per service, and two-step verification: A strong password.
5. Using a free e-mail for the business E-mail on your own domain: Free e-mail or e-mail on your own domain.
6. Never updating (WordPress, plugins, PHP) Update regularly and after a backup: An abandoned plugin or an old PHP version.
7. Huge photographs Shrink before uploading: Image optimisation.
8. Only looking at the site on a computer Most people view it on a phone. Test there, on mobile data.
9. Contacts hidden or in an image Phone, e-mail and address as text, in view.
10. Never looking at the numbers A glance a month is enough: Google Analytics or Search Console.

Where to start

1 First the two that cannot be undone: the domain in your name and the backup.
2 Then protection: passwords and updates.
3 Last, quality: images, phone and contacts.
Keep the access details somewhere safe, in the company’s name: the hosting panel, the domain and the e-mail. If the only person who knows the passwords leaves, the site has no owner.
A short routine keeps these things from piling up: A 30-minute monthly routine.

Unsure who is the holder of your domain or account? Open a ticket with the domain.

Open a support ticket

SEE ALSO

A 30-minute monthly routine to keep your website healthy

Registry, registrar and registrant: who owns the domain?

Making and keeping your own backup, and testing that it works

A strong password and a password manager: how to stop reusing the same one

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