Keep The Faith magazine - Britain's leading publication about Black faith

An M.O.T. test is the evidence that your car is legally roadworthy in the UK. Last year, my car failed its test due to a bulge in the offside front tyre. I was upset and frustrated because, like most people, I left the test till the last minute. The failure meant that I had to reschedule my diary for the next day, replace the tyre and retest as I could not drive my car until it passed.

This year, I was careful to take the M.O.T test before the deadline and thankfully, my car passed first time. But the point is, do you should treat your website with the same care and concern? Or do you update your website without running any methodical tests to ensure it is ‘internet worthy’. I have outlined five areas (C.H.E.C.K) which should be checked at least once a year to ensure that your website is fit for purpose.

Content

Everything changes so quickly especially in today’s world. People change jobs and have new job titles, Names change, brands evolve. So it is really important that you go over your web content at least once a year to ensure that the content is current. I once read an article which started off with ‘Last march,’ and referred to an issue which happened three years ago!. Remember to check your images as well. This is particularly important for organisations who develop a lot of content on a regular basis.

Do it: Set aside some time to check all web pages on your site.

Hyperlinks

The beauty of a website is the ease at which a user can design his own journey by using the links present on the page. Now imagine that journey is abruptly cut short by a broken link. Not good. There are a number of online tools you can use to ensure that all your internal links work properly, and I have recommended one below. Remember to check your external links too, as external websites can change as well.

Do it: http://validator.w3.org/checklink - checks the links and anchors in web pages/websites.

E-spiders

Search engines use automated computer programs called ‘spiders’ to browse websites. This is used as a means of indexing your web pages in order to list them in search rankings. Once a ‘spider’ visits your website, it builds a list of words found on that page. It also identifies all the hyperlinks and navigates its way through your site, indexing these web pages. If you want to appear in search results or optimise your internet visibility, you must ensure that your website is being ‘spidered’ properly.

Do it: http://tools.seobook.com/general/spider-test/ - checks the source code of a web page, all outbound links and keywords.

Current data

WHOIS is a database which holds information about all domains. It can be searched by anyone and provides registration information such as the domain owner and contact details, website expiration date, host name and IP address. Unfortunately, this means that spammers and other unscrupulous people can look up your data, so check this annually to ensure you are on top of the public data held about you or your website.

Do it: http://whois.domaintools.com - global look up for domains and owners.

Keep it legal

If you are based in the UK and your website is used to sell or promote your products or services, then you do have to meet some legal obligations. The key ones are: your company regulatory information such as company number must be displayed on the website; your policies and practices with regards to personal data must comply with the Data Protection Act; your website should also meet the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act with regard to access for people with disabilities.

Do it: Review your company information and your website policies; and check that your websites is DDA compliant. If you have any questions about your website or you would like a free web report, contact us.

Written by Keno Ogbo, Director, Spiral Web Solutions London, England