Ongoing Maintenance

Web pages are never really finished: they must be maintained regularly to ensure their success. Users are more likely to use information from pages if they appear fresh and up-to-date.

Link maintenance

• Keep links relevant by setting up a schedule to check and evaluate them on a regular basis.
  
  
• Check for broken internal and external links on your pages by consulting "Are there any broken links on my page?" at Link Checking.
  
  

File maintenance

• Keep the information up-to-date. Read through your pages regularly and make minor edits as needed.
  
  
• Delete outdated pages. Don't allow users to stumble onto obsolete information via Google searches. Save a copy of the outdated Web page on your local computer for reference, and then DELETE the file from the Libraries' server using Webspinner.
  
  
• See who is linked to your page before you rename, move, or delete a file. Go to Link Checking to find out, and then notify the information providers of these pages about the changes you are making. Otherwise, they will end up with broken links on their pages.
  
  
• Keep contact information current. Make sure all names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses are correct.
  
  
• Back up your pages before updating them. Although the UM Libraries web site is backed up regularly, you may wish to keep a personal backup of your page when you are doing revisions. DO NOT copy from the "View Source" window in your browser. Instead, copy and paste the code from the WebSpinner text edit window into Notepad.
  
  
• Don't be afraid to start fresh. Do you have an old file from a few years ago full of sloppy, confusing HTML? Here are some good reasons to get rid of it and start anew by putting the content of your old page into a new template:
  1. Your HTML skill level may have gone up since you made the original page.
  2. You may have inherited an untidy page from someone else.
  3. Some HTML standards may have changed since the page's original creation date, making validating your HTML extremely difficult.
  4. The UM Libraries' templates are more consistent, organized and easier to use than ever.

Questions? E-mail the Web Services Staff.