What happens over years.
WHAT DEGRADES
Content goes out of date Software becomes vulnerable if unpatched Design conventions move on Links break as other sites change The business changes and the site does not
WHAT KEEPS IT ALIVE
A maintenance routine somebody actually performs An annual read-through as a visitor Someone responsible, named Backups Updating rather than rebuilding
THE COMMON PATTERN
Built enthusiastically, maintained for six months, then untouched for three years until something breaks or it is rebuilt entirely.
That cycle is expensive and avoidable.
THE CHEAPER APPROACH
An hour a month. Updates, a check, a correction, occasionally a new page.
A site maintained continuously rarely needs rebuilding. One neglected for years usually does.
WHO DOES IT
Decide explicitly. The most common arrangement is that nobody does, because everyone assumes someone else is.
IF NOBODY IN THE BUSINESS CAN
Pay someone a small monthly amount. It costs less than a rebuild and far less than a compromise.
THE TEST
When was the site last updated? If the answer is more than a year, that is the problem to address.
