For most website or webapp owners, it doesn’t even occur to them that they should deal with the software after it has been completed and delivered. But this carries with it a number of security and business continuity risks! In this blog post, we’ve put together the most important ones: don’t make this mistake!
Safety aspects
Protection against newly discovered vulnerabilities
Hackers are constantly looking for new entry points (vulnerabilities) in software, and developers regularly release updates to fix them. If you don’t keep your web application up to date, it can easily become a target for malicious attackers. If your site is hacked, it can not only lead to a direct loss of revenue, but also expose your business data, your customers’ personal information and cause a serious loss of prestige.
Don’t think you can’t be a target! Hackers most often use automated programs to do this, which can attempt to hack thousands of websites in a short period of time. It’s not worth the risk!
Data protection and data security
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, a vulnerability could allow attackers to gain access to sensitive data handled by your application. Regular updates will ensure that your application is compliant with the latest data protection regulations and standards, protecting your user data! It’s always a good point to pay attention to this during a GDPR audit. 🙂
Compliance with legal and industry standards
Many industries have strict rules and standards that require regular security updates and maintenance. Compliance with these not only ensures legal compliance, but also avoids serious penalties.
Performance and stability
Optimised performance
New updates often include performance improvements that can make the application faster and more stable. For an average website running on an older version of PHP, 7.4, upgrading to the current PHP version 8.3 at the time of writing can alone result in a 10-50% performance improvement (of course, this depends on a lot of other things). This can improve the user experience, your web hosting service can serve more users, and search engines will favour faster loading websites.
Bug fixes
During maintenance and updates, bugs are often fixed that affect the user experience or system stability. Fixing these is essential for smooth operation and compatibility with newer technologies and services that are constantly emerging.
Functionality and user experience
New features and improvements
With continuous updates, you can introduce new features and improvements to your app that increase user satisfaction and engagement. Because your site is constantly up to date, the cost of (by then already large) years of missed updates is not a knock-on effect of introducing new features.
Better compatibility
Web applications operate in their environment, which includes the different browsers, operating systems and devices your visitors use. Updates ensure that your application is always compatible with these platforms and new technologies.
Business benefits
Positive brand image
A well maintained and secure web application contributes to a positive image of your business. Users will find your company reliable and professional, which will increase customer retention and satisfaction in the long run. The best advertising is when your customers recommend your service to each other – an outdated interface in terms of technology, look and feel and usability unfortunately does not serve this purpose.
Reduced risks and costs
Regular maintenance and updates help prevent serious security incidents and system downtime, which can be costly and time-consuming. This is more cost-effective in the long run than dealing with a major repair or data loss. And who wants to file an NAIH report in the event of a data loss or leak? It is better to avoid these problems in the first place.
Summary
In summary, ongoing maintenance and updating of web applications is essential for security, performance, functionality and business success. This not only improves the user experience, but also protects and enhances the reputation and stability of your business in the long run.
At Vitarex, our experienced team can help you in a variety of ways, whether it’s running your existing application or implementing a completely new idea.
Cover photo: Image by Werner Moser from Pixabay